Course levels, aims and syllabus

Each language course at the Hellenic Centre is carefully set to help you communicate confidently in Greek, whether you’re off on holiday or preparing for academic or professional work.

Complete courses – which level / module is right for you?

(for self-assessment you can also download our syllabus PDF)

The aim of the course is to enable students to become basic users of the language; to recognise, understand and use familiar words, basic phrases and simple sentences; to interact in a simple way using everyday expressions and very basic phrases and to ask and answer questions about personal details. The emphasis on this level is on communication and less so on accuracy.

To complete the Beginners level and proceed to the next one, students need to study Modules 1, 2, 3.

• Module 1 (BG1) For students who do not have any knowledge of the language.
• Module 2 (BG2) For students who have completed successfully Beginners level Module 1 or have had approximately 20 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Module 1.
• Module 3 (BG3) For students who have completed successfully Beginners level Modules 1 and 2 or have had approximately 40 hours tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2.

Once a student completes all three modules of Beginners level, he/she can move to Intermediate level and will be at a level equivalent to A1 of the Common European Language Framework.

The aim of the course is to enable students to become basic users of the language who deal effectively and with a fair degree of accuracy with everyday communication situations of immediate personal relevance; to use a series of sentences and phrases, to extract specific, simple and predictable information from every day material; to interact successfully in simple routine tasks.

To complete the Intermediate level and proceed to the next one, students need to study Modules 1, 2, 3.

• Module 1 (ID1) For students who have completed successfully the Beginners level (Modules 1, 2, 3) or have had approximately 60 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3.
• Module 2 (ID2) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Intermediate level Module 1 or have had approximately 80 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3 and Intermediate Module 1.
• Module 3 (ID3) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Intermediate level Module 2 or have had approximately 100 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3 and Intermediate Modules 1, 2.

Once a student completes all three modules of Intermediate level, he/she can move to Advanced level and will be at a level equivalent to A2 of the Common European Language Framework.

The aim of the course is to enable students to become independent users of the language who deal effectively and with a good degree of accuracy with familiar communication situations or situations of personal interest; to understand the main points of conversations, descriptions etc; to connect phrases in a simple way.

To complete the Advanced level and proceed to the next one, students need to study Modules 1, 2, 3.

• Module 1 (AD1) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Intermediate 3 or have had approximately 120 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3 and Intermediate Modules 1, 2, 3.
• Module 2 (AD2) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Advanced 1 or have had approximately 140 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2, 3 and Advanced Module 1.
• Module 3 (AD3) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Advanced 2 or have had approximately 160 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2, 3 and Advanced Modules 1, 2.

Once a student completes all three modules of Advanced level, he/she can move to Proficient level and will be at a level equivalent to B1 of the Common European Language Framework.

The aim of the course is to enable students to become independent users of the language who understand extended speech; to interact fluently and spontaneously; to understand mains ideas of abstract and concrete topics; to present clear and detail accounts on a variety of topics.

To complete the Proficient level and proceed to the next one, students need to study Modules 1, 2, 3.

• Module 1 (PROF 1) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Advanced 3 or have had approximately 180 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2,3 and Advanced Modules 1, 2, 3.
• Module 2 (PROF 2) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Proficient 1 or have had approximately 200 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2, 3; Advanced Modules 1, 2, 3 and Proficient 1.
• Module 3 (PROF 3) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Proficient 2 or have had approximately 220 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2, 3; Advanced Modules 1, 2, 3 and Proficient 1.

Once a student completes all three modules of Proficient level, he/she can move to Mastery level and will be at a level equivalent to B2 of the Common European Language Framework.

The aim of the course is to enable students to use language for social, academic and professional purposes; to recognise implicit meaning; to interact effectively, spontaneously and with a great degree of flexibility; to understand complex subjects; to present accounts on a variety of concrete or abstract topics accurately and fluently.

To complete the Mastery level and proceed to the next one, students need to study Modules 1, 2, 3.

• Module 1 (MAST 1) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Proficient 3 or have had approximately 240 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2,3; Advanced Modules 1, 2, 3 and Proficient 1, 2, 3.
• Module 2 (MAST 2) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Mastery 1 or have had approximately 260 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2,3; Advanced Modules 1, 2, 3; Proficient 1, 2, 3 and Mastery 1.
• Module 3 (MAST 3) For students who have successfully completed all levels up to Mastery 2 or have had approximately 280 hours of tuition or can prove that they have the skills described in Beginners Modules 1, 2, 3; Intermediate Modules 1, 2,3; Advanced Modules 1, 2, 3; Proficient 1, 2, 3 and Mastery 1, 2.

Once a student completes he/she will be at a level equivalent to C1 of the Common European Language Framework.

Conversation-only classes

Our conversation classes aim to enable students to deal effectively with relevant spoken communication situations.

The aim of the course is to enable students to become basic users of the language; to deal effectively and with a fair degree of accuracy with every day communication situations of immediate relevance; to interact successfully in simple routine tasks; to understand specific, simple and predictable information from everyday material; to present accounts on everyday topics using a series of sentences and phrases.

For students who have completed successfully the Beginners level (Modules 1, 2, 3) or have had approximately 60 hours of tuition.

The aim of the course is to enable students to become independent users of the language; to understand and present accounts on familiar communication situations or situations of personal interest effectively and with a good degree of accuracy; to connect phrases in a simple way; to recognise explicit as well as implicit meaning.

For students who have completed successfully the Intermediate level (Modules 1, 2, 3) or have had approximately 120 hours of tuition.

The aim of the course is to enable students to become independent users of the language; to understand extended speech; to interact fluently and spontaneously; to understand mains ideas of abstract and concrete topics; to present clear and detailed accounts on a variety of topics.

For students who have completed successfully the Advanced level (Modules 1, 2, 3) or have had approximately 180 hours of tuition.

The aim of the course is to enable students to communicate accurately and fluently; to recognise explicit and implicit meaning; to interact effectively, spontaneously and with a great degree of flexibility; to understand complex subjects, to understand and to present clear and detailed accounts on a variety of concrete and abstract topics.

For students who have completed successfully the Advanced level (Modules 1, 2, 3) or have had approximately 240 hours of tuition.

The aim of the course is to enable students to interact fluently, effectively, spontaneously and with a great degree of flexibility; to use an extensive vocabulary, idiomatic and colloquial expressions and complex grammatical structures; to understand and present accounts on concrete and abstract topics; to understand explicit as well as implicit meaning; to respond to situations which are unfamiliar to them.

For students who have completed successfully or Mastery level (Modules 1, 2, 3) or have had approximately 300 hours of tuition.

Other classes

The aim of the course is to enable students who are fluent in speaking Greek to develop their literacy skills progressing gradually from basic to abstract texts. Spelling and writing conventions and the differences between spoken and written word are an integral part of the course.

For students whose speaking and listening skills are at least equivalent to those described in the Proficient level (Modules 1, 2, 3).

The aim of the course is to prepare students for the Examination of the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Greek Level C1 and Level C2.

For students who have completed successfully the Mastery level (Modules 1, 2, 3) or have had approximately 300 hours of tuition.