Services for Students
Our language resources are available to all FAS students to support foreign language learning.
Enhanced Learning for Better Language Mastery
We provide a range of opportunities to accommodate various learning approaches for Harvard language students, utilizing digital storage, online communication, and connecting with global language communities and cultural opportunities.
Here are some of the ways our resources can help you on your journey to learn and master a new language.
- Study or meet in small groups in our main space at Science Center B06.
- Attend language-learning focused events, such as our spring Pre-Registration Language Fair.
- Use our Language Exchange program for informal speaking practice here.
- Find self-guided language-learning resources, especially for less commonly taught languages, in person at the Language Center or on our Language Exchange companion site here.
Certificate in Teaching Language and Culture
Starting in the fall of 2025, the Harvard Language Center will host the Certificate in Teaching Language and Culture, through which GSAS PhD students and Teaching Assistants may demonstrate their commitment to excellence in the teaching of language(s) and culture(s).
The certificate is open to GSAS PhD students and TAs who teach courses in language, culture, and literature in Harvard College and who want to deepen their knowledge of language pedagogy.
Teaching Language and Culture participants must fulfill requirements in three areas: teaching, research and practice, and professionalization.
Please plan ahead to make the most of each component of the Certificate; they are meant to be completed over time, especially the departmental pedagogy courses, which are offered on different schedules. If you have questions about any of the requirements, please contact us at language@fas.harvard.edu. Please find more information on the Canvas course page, https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/53454.
Teaching
Teach a minimum of two semesters of foreign language/culture/literature courses at Harvard.
At least one of these courses must be a language course.
Research and Practice
To fulfill the course requirements, you must:
- take one (1) departmental foundational pedagogy course (example courses listed below),
- take one (1) advanced language pedagogy course (departmental offering or GSE language-focused course, e.g., ROM-LANG 230, EDU T549, or equivalent),
- attend three (3) scholarly presentations sponsored by the Harvard Language Center, a Title VI center, or similar entity. (See below for more information.)
Examples of foundational pedagogy courses:
ROM-LANG 210: Language Pedagogy: Theories, Practices, and Approaches
CELTIC 350: Teaching Colloquium
CLASSICS 360: Teaching Colloquium
CHINESE 280: Teaching Chinese as a Foreign/Second Language (J. Liu)
GERMPHIL 280: Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching (Parkes)
LINGUISTICS 173: Structure of Japanese (W. Jacobsen)
SLAVIC 126: Structure of Modern Russian (S. Clancy)
One advanced language pedagogy course:
ROM-LANG 230: Teaching Languages, Cultures, and Literatures
EDU T549: Technology-enhanced Language Learning and Teaching (N. Mills)
Equivalents may be approved from Linguistics or the Graduate School of Education.
Advanced language pedagogy course:
In addition to advanced language pedagogy courses offered within Harvard language departments, language-focused courses offered through the Graduate School of Education Language and Literacy program may also fulfill this requirement. (Search for courses here: https://beta.my.harvard.edu/school/HGSE?q=language&term=All&sort=relevance&page=1. Confirm that the course fits the criteria before proceeding.)
Scholarly presentations:
Please visit our Language Center Events page to determine which offerings will fulfill this requirement: https://ess.fas.harvard.edu/the-language-center/language-center-events/. To sign up for our mailing list, which will also alert you of external events that qualify as pedagogy-focused events, please use this link: https://web.lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/lists/harvard-language-center-events.lists.fas.harvard.edu/
Professionalization
Submit a teaching portfolio. You should design a portfolio that will be useful for your individual goals. For the purposes of the Certificate, your portfolio should include at minimum:
teaching statement,
prospective syllabus, and
sample assignment prompt, lesson plan, or class activity.
Submit a reflective essay of approximately 1000 words that integrates what you have learned from your experience pursuing the Certificate in Teaching Language(s) and Culture(s). Candidates should write a reflective narrative about their trajectory through the certificate, incorporating any or all of the following: the connections between the pedagogy courses, Language Center events, and scholarly presentations attended; theory-meets-practice applications to their instruction; and/or particularly noteworthy take-aways that they will apply to their future teaching of languages, cultures, and literatures.
Access for All
The Science Center and the Language Center are wheelchair accessible to accommodate all our students.
- The main elevator bank has 3 elevators that service all floors of the Science Center, including the basement level where the Language Center is located.
- The Language Center has wheelchair-accessible workspaces and adaptive listening devices available upon request.
- We are more than happy to provide additional support to make our resources accessible to you.
Have questions about accessibility?
RLL Tutoring
We offer free tutoring services for students currently enrolled in any RLL course focusing on French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.
Tutors are available to help students with any aspect of language learning, including oral expression, reading or listening comprehension, grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary acquisition, exam preparation, and more!
Eligible students may schedule one 30-minute tutoring session per week, per course.
Diacritics
Stumped on how to add diacritics and produce non-standard characters using the modern Latin alphabet in MacOS and Windows? We can help!
Hardware and Computing Resources
We provide access to laptops and tablets for use within our main building for up to three hours, with easy renewal options.
- Laptops and tablets do not circulate outside the Center, except by special permission from LC staff.
- Students must present their Harvard ID in order to check out equipment.
Well-Equipped Resources to Enhance Your Language Journey
Every laptop we provide for loan is well-equipped with programs to accelerate and complement your language learning. We’re proud to provide Adobe’s full Creative Cloud, giving you access to create content with the latest design software including:
- Bridge to centralize your creative assets
- Illustrator for Vector graphics and illustration
- InDesign for page design and layout for print and digital publishing
Every laptop also has Photoshop installed for image editing and compositing.
You may also check out special equipment for class purposes, such as HD video cameras, digital audio recorders, microphone headsets, and headsets with no microphone.
Interested in different special equipment?
Please inquire at the front desk.
*Please Remember to Save Your Work*
Since all our laptops are public computers, files saved to the local hard drive will be automatically deleted. Please save your work to cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, or e-mail the file to yourself.