- UCAS course code
- QR31
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course description
Our BA English Language and French course is ideal for analytical minds who want to delve into the science of language - an everyday phenomenon which impacts our lives on an individual and a global scale.
English Language covers the history of the English language and the variation between English dialects in the UK and further afield.
You will acquire the skills required for analytical language study alongside the means to apply those skills to the study of historical and present-day English.
In addition, you will practise key transferable skills, such as essay writing and how to give a presentation.
The course allows students to achieve near-native proficiency in French and to study the language within its cultural and historical context.
Language study offers much more than just language fluency. You'll explore diverse aspects of the culture, society, history, politics and literature of the countries in which French is spoken, helping you to develop intercultural awareness and communication skills - both highly valued by employers.
You'll benefit from excellent teaching, student support and cutting-edge study facilities, as well as from the vibrancy and cultural diversity of Manchester itself, Western Europe's most multilingual city.
With placement options available at partner universities and in professional environments in several French-speaking countries, a compulsory third year abroad gives our undergraduate students unforgettable and invaluable personal and professional experience.
The course unit details listed below are those you may choose to study as part of this programme and are referred to as optional units. These are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme. Although language units may show here as optional, they are a mandatory part of your modern languages degree and you will take the units relevant to your level of language in each year of study. It is compulsory to study language at all levels of your modern languages degree.
Special features
Study or work abroad
Your year abroad will offer the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of life in a French-speaking country and further develop your language skills.
You will study, work and/or teach during the year abroad, with opportunities both in metropolitan France, and in other Francophone regions, such as Belgium, Switzerland, Martinique and Quebec.
Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to take advantage of our long-established partnership with the Alliance Francaise de Manchester, which supports cultural events such as film screenings and exhibitions throughout the year.
In addition, our collaboration with the Institut de Touraine in the Loire Valley, brings opportunities for learning at its Easter and Summer French language classes, which are appropriate for ab initio students and finalists.
Learn from language experts
Language courses are mainly taught by native speakers of each language, giving you a richer learning experience.
Access outstanding resources
You'll have the opportunity to access cutting-edge resources, including one of the largest repositories of linguistics texts in the UK, and to conduct research using English manuscripts held in our prestigious Special Collections.
Get involved with interesting projects
Our students are encouraged to take an active role in funded teaching-enhancement projects, whose outputs benefit them individually and collectively.
For example, some of our students have developed an online atlas of dialect variation in the UK.
Enjoy cultural activities
Join The Francophone Society and benefit from French classes, discussion groups, cheese and wine nights, film screenings, themed socials and a yearly trip to Paris.
Teaching and learning
You will learn through a mixture of formal lectures, seminars, and tutorials, spending approximately 12 hours a week in formal study sessions.
For every hour spent at university, you will be expected to complete a further two to three hours of 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 .
Coursework and assessment
You will be assessed in various ways, including:
- written and oral examinations;
- presentations;
- coursework (which may include library research, linguistic fieldwork and data collection, or web-based research).
Many course units are assessed through a mixture of techniques.
In your final year, you can choose to write a dissertation.
Course content for year 1
English Language
- You'll study the foundations of English grammar and be introduced to the history of English and varieties of English in the UK and further afield. You may also choose additional optional units, including those in which you learn about the study of meaning or of sounds, or learn how to investigate English using corpus methods.
French
- A predominantly native French-speaking staff will teach you in French in `language' classes, as well as in most `culture' classes.
- You will study between 3 and 6 hours of French grammar and conversation every week, in order to reach near-native precision and fluency, running in parallel with optional course units on French and Francophone history, politics, literature, popular culture and/or linguistics, from the Early Modern period to the present.
You will take only the language units relevant to your level of language in each year of study.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Identity in Modern France | FREN10150 | 20 | Mandatory |
English Word and Sentence Structure | LELA10301 | 20 | Mandatory |
History and Varieties of English | LELA10342 | 20 | Mandatory |
Study Skills | LELA10601 | 0 | Mandatory |
French Cultural Studies | FREN10070 | 20 | Optional |
French Language 1 | FREN51011 | 20 | Optional |
French Language 2 | FREN51022 | 20 | Optional |
French Language 3 | FREN51030 | 20 | Optional |
Language, Mind and Brain | LELA10201 | 20 | Optional |
The Sounds of Language | LELA10322 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 2
English Language
- Tailor your degree to suit your interests. While studying two compulsory units in subjects like language change, sociolinguistics, stylistics or pragmatics, you may additionally choose from a wide range of optional units tapping into academic expertise in specialist fields such as phonology and experimental phonetics, and psycholinguistics.
French
- In the second year of your course, you build on the grounding already established. This year's core language course develops that of the previous year and prepares you for the linguistic challenges of your year abroad, including dedicated sessions on writing CVs and cover letters for job applications in French.
- The other courses available in your second year are options broadly falling under three categories: Literature, History and Popular Culture, and Linguistics and Translation. Topics covered include French literature, French linguistics, colonisation, media, and cinema. All include a research component that encourages you to develop your skills of analysis and information-gathering, working independently or in a group.
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
Art in France | FREN20271 | 20 | Optional |
Temptations of the Tragic: Love and Death in French Literature | FREN20682 | 20 | Optional |
Media, Performance, & Digital Culture in Contemporary France | FREN21212 | 20 | Optional |
Stardom in France | FREN21771 | 20 | Optional |
French Language 4 | FREN51040 | 20 | Optional |
French Language 5 | FREN51050 | 20 | Optional |
Language, Mind and Brain | LELA10201 | 20 | Optional |
The Sounds of Language | LELA10322 | 20 | Optional |
Study of Meaning | LELA10331 | 20 | Optional |
From Text to Linguistic Evidence | LELA10402 | 20 | Optional |
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Course content for year 3
Your third year of study is spent abroad under approved conditions.
Course content for year 4
English Language
- Have complete freedom of choice among a wealth of different course options spanning subjects as diverse historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, child language development, formal semantics and syntax, and forensic linguistics.
- You will also have the option of writing a dissertation, where you explore and write about a particular topic in depth.
French
- On your return to Manchester in your final year you will continue with your core language course and choose additional units from a wide range of even more specialised courses, building effectively on Year Two study.
- Language study is centred on essay writing, translation and oral work involving discussion of texts, debates and presentations.
- Also available in this year are course units that cover topics closely related to the research interests of individual members of staff. As part of your final-year work, you can write a dissertation on a theme of your choice related to one of your courses, which students find an especially rewarding experience.
Course units for year 4
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
---|---|---|---|
French Language 6 | FREN51060 | 20 | Mandatory |
Introduction to Professional Translation | ELAN31182 | 20 | Optional |
Art, Culture and Activism in France in the Age of Social Media | FREN30732 | 20 | Optional |
History and Memory in Francophone Cinema | FREN30832 | 20 | Optional |
Wild and Tamed: Nature in French Culture and Politics | FREN30841 | 20 | Optional |
Dissertation in Modern Languages and Cultures | LALC30000 | 40 | Optional |
Phonology | LELA20012 | 20 | Optional |
Analysing Grammar | LELA20021 | 20 | Optional |
Typology | LELA20032 | 20 | Optional |
Societal Multilingualism | LELA20101 | 20 | Optional |
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Facilities
As well as making use of the wider University library network, you will have access to the University Language Centre , a modern open learning facility where you can study independently and make use of a library and audio-visual resources.
There are also language laboratories and multimedia facilities.
For your English language studies, you will benefit from access to a wide range of technical facilities, online resources, and unique collections at the John Rylands Library.
Learn more on the facilities pages for Linguistics and English Language and Modern Languages and Cultures .