BA Linguistics and German

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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. 

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Our BA Linguistics and German course will enable you to delve into the science of language - an everyday phenomenon which impacts our lives on an individual and a global scale. Through our course, you will explore the sounds and structure of languages across the globe, studying topics such as how languages change over time;  how children acquire their first language;  how language varies between different groups of people and across regions; how we communicate as individuals and within groups;  what languages across the world have in common and how they differ; and what happens when speakers of different languages come into contact.

With its diverse local communities, Manchester is an ideal site for carrying out research on linguistic variation and multilingualism.

We have two laboratories, where you'll have the chance to use ultrasound imaging, laryngography and eye tracking technology.

You'll also be able to learn quantitative methods and use large language corpora, skills which you'll then be able to apply to other fields throughout your life.

You can also achieve near-native proficiency in German while studying 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 German 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 German-speaking countries, a compulsory third year abroad gives our undergraduate students unforgettable and invaluable personal and professional experience.

Our course will help you to develop analytical and problem-solving skills. Often dealing with granular and complex data, your combination of humanities and scientific understanding will allow you to make connections across multiple fields of employment.

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.

Study or work abroad

Your year abroad will offer the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of life in a German-speaking country, and further develop your language skills.

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 holdings 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.

For example, some of our students have developed an online atlas of dialect variation in the UK and storyboards for the use in fieldwork.

Enjoy cultural activities

Benefit from our strong links with the Goethe Institute and the Austrian Cultural Forum, which sponsor a varied programme of cultural events.

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 .

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.

'While at Manchester, I volunteered working with young people in a mentoring scheme.

'Now I work with children of all ages up to 18.

'The skills I gained in this post really helped me to develop my counselling skills with young people and I use these almost daily.'

Shona Becker , Speech and Language Therapist, BA Linguistics and French graduate

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 Linguistics studies, we have two laboratories where you'll have the chance to use ultrasound imaging, laryngography, and eye tracking technology.

You'll also be able to use quantitative methods in the study of large language corpora.

Learn more on the facilities pages for  Linguistics and English Language  and  Modern Languages and Cultures .

A degree in linguistics and modern languages paves the way for an exceptionally broad range of careers.

You will develop analytical and problem-solving skills together with intercultural awareness and communication skills - which are highly valued by employers.

Through your studies, you'll acquire transferable expertise at the very heart of language learning, including enhanced powers of perception and interpretation, and advanced decision-making and multitasking skills.

Your in-depth understanding of language will open numerous paths with an international dimension, and you'll have developed excellent all-round communication skills that will make you a strong contender for openings in the media, PR, and similar areas.

Many of our graduates go straight into business services, marketing, advertising, management, banking, or communications.

Others opt for postgraduate study or further vocational training to become accountants, lawyers, teachers (in the UK or abroad), or enter the Civil Service.

Employers who have taken on graduates of our department's courses in the past include The Guardian, L'Oreal, Universal Music Group, and Vodafone, as well as ASOS, Ernst and Young, the NHS, and Virgin.

Find out more on the careers and employability pages for Linguistics and English Language and Modern Languages and Cultures .

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate.

At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability .