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Education Studies with Mandarin, French or Spanish BA (Hons)

Learn the skills and methods behind educating and teaching young people, while combining your studies with beginner or post-GCSE level French, Mandarin or Spanish.

Overview

Did you know that French is an official language in 32 countries, with a projected growth to 750 million people worldwide by 2050? Meanwhile, Mandarin Chinese is currently the language with the greatest number of speakers, and Spanish has more than 470 million speakers worldwide, including in Central and South American countries and the US.

Competence in another language is fast become an essential skill for success in the global job market. By combining your study of Education Studies with a language, you can develop your employability with a second language that helps distinguish you from other graduates. The skills acquired when learning a language are valued by employers and are transferable into many sectors.

You can start your study of languages at DMU in either French, Mandarin or Spanish at beginner, GCSE (intermediate) or advanced level and learn at a grade and pace that suits you and your needs.

Learning a new language not only helps to provide you with linguistic skills but can also enhance your skills in your native language and develop your presentation, written and critical skills. 

Throughout your degree, you will cover a series of core modules in Education Studies including perspectives on education, thinking and learning in higher education and evidence-based teaching and learning. You will combine this with two 15 credit modules per study level in your chosen language, which will equate to three hours of language per week. During these modules, you will develop your language skills through the study of the country and its society, culture and people.

Key features

  • Learn a modern foreign language while studying how people learn and perspectives on education, with the flexibility to specialise in your areas of interest through option modules. Modules you can choose from include Computer Programming as a Tool for Learning, Creativity in Education and Music in School Life.
  • Successful completion of the course provides a foundation to progress onto ITT, enabling you to become a teacher in the UK.
  • Take part in our Erasmus programme for the opportunity to study in Spain, Finland or Denmark between the second and third year of your course.
  • Engage with the local community and boost your CV through placements and volunteering opportunities at schools, art and learning centres or museums.
  • Delivered by experienced academics and developed with input from sector professionals, ensuring learning is up to date with current practices and challenges in the sector.
  • Placement opportunities offer you the chance to undertake work experience in local schools, where you can put your learning into practice and gain valuable real-world experiences.
  • Our student have gained international experience related to their studies through our DMU Global programme. Education Studies students have previously explored museum education in Amsterdam, considered inequality and segregation in New York, and supported refugees in Berlin.

 

 

Scholarships

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International student scholarships

Find out about available international scholarships or visit our fees and funding page for more information.

 

More courses like this

Education Studies BA (Hons) 

Education Studies with Psychology BA (Hons)

 

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code:
Education Studies with French: XR40
Education Studies with Mandarin: XR41
Education Studies with Spanish: XR42

Duration: Three years full-time, or six years part-time

Option to undertake a one year Erasmus study abroad programme between years two and three

Start date: September 2022

Location: De Montfort University Leicester UK


Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

 

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: XR40

Duration: Three years full-time

Start date: September 2022

Location: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding:

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Find out more about available funding for international students.

 

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

GCSEs

  • Five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above including English Language or Literature

Plus one of the following:

A levels

  • A minimum of 112 points from at least two A levels 

BTEC

  • BTEC National Diploma - Distinction/Merit/Merit
  • BTEC Extended Diploma - Distinction/Merit/Merit

 

Access to HE Diploma 

  • Pass in QAA accredited Access to HE overall 112 UCAS tariff with at least 30 Level 3 credits at Merit. We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

International Baccalaureate: 24+

Interview: No

Work experience: No

Personal statement selection criteria

  • Clear communication skills, including good grammar and spelling
  • Information relevant to the course applied for
  • Interest in the course demonstrated with explanation and evidence
  • If relevant for the course - work and life experience

English language requirements:

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.5 or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning (CELL), is available both before and during the course.

Please visit dmu.ac.uk/international for more information.

UCAS Tariff changes

Students applying for courses starting in September will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

Academic expertise

 

 

First Year

  • Thinking and Learning in Higher Education
  • Evidence-based Teaching and Learning
  • Perspectives on Education

Plus:

  • Language Module One

Second Year

Core modules:

  • Researching Education 
  • How People Learn

Plus, elective modules from: 

  • Global Comparative Education
  • Contemporary Perspectives on Childhood, Youth and Education 
  • Computer Programming as a Tool for Learning
  • Music in the Life of the Primary School 
  • Perspectives on Diversity: Rhetoric or reality
  • How People Learn 
  • Preparing for Professional Practice
  • Forest School and Outdoor learning  
  • The ‘Priorities’ and Politics of Education 
  • Applied Performance

Plus:

  • Language Module Two

Third Year

  • Education Dissertation

Plus, select elective modules from:

  • Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 
  • Education and Equality: Class, Race and Ethnicity
  • Gender and Education
  • Adult Learners and Life-long Learning
  • Radical Educations 
  • Creativity and Education
  • Reflection on Practice: Teaching and Learning 
  • Education and Wellbeing 

Plus:

  • Language Module Three

Click here for more detailed module information 


Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

A variety of teaching methods are employed, including:

  • Lectures
  • Seminars
  • Workshops
  • Placement supervision
  • Independent research
  • Self-directed study

Assessment tasks include:

  • Presentations
  • Micro-teaching sessions
  • Contributions to electronic discussion boards
  • Creating wikis and lesson planning, in addition to written assignments

There is one examination in second year. These will allow you to develop transferable skills relevant to a career working with children, including critical and reflective thinking and communicating ideas to a group.

Students will typically have up to 8 or 9 contact hours of teaching per week.

Year one: approx. 4 hours per teaching week in lectures; 3 hours in seminars; 2 hours in workshops, personal tutor contact time, extra-curricula

Year two: contact-time format depends on modules chosen. Typically: 3 hours per teaching week in lectures; 2 hours in seminars; 4 hours in workshops

Year three: contact-time format depends on modules chosen. Typically: 1 hour per week in lectures; 1 hour in seminars; 2 hours in workshops. For placement and dissertation modules, students are allocated individual supervisors who will offer tutorial support alongside lectures.

  • Lectures range from small groups to large groups of over 100 students
  • Seminars and workshops are typically around 25 students per group

Throughout the course, contact time is supplemented by placement, extra-curricular lectures, employability events, group meetings, meetings with tutors, optional field trips and other activities. As a full-time student, you will be expected to devote a considerable amount of time to independent study, placements and extra-curricular activities.

Education Studies staff have professional experience across all stages of learning and education from primary schooling through to adult learning, nationally and internationally.

Staff are members of a number of professional associations including the British Education Research Association and British Sociological Association, and are affiliated with research groups including the Centre for Critical Education Policy Studies at the Institute of Education; the Centre for Narrative Research at the University of East London, DMU Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development and DMU Institute of Research in Criminology, Community, Education and Social Justice.

The teaching team includes professors, associate professors, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers. The team have a number of notable awards and accolades including the Vice Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award and Director of the Institute for Research in Criminology, Education and Social Justice.

Staff are currently engaged in leading, internally and externally funded research projects relating to their areas of expertise, including:

  • A Germ’s Journey: co-creation of resources for addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals in education & health in low-and-middle-income countries. This participatory research project evaluates whether specifically developed resources (‘A Germ’s Journey’) aid children in India’s understanding of hand-hygiene principles and discusses how the findings can inform the future development of culturally relevant resources for developing countries.
  • Awarding of an Advance HE Good Practice Grant to re-develop our SEND module through co-production with students and practitioners who are disabled, neurodivergent and/or have special educational needs.
  • Race, education and decolonisjng the curriculum
  • Gender and education
  • SEND
  • Creativity and education
  • Sustainability, the environment and wellbeing
  • Technology and education
  • Alternative education
  • Social justice, childhood, youth and education
  • Gypsy/Traveller education
  • Music education and vocal pedagogy
  • Global comparative education
  • Educational transitions and transferable learning

Facilities and features

 
Placements
Placements
Placements
Placements
 

Health and Life Sciences facilities

Substantial investment in Health and Life Sciences has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you develop your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

The 19th century Hawthorn Building has facilities designed to replicate current practice in health and life sciences, including contemporary analytical chemistry and formulation laboratories, audiology booths and nursing and midwifery clinical skills suites.

Purpose-built clinical skills areas allow you to apply theory to practice in a safe environment. You will receive guidance and support from staff, to ensure that your practical ability in the clinical skills suites is accurate.

Library and learning zones

 

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.


 

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career. 

Previous students have taken up placements in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, including some international posts, with leading companies such as 

Our careers programme DMU Works can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement.

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Graduate Careers

This course helps develop skills that are invaluable for graduates who want to build a career working with young people and children. While this can open up opportunities for employment in primary schools, it can also include nurseries as well as other pre and after-school settings.

Many of our recent graduates have started their careers in teaching, education practice, nurseries, youth work, educational publishing and the creative industries. Graduates can also build on their knowledge with postgraduate opportunities, including an Education Practice MA, which opens up opportunities to work in a number of wider educational environments, including youth and community work, local authority employment, social and educational research and early years settings.

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DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons, helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. 

Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

DMU Global has enabled our students to teach English language to children in Thailand and explore diversity and inequalities in Florida.

While overseas DMU Global opportunities are not currently possible, DMU will continue to review government advice and if travel is permitted, we hope to offer a small number of extra-curricular opportunities in the summer of 2021.

 

 

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