Language Café

If you’d like to practise speaking a language in a friendly environment, why not come along to our Language Café?

Held every Wednesday in term time, it’s free to attend and open to all current students and staff. Whether you’re a complete beginner or advanced learner, join us to make new friends from all over the world! You can also enjoy free tea, coffee and tasty snacks while you chat in the cosy Lounge.

how
How to join

Simply drop in on Wednesdays during term time. Please note there will be no Language Café on 27 March, 3 April or 10 April. You don’t need to reserve a place, but the Café can be extremely popular and spaces are limited, so please arrive early.

  • Join from 2.30 to 4 pm to practise English only.
  • Join from 5 to 6.30 pm to practise all languages, including English.

👉 View upcoming Language Cafés, arrive early as places are limited (no booking required)

Which languages can you practise?

We offer a huge range of languages spoken by our volunteer community. Previous Cafés have offered many different languages including French, Spanish, Gaelic-Scottish, English, Italian, German, Arabic, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, and many more. Each week the languages available depend on the availability of our wonderful volunteers. Find out which languages are available this week:

👉 Languages available at this week’s Café

Why become a Language Café Volunteer?

We are always keen to hear from friendly, enthusiastic volunteers. Volunteering is a great opportunity to:

  • Boost your confidence
  • Develop leadership skills
  • Meet other like-minded students
  • It also counts towards the Bristol PLUS Award.

How to become a Language Café Volunteer?

We have three volunteer intakes each year. Please apply by:

  • 22 September to volunteer from 4 October onwards
  • 22 October to volunteer from 1 November onwards
  • 28 January to volunteer from 6 February onwards

Call out! We are currently looking for more German, Japanese, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, Hebrew and Portuguese volunteers. Please contact us at global-lounge@bristol.ac.uk if you would like to volunteer for these languages.

Information for returning Language Café volunteers

Welcome back and thank you for joining us! We have emailed you with important updates, including a form which you will need to complete before joining us again this year. There will be some changes to the way we schedule shifts, so please keep an eye on your inbox for more updates.

Many of you will have worked with our wonderful Assistant Elena. She has recently left the Global Lounge for pastures new, she says: ‘I wanted to take this chance to thank you wholeheartedly for all your amazing efforts at the Café! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working alongside and getting to know you! All the best with your future endeavours, Elena’.