The Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTL) Program is housed in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and offers instruction in Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, and Wolof. The LCTL program supports communicative, proficiency-based language teaching as a way for our students to obtain the most from their language-learning experiences. We emphasize the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary as necessary tools for spontaneous, creative, and meaningful communication, as well as a part of the four crucial skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. In the classroom, we encourage conversation, small-group problem solving, and other tasks that simulate real-life uses of language. Outside the classroom, we offer extra-curricular activities like conversation tables, films series, social hours, potlucks, and picnics in order to practice the target language by learning about the culture where it is spoken.
The LCTL Program collaborates with research universities in the Big Ten Academic Alliance to host and receive language courses. You may refer to the BTAA CourseShare webpage and browse the links to CourseShare resources, such as "Resources for participating departments" and "FAQ" for more information to explore this unique and wonderful resource for our students.
The Department of Linguistics offers the following language classes as part of the LCTL program. Descriptions of each course can be on the Course Catalog.
Arabic - Fall Courses
| ARAB 150 | Lang&Culture of Arab World |
| ARAB 201 | Elementary Standard Arabic I |
| ARAB 210 | Colloquial Arabic I |
| ARAB 403 | Intermediate Stand Arabic I |
| ARAB 405 | Advanced Standard Arabic I |
| ARAB 409 | Adv Top Stand Arabic LangLit I |
| ARAB 412 | Business Arabic |
| ARAB 490 | Readings in Advanced Arabic |
Arabic - Spring Courses
| ARAB 150 | Lang&Culture of Arab World |
| ARAB 202 | Elementary Standard Arabic II |
| ARAB 211 | Colloquial Arabic II |
| ARAB 404 | Intermediate Stand Arabic II |
| ARAB 406 | Advanced Standard Arabic II |
| ARAB 408 | Topics Stand Arabic LangLit II |
| ARAB 410 | AdvTop Stand Arabic LangLit II |
| ARAB 413 | Arabic-English Translation |
| ARAB 490 | Readings in Advanced Arabic |
Hindi - Fall Courses
| HNDI 115 | Language and Culture in India |
| HNDI 201 | Elementary Hindi-Urdu I |
| HNDI 403 | Intermediate Hindi I |
| HNDI 405 | Advanced Hindi I |
Hindi - Spring Courses
| HNDI 115 | Language and Culture in India |
| HNDI 202 | Elementary Hindi-Urdu II |
| HNDI 404 | Intermediate Hindi II |
| HNDI 406 | Advanced Hindi II |
Persian - Fall Courses
| PERS 201 | Elementary Persian I |
| PERS 403 | Intermediate Persian I |
| PERS 453 | Advanced Persian I |
Persian - Spring Courses
| PERS 202 | Elementary Persian II |
| PERS 404 | Intermediate Persian II |
| PERS 454 | Advanced Persian II |
Turkish - Fall Courses
| TURK 201 | Elementary Turkish I |
| TURK 270 | Language and Culture in Turkey |
| TURK 403 | Intermediate Turkish I |
| TURK 405 | Advanced Turkish I |
| TURK 490 | Special Topics in Turkish |
Turkish - Spring Courses
| TURK 202 | Elementary Turkish II |
| TURK 270 | Language and Culture in Turkey |
| TURK 404 | Intermediate Turkish II |
| TURK 406 | Advanced Turkish II |
| TURK 490 | Special Topics in Turkish |
Swahili - Fall Courses
| SWAH 201 | Elementary Swahili I |
| SWAH 403 | Intermediate Swahili I |
| SWAH 405 | Advanced Swahili I |
| SWAH 407 | Topics Swahili Lang & Lit I |
Swahili - Spring Courses
| SWAH 202 | Elementary Swahili II |
| SWAH 404 | Intermediate Swahili II |
| SWAH 406 | Advanced Swahili II |
| SWAH 408 | Topics Swahili Lang & Lit II |
| SWAH 410 | Adv Topics Swahili Lang&Lit II |
Wolof - Fall Courses
| WLOF 201 | Elementary Wolof I |
| WLOF 403 | Intermediate Wolof I |
| WLOF 405 | Advanced Wolof I |
Wolof - Spring Courses
| WLOF 202 | Elementary Wolof II |
| WLOF 404 | Intermediate Wolof II |
| WLOF 406 | Advanced Wolof II |