The Arqus Café is a great opportunity to practice speaking the language(s) you are learning with others in a relaxed atmosphere. These are not language courses. The language cafés are open to all students and staff from Leipzig University and the other Arqus Universities as well.
We offer two formats: online language cafés, which usually start in March and August/September, and in-person language cafés, which run parallel to the lecture periods at Leipzig University.
You should have a working knowledge of the language (min. A2+) so that you can actively participate. The cafés are not led by teachers but instead by language tutors who are native-level speakers.
Current Session
The current session of the online Arqus Cafés runs from 11 March until 21 June 2024. The one-hour cafés take place once a week via Zoom. You can still register and take part up to two weeks before the end of the current session. The link to register is on the Arqus website.
The in-person Arqus Cafés in Summer Semester 2024 run from 15 April until 28 June 2024.
Go to Moodle to register. You will also find more information about the cafés there (e.g., location).
Leipzig University students can also register for the language cafés offered by the University of Stockholm.
If the language you would like to practice isn’t on the schedule or you would like to participate but the café offered doesn’t fit your schedule, just let us know. We adjust the cafés we offer on a regular basis.
Become a Tutor
Would you like to volunteer to be a language tutor and offer your first or native language?
You don’t need to have any teaching experience. As a new tutor, you will take part in an introductory workshop that will prepare you for your role.
And at the end of the session, you will receive an Arqus certificate for your work as a tutor.
For the in-person cafés, you can sign up on Moodle to be a tutor in Winter Semester 2024/25.
The recruitment phase for tutors for the online cafés has ended for the current session (March–July 2023). Check back here in August 2024 to sign up to be a tutor for the next session.
Conditions of Participation
- Participation in the online cafés requires a quiet workplace and functioning technical equipment (camera and microphone).
- If for some reason you can no longer participate in an Arqus Café that you signed up for, please contact the Arqus Café Team by sending an email to arqus_cafe@arqus-alliance.eu. This way we can give the place to the next person on the waiting list.
- In the event of repeated cancellations or unannounced absences (3 times), your place will also be given to the next person on the waiting list.
- If you take part in at least 80% of the weekly meetings, you will receive an Arqus Café Certificate of Participation. These will be issued about 2 weeks after the end of each session.