In fall 2017 it became possible for UN spouses to participate in the Language and Communications Programme at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The program offers a variety of face-to-face and online language learning opportunities in the six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
In order to register for the courses you first need to get a UN Ground Pass and pay for the courses that you are interested in at the Cashiers Office in the Secretariat Building. You only pay for face-to-face courses, not online courses! To browse course catalog, sign up for placement tests and register for courses go to elearning.un.org. Please note that you need to create a profile to login to the website.
Registration help
Below you can download information and detailed guide on how to register for courses
UN Language courses registration guide for NYLESA members
General information about UN Language Courses registration process
If you need help to register please post your question in the Language Courses Forum on the NYLESA website and one of our NYLESA language volunteers will get back to you.
Deadline for registration for language courses is December 28. Course registration for specialized courses closes two weeks before the course starts. Please note that you might need to take a placement test before you register for a general language course (Level Course). Students can register for only one level course per term. I addition to this you can register for an additional special course, in the same or in another language.
How much does a course cost?
All courses in the course catalog provide information on starting and ending date and number of hours per session. Based on the hours you can determine the cost of the course you want to take. Please note that all online courses are free of charge. You only need to pay for courses that are onsite.
The rate for a general language course (Level Course up to 36 hours) is 450 USD.
How do I know if I need a placement test?
No test is needed if you are an absolute beginner, a native speaker, or a high-level learner of the language who has a recent diploma or test score showing your proficiency in the language. If you fit one of these categories, please email the coordinator listed below of the language(s) you are interested in studying.
You can find more information about the Language and Communications Programme and download course schedules at hr.un.org/language-programmes-unhq
If you have any questions regarding the language courses please email us at reachus@nylesa.org