Language Center

Languages open worlds, your journey begins here...

At the HBKU Language Center, part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, we offer fun, engaging, and professional language courses for university students, adults, youth, and children.

What we Offer

12 languages for adults: Arabic, English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian & Turkish.
8 languages for kids (ages 5–15): Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Turkish, Mandarin Chinese & Portuguese.
Choose from: General Language, Conversation, Travel Language, or Professional Purposes.
Learn all four skills—listening, speaking, reading, with focus on conversation.
Specialized French and German courses prepare you for university entry exams and visas.

Courses Framework

All our European courses follow the CEFR framework and are taught by expert, native-speaking and near-native speaking instructors using modern methods and technology.

Our goal is to...

Foster multilingualism within the community by providing language courses for all ages and tailor-made language programs for governmental and non-governmental institutions.
Provide cutting-edge professional development for language professionals and contribute to HBKU research activities.
Provide testing services for certified language proficiency and training for exams.
Promote diversity and intercultural communication through cultural events.
Contribute to QF's wide multiversity objective.

Academic Year 2026 - 2027 Calendar

Semester	Adults	Youth and Children
Fall 2026 Registration period: 30 August – 27 September 2026	Term dates: 29 September – 15 December 2026 Duration: 12 weeks with a break on 1 Nov – 7 Nov 2026 Time Period: 40 hours, 2 hours per session from 16:50 – 18:50 or 19:00 – 21:00	Term dates: 3 October – 12 December 2026 Duration: 11 Saturdays without a break (the final session on 12 Dec 2026 will be 150 mins long to complete 25 paid hours) Time Period: 25 hours, 2 hours and 15 mins per session from 8:30 – 10:45 or 10:50 – 13:05 or 13:10 – 15:25
Spring 2027 Registration period: 15 January – 13 March 2027		Ramadan Workshop for Youth Duration: 20 & 22 February 2027, Saturday and Monday Time Period: 5 hours, 2 hours and 30 minutes per session, 9:30 – 12:00; 12:00 – 14:30 (tentative)
	Term dates: 16 March – 31 May 2027 Duration: 12 weeks with a break during Eid Al Adha (16 May – 22 May 2027) Time Period: 40 hours, 2 hours per session from 16:50 – 18:50 or 19:00 – 21:00	Term dates: 20 March – 12 June 2027 Duration: 12 Saturdays with Eid Al Adha break (16 May – 22 May 2027) Time Period: 25 hours, 2 hours and 5 minutes per session from 9:00 – 11:05; 11:10 – 13:15; 13:20 – 15:25
Summer 2027 Registration period: 19 April – 2 June 2027	Term dates: 23 May – 2 June 2027 Duration: 4 weeks Time Period: 20 hours, 2 hours and 30 minutes per session, 17:00 – 19:30; 18:00 – 20:30

Explore Languages

Language Celebrations Calendar

Program	Event	Date
Chinese	Official Chinese language proficiency tests	10 September 2026
German	German National Day	3 October 2026
Korean	Hangul Day (Korean Alphabet Day)	11 October 2026
Korean	TOPIK Official Exams	17 October 2026
Italian	Italian Language Week - Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo. Ingenious language: to conceive, design, create with Italian. - Lingua geniale: ideare, progettare, creare con l’italiano	19-25 October 2026
German	German Goethe Exams	4 and 5 November 2026
English	International Students' Day	17 November 2026
Japanese	Nihongo no Hi (Japanese Language Day)	4 November 2026
Arabic	World Arabic Language Day	2 December 2026
French	La Semaine du Goût “The Week of the Taste”	13 – 15 December 2026
Chinese	Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)	6 February 2027
General	International Mother Language Day	21 February 2027
French	Francophonie Week	16 March 2027
German	German Goethe Exams	April/May 2027 (TBD)
Spanish	Spanish Language Day ‘Día de la Lengua Española’ This event is seeking to celebrate the second most spoken language in the world. It is also a day to honor the most revered writer in the Spanish language, Miguel de Cervantes.	22 April 2027
LC training	Global Voices for Language Education Forum This is an interactive forum that brings together educators, and cultural representatives, including embassy delegates, to collaborate through discussions and group work. It promotes language learning, multilingualism, and intercultural understanding through active participation and global cooperation.	22 April 2027
English	English Language Day	25 April 2027
Portuguese	Portuguese International Language Day	5 May 2027
Turkish	Turkish Language Day On May 13, 1277, Turkish was declared an official language.	30 May 2027
Russian	Russian Language Day	06 June 2027