English Language and German (4 Years) [BA]

BA (Hons) English Language and German

• Offers students access to the full range of English language studies (theoretical, descriptive, and applied) and the opportunity for a broad-based study of English linguistics.
• The course gives students the skills required for analytical language study alongside the means to apply those skills particularly to historical and present-day English .
• Non-native speakers of English Language can combine the academic study of English Language with advanced training in English proficiency in our new international pathway through the BA (Hons) English Language degree programme. This programme combines all the major elements of our English Language programme with additional course units giving advanced tuition in English Language, together with courses on topics such as translation and TEFL.
• Studies in German will give students the opportunity to study German literature, culture, history and linguistics. Students will develop a solid grounding in German language, proficient enough in German to live and work effectively in a German-speaking environment.
• Core German language courses at all levels of study are complemented by a variety of other subject areas, and by a period spent in a German-speaking country. We have specialists in an unusually wide range of German-related subjects, so that you can focus on subjects that really appeal to students in their final year of study.

School of Arts, Languages and Cultures

See: About us

Telephone: +44 (0)161 275 3211

Facsimile: +44 (0)161 275 3031

Email: ug.languages@manchester.ac.uk

Website: www.llc.manchester.ac.uk/

• Modern Languages and Cultures
• Linguistics and English Language
• German Studies

A-level: AAB-BBB incl. a modern foreign language

AS-level: Two AS-Levels may be accepted in place of the third A-Level.

Unit grade information: The University of Manchester welcomes the provision of unit grade information which, like all other available information, will inform the consideration of applications.  Unit grades will not normally form part of offer conditions, except for Mathematics programmes.

GCSE: Minimum grade C in English Language.

Key Skills qualification: The University warmly welcomes applications from students studying the Key Skills qualification. However, as the opportunities to take these modules are not open to all applicants, currently this is not an essential requirement of the University.

International Baccalaureate:

31 - 36 points overall

Higher Level requirements - 6,6,5 - 5,5,5 including a modern foreign language

Alternative entry requirements

English language:

IELTS overall score of 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component

TOEFL iBT overall score of 90 with 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing

Cambridge CAE grade B or CPE grade C

Some English language test results are only valid for two years. Your English language test report must be valid on the start date of your course.

Mitigating Circumstances

Mitigating circumstances may be personal or family illness, other family circumstances, change of teachers during a course, problems with school facilities or an unusual curriculum followed by your school or college.  We recommend that information on mitigating circumstances that have affected or are likely to affect your academic performance should be included in the referee's report.  We cannot usually take into account information that is supplied after an adverse decision has been made on an application by the admitting School.  If you encounter mitigating circumstances after you have submitted your application, please inform the admissions staff in the School to which you applied as soon as possible.

Where mitigating circumstances have already been taken into account, for exdample by the relevant Exam Board, we will not be able to make further allowances.

Decisions are made on the basis of the application as a whole with a particular focus on educational achievement and predicted grades.

The conditions of offers will be determined by an applicant's predicted grades.

An interview forms a significant part of the admission criteria for the majority of our applicants.

An interview forms a significant part of the admission criteria for the majority of our applicants.

• Manchester is an international centre for linguistics and English language
• BA (Hons) English Language is taught in the Department of Linguistics and English Language, where there is a virtually unique breadth of subject areas and theoretical approaches.
• Particular strengths in the discipline include: endangered languages and field linguistics, the linguistics of English (both synchronic and diachronic), phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax (especially Lexical-Functional Grammar and Construction Grammar), typology, language contact and sociolinguistics, historical linguistics (especially English, Romance and Germanic), semantics and pragmatics, corpus and computational linguistics.
•  You will be introduced to a range of academic expertise that is amongst the widest in UK German studies.
• At Manchester, conventional distinctions between a 'traditional' approach, focusing on language plus literature, and a 'progressive' approach, with its emphasis on modern German life and culture, are superseded by a broader vision, recognising both the relevance of tradition and the ever-present need for innovation.
• Our specialisms include historical and contemporary linguistics, literary studies, (including literary translation), screen studies, gender and sexuality, modern cultural history, minority culture, and Holocaust studies.
• Our teaching, which has been praised in the Teaching Quality Assessment and by our External Examiners, is backed up by an innovative Independent Language Learning Programme, which enables students to take control of their own learning experience.

• You will be taught through a mixture of formal lectures, seminars and tutorials.  You will spend approximately 12 hours each week in formal study sessions.  For every hour spent at University you will be expected to complete a further 2 - 3 hours independent study.  You will also need to study during the holiday periods.
• The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written work, revising for examinations or working in the University's Language Centre

English Language

• The first year provides you with an introduction to the full range of course options in English linguistics and the basis for further and more specialised study. This diversity is essential in order to experience English language study at university level and make informed choices about your future course units. You will study units on the history of English, sounds of English and English grammar.

