Written skills are developed through the production of small pieces of creative writing and other activities, including online language learning and the use of materials taken from German and Spanish television and radio; oral teaching is conducted in small groups by native German and Spanish speakers; the School of Modern Languages also offers special training for linguists with its core skills module for language learners; at the end of the 1st year students normally take a 3-week summer programme in Germany or Spain, subsidised by the university.