Language Study at the Five Colleges
Amherst College students can study more than 60 languages through the Five College Consortium, including more than 40 less-commonly taught languages available through the Five College Center for World Languages (FCCWL):
- Comprehensive four-skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) courses in: Hindi, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu
- Supervised Independent two-skills (speaking, listening) courses in: Afrikaans, Amharic, Arabic dialects (Egyptian, Levantine, Moroccan), Bangla/Bengali, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cantonese for Mandarin Speakers, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino/Tagalog, Finnish, Georgian, Modern Greek, Haitian Creole, Igbo, Indonesian, Modern Irish, Nepali, Norwegian, Thai, Tibetan, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, Wolof, Yoruba, and others
- Language availability is subject to change
All courses feature structured independent study, small group work with peer conversation partners, and an emphasis on oral proficiency. Courses are offered for beginning, intermediate, advanced, and heritage learners.
For a full list of languages available for study through the FCCWL, visit: https://www.fivecolleges.edu/fclang/languages
FAQ
Visit https://www.fivecolleges.edu/fclang/languages, choose your language of interest, and follow the application instructions.
Sessions take place on all five campuses. Students are assigned to whichever session best meets their educational needs, with preference given to their home campus or a nearby campus location when possible.
Sessions are scheduled at the beginning of the semester based on the availability of individual students, so they are easy to fit into almost any schedule.
Most FCCWL courses are equivalent to an Amherst College half-course.
Like all Five College interchange (cross-registration) courses, FCCWL courses are free for Five College students.