What is the Arqus Café?
The Arqus Café is a virtual meeting place where students and staff from the Arqus partner universities can practice their language skills outside of the language classroom. The sessions are not led by teachers but instead by language tutors who are native-level speakers. This is a great way to expand your language and cultural knowledge informally and with other language learners in a relaxed atmosphere.
You should have a working knowledge of the language (min. A2/B1) so that you can actively participate in the sessions. We are offering both a beginner/intermediate (A2–B1) and intermediated/advanced (B1–B2) café for the languages where this is possible.
So grab a cup of coffee and join us virtually!
Where will the meetings take place?
The language cafés take place via the video conference platform ZOOM.
After you register and receive a place in a specific café, you will receive the Zoom link via email.
If you have any questions, just contact the Arqus Café Team.
In-person cafés at Leipzig University
If you are part of the Leipzig University community, you can also join the Arqus cafés face-to-face.
Registration
Registration for the tenth session (10 March–30 May 2025) is open. To sign up, fill out the Registration Form.
Here is some important information about the registration process:
- Online registration opens about one to two weeks before each new session.
- Registration is only possible with a university email address. If you don’t provide your university email, we won’t be able to process your registration.
- Complete the registration form. There you will be able to choose the language and time slot of the café you would like to participate in.
- Before the first session of your café, you will receive a confirmation of participation with the Zoom link. This confirmation of participation guarantees your place, and your registration is binding at this point. If the language café is full, you will receive a message to that regard and will be placed 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.
Languages 10th edition
- Arabic
- English
- French
- German
- Irish
- Italian
- Lithuanian
- Persian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Turkish
- Ukranian
Schedule 2024
New languages and cafés may be added to the schedule throughout the semester; check back regularly for updates.
Please note: The times listed for the language cafés are Central European Time (CET). If you live in Lithuania or Ukraine, for example, the start time would be one hour later than the time listed, and if you live in Ireland or Portugal, the start time would be one hour earlier than the time listed.
Would you like to become a language tutor?
Before the start of each new edition, we look for volunteers to be language tutors and offer their first or native language.
You will get to know students from the other eight Arqus universities!
Interested? Just fill out this form or send us an email.
Missing a language café?
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, please let us know. We adjust the cafés we offer on a regular basis.
Otherwise, we suggest that you see if there are any language cafés offered locally at your university or in your community. In addition, Leipzig University students are also welcome to sign up for the cafés offered by the University of Stockholm.
Other opportunities: Online Tandem Language
- Want to learn more languages? What about a tandem partner?
- In a tandem two people with different first or native languages help each other learn a language.
- Check to see if the Language Centre at your university offers this programme.
More information
- 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 two weeks after the end of each edition.
- Contact the Arqus Café Team: arqus_cafe@arqus-alliance.eu
Learn more about the Arqus Cafés:
Read the interview with the Plurilingual and Intercultural Hub, which was conducted by the European Digital Education Hub, an EU-funded initiative on digital education.