Learning Greek in Greece

Learning Greek during, before or after your Erasmus is an exciting opportunity to explore Greek culture and history through language classes. There are many options you can choose from: paid/unpaid courses, scholarships for Greek language learners or private tuition in designed language schools which can be found in every bigger town.

As an Erasmus student, you will be entitled to free intensive Greek course known as EILC (Erasmus Intensive Language Courses). The course consists of 60 teaching hours and it's addressed to both beginners and to students who already speak Greek at intermediate level. Both Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Macedonia organise those courses and they take place twice a year - at the beginning of each semester. Taking part in EILC is a fantastic idea since you will be awarded ECTS points (around 6-8), it's free of charge and you may be entitled for a 100-euro refund (that was the case during my Erasmus stay in 2011, Polish, Turkish, Czech and students of other nationalities did attend the course to gain the extra money after their return to their home countries). Remember to attend classes and sit to final examination in order to get the certificate of attendance!

Unit responsible for EILC for both Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and for the University of Macedonia students is School of Modern Greek Language. You can apply either through your home university along with your Erasmus application, or ask the Erasmus office of the respective Greek university.

There is also an opportunity to learn Greek for free by taking part in intensive summer course either in Thessaloniki or Athens. The course in Athens lasts 6 weeks (early June until mid-July) during which you'll spend approx. 100 hours on learning Greek and on cultural activities (subject to budget available), while the course in Thessaloniki lasts 4 weeks (mid-August until mid-September). The courses are held at all levels of Greek: from beginners to advanced, and students take a placement test prior to beginning of the course in order to determine their language skills. The course fee is around 300-400 euros BUT you can apply for a scholarship that could cover the cost of tuition + living expenses during your stay.

In order to apply for scholarship (tuition fee waiver and a 450-euro grant) for the course held in Thessaloniki by the School of Modern Greek Language you will need to:
- fill in the scholarship application form available here and the course application form available here
- attach the certificate of studies verified by your school, or an official. It means that you simply go to your university's student office/secretary and ask for a signed and stamped paper that you are a student/graduate.
- 1 passport-sized photograph for each application form
- attach a copy of your passport
- attach 2 reference letters
- write and attach a CV in either Greek or English

Deadline for submission of documents: February 28

All documents should be sent via post (alternatively, you can e-mail or fax them but you would need to provide the original copies later anyway, so why bother?) to the following address:

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Department of Studies

University Campus

541 24 Thessaloniki

Greece

In order to apply for the scholarship (500-euro grant to help with living expenses, the course itself is free for all admitted candidates) for the course organised by National and Kapodistrian University of Athens you will need:
- to fill in the online application form
- 2 reference letters
- 1 passport-sized photograph
- a copy of your passport or National ID (EU applicants)
- a CV

Deadline for submission of documents: March 15

All supporting documents along with the printed out online application form should be sent via post to:

Secretariat for the Greek Summer Programme θΥΕΣΠΑ

Modern Greek Language Teaching Centre

University Campus, 157 74 Zografou

Greece