University Language Centres provide services in the field of language training in the European languages: French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian L2 and, sometimes, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and Russian. Language centres are staffed with lecturers, researchers, language assistants and technicians, who are employed in teaching, research and service activities aimed at teaching and learning foreign languages and Italian L2 at university level.  

University Language Centres are service centres of the university to which they belong. Therefore, they organise language courses for students regularly enrolled in their degrees, for teaching and non-teaching staff, as well as for citizens from outside the university.  

They organise specific courses for requesting teaching structures and provide them with software, programmes and teaching materials that are useful for language training activities.   

Language Centres also develop innovative methodologies and techniques in the field of language teaching and linguistic research. They organise continuing education for teachers and students. They offer internships to undergraduate and graduate students.  

In addition to the above-mentioned tasks, Language Centres organise and/or host international language certifications, thus enhancing their international recognition within the University, the school world and the general public.  

They provide language consultancy: translation, proofreading, and interpreting services to the University Faculty and Administration and to external parties.  

Teaching staff working in language centres are periodically selected by special committees, which are mostly made up of university lecturers in the field. In addition to a specific degree, teachers working in the Centres, whether native or non-native speakers, must have a suitable specialisation in teaching languages to foreigners and/or a teaching qualification, as well as a proven record of attendance at refresher courses on foreign language teaching.  

University Language Centres operate under the didactic/scientific supervision of a Director, usually a full or an associate professor, who also has administrative responsibility for the Centre.  

He/she is assisted in his/her work by an administrative secretary.  

The Language Centres of Cagliari and Sassari are members of AICLU, the Italian Association of University Language Centres. It aims to: coordinate the activities of university language centres at national and international level; contribute to the improvement of the quality of the language service of Italian university language centres; promote research in the field of language teaching and learning; encourage the exchange of information, materials, and personnel between the various university language centres; collectively represent the language centres of Italian universities towards the outside world and in particular within the Confédération Européenne des Centres de Langues de l'Enseignement Supérieur (CERCLES).

The European Confederation of Language Centres (CERCLES) is automatically joined by all language centres that are regularly affiliated to AICLU. Founded in Strasbourg in 1991, CercleS is a confederation of independent associations from 22 European countries. It brings together some 290 language centres, departments, institutes, faculties, or schools at university level whose main responsibility is language teaching. It is represented by 11 plenary members (national associations) and 11 associate members.  

CercleS members include several thousand academic, administrative, and technical staff, and some 250,000 students learning all the major languages of the world. CercleS is committed to ensuring the highest possible standards in language education and research.