Classes & certificates

These translation exams test reading knowledge of French, German, Italian or Spanish and meet the requirements of UW–Madison graduate programs. Register at least one week prior to your chosen exam date. No refunds after registration.

This mini-course sets you up for success in Spanish 1 with a slow introduction to the fundamentals of the Spanish language.

Benefit from all of the materials in our basic course with additional interactive exercises, 60 percent more instructor-graded translations, more advanced readings and a final capstone project tailored to your academic or professional field. Hone your Spanish-to-English translation skills.

Jump back into Spanish with our popular Spanish 1 language class. Thoroughly review the basics of Spanish with a proven communicative approach that will have you speaking, reading, understanding, and speaking Spanish quickly.

Open to anyone who wants to study French for reading and translation. We cover essential grammar and vocabulary to provide knowledge that is especially useful for students preparing for the French graduate-level reading knowledge exam.

Open to all students who want to study German for translation. Great for meeting graduate program language requirements or for genealogy work. Key skills you'll learn include taking advantage of similarities between English and German, expert dictionary use and recognizing easy grammar cues.

Develop the skills you need to read and accurately translate Spanish texts to English, using texts from various disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Start with the basics and work your way through more challenging grammatical concepts that appear in the scholarly texts you translate.

Join other advanced learners to read Isabel Allende's best selling first novel with an expert in Spanish literature. Improve your Spanish and learn about Chile's culture and history during the 20th century while discussing La casa de los espíritus.

Explore the cultural richness of the Spanish-speaking world with this beginning-level language class. Master the basics of Spanish with a proven communicative approach that combines our popular in-person class with robust online resources to keep you learning between classes.

Italian 1 is designed for beginning learners who wish to gain practical knowledge of the Italian language and familiarize themselves with Italian culture. Learn the vocabulary and grammar necessary to communicate effectively in key social situations and while traveling.

Portuguese is the official language in nine countries and one of the top five languages for doing business globally. Learn to greet people and talk about daily life, work and travel. The differences between continental and Brazilian Portuguese are presented.

Join other Francophiles as you learn the basics of French with listening, speaking, reading and writing activities. Learn to introduce yourself, use numbers, and talk about cities, hotels and travel. Textbook and workbook required.

In as little as six months, greatly improve your professional proficiency in Spanish and gain the cultural knowledge you need to conduct business in Spain and Latin America. Learn to communicate professionally via email, telephone, video conferencing and in-person.

This practical high-beginner's course blends the best practices of our in-person instruction with active online learning outside the classroom. Improve your ability to converse about more topics in the present tense, take your first steps in the past tense, and grow your comprehension skills.

Struggling with French pronunciation? Want to become more comfortable speaking French? This six-lesson online course contains clear explanations, practice exercises, and sets of drills to help you understand and refine the fundamentals of French pronunciation with one-on-one feedback from your instructor. Enrollment is ongoing; you’ll have two months to complete the course. A great preparation or review! No prerequisite needed. Audiobook: "Secrets of French Pronunciation" by Camille Chevalier-Karfis. Please contact your instructor for purchase information.

One of the best ways to improve your spoken Spanish is by improving your writing. Learn to tell your story in a well-written narrative. A Spanish writing expert guides you through those tricky past tenses, gives you personalized feedback, and helps you compose better sentences and paragraphs.

This refresher course has something for everyone. Brush up your Spanish writing by eliminating common errors while gaining better skills. Perfect the use of written accent marks, articles, gender, word order and tricky verb conjugations. Gain confidence by learning to proofread your own writing.

Build your vocabulary as you improve your ability to converse in the present tense and become familiar with past tenses. Practice conversing while learning relevant cultural information.

Refine and deepen your ability to converse in the past and future tenses as you discuss families, work, travel and customs in France and the Francophone world. Prerequisite: French 2.

Polish your skills as you discuss the culture and history of France and the Francophone world. Refine your knowledge of tense, lexicon and register while improving your reading and listening abilities.