German

• The first year equips you with a range of important skills: linguistic expertise; the ability to read and analyse material; and skills in presentation, group work and independent language learning. You are trained in modern spoken and written German through a core language course in which you work with German texts, write short essays and engage in discussions in German (this language instruction takes place in German and is taught principally by native speakers). At the same time you reinforce your grammar and vocabulary through monitored self-study.
• You are given an introduction to the German-speaking countries: their geography, politics, culture and society. You also get to know how issues such as the environment, unemployment, and racism are viewed in Germany.
• In addition you take a set of other broad-based courses designed to give you an essential grounding in key areas of German culture, history and linguistics. Most of the teaching on these courses is in English, so that you can focus fully on the new concepts introduced to you. In this way we hone not only your German language skills, but also your expression and accuracy in English.

English Language

• Course units build on first-year work, developing each subject area to provide a greater breadth and depth of experience. In the second year your study is more flexible. Four out of six units must be chosen: Introductions to Old and Middle English Language, American English, The Grammar of English Noun Phrases and English dialects.
• You may choose up to a further 40 credits from a wide range of options, including Grammatical Semantics, Introduction to Syntactic Theory, Phonology and optional language course units or a free choice available from across the University.

German

• In the second year of your programme you build on the grounding already established in year one. This year's core language course develops that of the previous year and prepares you for the linguistic challenges of your year abroad. Within it you can continue with a study of culture and society in Germany and Austria, or take a course in business German - Wirtschaftsdeutsch.
• You also continue your programme of monitored self-study to complement your language classes.
• The other courses available in your second year are more numerous and more specialised than in the first year.

• Your third year of study is spent abroad under approved conditions.  For more information on the period of residence abroad please consult the following: Residence Abroad

English Language

• By the third year your study is completely tailored to your own interests. You will also have the option of writing a dissertation, where you explore and write about a particular topic in depth. Your remaining courses can be chosen from a wide range of units which varies from year to year, such as English Grammar, English Phonology, English Verb Classes, and Modern English since 1500.

German

• In your final year you resume your studies in Manchester with a core language course and a choice of a very wide range of specialised courses. Language study is centred on translation into and out of German, essay writing, and oral work involving discussion of texts, debates and presentations.
• Also available in this year are course units which cover topics closely related to the research interests of individual members of staff, covering a broad range of linguistic, literary, historical and cultural topics.
• Depending on the programme you are following, you may, as part of your final-year work, write a dissertation on a theme of your choice which is related to one of your courses. Most students find this an especially rewarding part of their degree programme.

• The University hold open days twice a year (usually June and October) where you have the opportunity to tour the campus and find out more about the facilities and courses we offer.

• If your application is successful you will be invited to a visit day specifically for your area of study.  On this day you will find out more about the School and its resources, meet members of staff and current students and discuss study aims and qualifications with admissions staff.

• The University of Manchester and the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures have outstanding facilities available for studying.
• The University's Language Centre is a state of the art open learning facility which allows you to pursue effective independent study.  It consists of a library of books and audio-visual resources, language laboratories and multimedia studies comprising a combination of PCs, TV/VCR/DVDs and cassette players.
• The John Rylands University Library is one of the largest academic libraries in Britain and its Special Collections contain invaluable visual resources.
• The University of Manchester owns the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum and Tabley House, giving you unique access to outstanding art gallery and museum resources.

Languages qualify you for a wide range of employment.  Your high-level language skills will open up numerous paths with an international dimension (e.g. business, industry and finance).  You will also have excellent all-round communication skills making you a strong contender for openings in the media, PR and similar areas.

89% (English Language) of our graduates are in employment or further study within six months of graduation (Source: Unistats 2012).

Many of our graduates secure jobs in business services, marketing, advertising, management, banking or communications.  Roles of recent Linguistics and English Language graduates include:

• Regional Events Manager
• Communications Officer
• Radio reporter
• Speech Therapy Assistant
• Recruitment Consultant

Our graduates have pursued careers in firms including The Guardian, PricewaterhouseCoopers, L'Oreal, Universal Music Group, and Vodafone.

Other graduates have opted for postgraduate study or further vocational training to become accountants, lawyers, teachers (in England or abroad), or enter the Civil Service.  Postgraduate programmes undertaken by our graduates include Graduate Diploma in Law, MA in Broadcast Journalism, MSc in Machine Translation, MA in (Applied) Linguistics, or MSc in Human Communication Studies.

Did you know?

• MI5 actively recruit graduates with language skills.
• Graduates from The University of Manchester are amongst the highest paid in the country.
• More employers recruit at The University of Manchester than at any other UK university.
• The University of Manchester's award-winning Careers Service is consistently voted the best in the country by both students and employers.
• The School is one of the largest and most diverse in the UK and has received the prestigious European Award for Languages from CiLT, the National Centre for Languages.