The Santander Languages | English Courses – British Council Scholarship Programme is aimed at people aged over 18 living in one of eleven countries, including Spain. 

Those interested can read the terms and conditions and apply for the call for applications on the website www.becas-santander.com/en/program/languages-english-courses-british-council, between 2 February and 14 April. 

Successful candidates will have free access for three months to the British Council's LearnEnglishSelect course, which will be tailored to their starting language level and focused on English in the workplace.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, three calls for applications have been launched to promote language learning and employability for new generations, with more than 20,000 beneficiaries.

Madrid, 2 February 2021
Santander and the British Council are launching a new programme with 5,000 scholarships for people aged over 18 to access online English courses offered by the British educational and cultural organisation. The Santander Languages | English Courses – British Council Scholarships programme is the third joint call for applications since the beginning of the pandemic, launched to promote English language learning and employability for young people, with more than 20,000 beneficiaries.

The Santander Languages | English courses – British Council Scholarships are aimed at people aged over 18, who are residents of Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal and Uruguay. Those interested can read the requirements and submit their application, through the website www.becas-santander.com/en/program/languages-english-courses-british-council, between 2 February and 14 April 2021.

Recipients of the 5,000 scholarships will be required to take a test to determine their level of English before accessing the LearnEnglishSelect online course most suited to their learning needs. The content of the courses, which have a maximum duration of three months, is highly practical and focused on improving the employability of young people. 

They will cover aspects such as preparing for job interviews in English, grammar and vocabulary for the work environment, professional networking and developing communication skills for meetings, presentations and talks. After completing the courses, students will receive a certificate of successful completion.

For Javier López, global head of Social Impact at Santander Universities, "employability skills are shaping a significant part of Banco Santander's range of scholarships. The environment brought about by the pandemic has further highlighted the need to boost transversal, digital and language skills. Therefore, this new collaboration with the British Council aims to help not only students and university graduates, but also the unemployed and professionals who are particularly suffering from the circumstances of a changing and uncertain job market." 

Commenting on the collaboration with Santander, Mark Howard, director of the British Council in Spain, said that “initiatives such as the Santander Languages | English Courses – British Council Scholarships are a perfect example of how, through our educational work, and with the help of major partners, we help young people from all over the world develop the English language skills that will help them build a global academic and professional future."

Banco Santander and its support of higher education

Banco Santander is firmly committed to inclusive, sustainable growth and progress with consolidated backing of higher education that distinguishes it from the world's other financial institutions, having channelled more than €1.8 billion into academic initiatives through Santander Universities since 2002 and awarded more than 430,000 university scholarships since 2005. 

About the British Council 

The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Its purpose is to build connections, understanding and trust between citizens from the UK and those from other countries, through arts and culture, education and the English language. In Spain, the work of the British Council began more than 80 years ago, in the summer of 1940. Every year since then, it has provided educational and cultural opportunities that have transformed the lives of thousands of Spaniards. You can hear about some of their stories in this video.