Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support

  • OLS Language Assessment (mandatory)

    To monitor the language skills of all Erasmus+ students, they are required to participate in the Erasmus Plus Online Linguistic Support programme (OLS).

    Participation in the language assessment is mandatory, except for native speakers. The results do not prevent students from taking part in the Erasmus+ exchange programme, but they can recommend linguistic support.

    How does the language assessment work and who is it for?

    The OLS language assessment is mandatory for all participants to Erasmus+ mobility activities of at least two months (studies/traineeships) with one of the following languages as the main language of instruction or work, except for native speakers.

    Erasmus+ mobility participants must take the assessment twice — before and at the end of their mobility period — to monitor their progress in the language of mobility. The online assessment assesses participants' language skills - listening, reading and writing - according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

    What are the assessment steps?

    Participants must complete the first language assessment before the mobility to assess their language competencies. For higher education students, taking the OLS language assessment before departure is a prerequisite for mobility, except if duly justified. Assessment results do not prevent participants from taking part in the mobility programme. Still, the sending institution/coordinating organisation can still use it to identify the participants most in need of linguistic support.

    Based on their language proficiency, participants may have the opportunity to access the OLS learning platform to follow an online language course before and during their mobility period. 

    At the end of their mobility period, participants will be required to take a second assessment to assess their progress, except if the student received the highest score for the first assessment (C2 level).

  • OLS Language Course (optional)

    OLS offers free online language courses to all Erasmus Exchange Students in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Greek, Croatian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Finnish or Dutch if it is the working language or language spoken at their destination. 

    For more information on the learning environment of the courses, please have a look at the OLS website or look at the video guiding you through the course: DE, EN, ES, FR, IT, NL.
    Participating in the course is voluntary, so participants are not obligated to finish the course. Feel free to email us if you would like to have access to a course.

    Contact studyabroad@utwente.nl if you are interested in an online language course!

    * Access to the language assessments and language courses is funded by the EU within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme.


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The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the University of Twente and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.