Languages and Cultures

Facts 

• 13% of study time (excluding internships and PFE) is dedicated to languages 
• On average, students spend one year of their course abroad 
• Speaking other languages and contact with other cultures represent an essential part of the human and personal development of each student. 

Preparing students for a multicultural career

Drawing on the extensive potential of our international campus (35% foreign students) and its international team of teaching staff (some twenty nationalities) offering languages for engineers, the Languages and Culture Department offers a grounding in languages that prepares students for an international and multicultural career, through:

• the teaching of ten foreign languages: students must choose two languages, one of which is English (compulsory), French as a foreign language (compulsory for foreign students), Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, and Japanese;
• speaking in day-to-day role plays (debates, chairing a work meeting, conducting a negotiation, job interview,…);
• internship reports are presented in the language of the host country or in English, when the internship is outside France;
• dual accreditation classes (scientific and linguistic);
• foreign study trips;
• students working in pairs, teaching each other their native language. There are two options for this type of autonomous learning: free pairing (without accreditation) and accredited pairing (in principle in the fourth semester) with a tutor from the Languages and Cultures Department.

Requirements

To study two languages, one of which is English

• English (compulsory for all students)
• Second language (free choice): German, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, or Japanese
• French as a foreign language (compulsory for non-French speaking foreign students)

To obtain a certificate of competence in English  

• A pass in the TOEIC with a minimum score of 785 points (level B2+ according to the European Framework of Reference for Languages, see below) or in another equivalent test.

To spend a minimum of 8 consecutive weeks abroad during school education (“international obligation” for all students leaving the first year at the School)

Several options are available:

• second semester on an Erasmus exchange in a partner establishment:
• short or long company internship between the 2nd and 3rd year;
• end of course project during the last semester of study;
• 3rd year abroad: academic training in a higher education establishment outside France.