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English Language with French, Mandarin or Spanish BA (Hons)

The English language is one of the most widely spoken across the world. This programme will enrich your understanding of the form, culture and function of today’s use of the English language, alongside teaching you a second language of either French, Mandarin or Spanish. 

Overview

English Language with French, Mandarin or Spanish is a stimulating, thought-provoking course designed to make you analyse and reflect on how language in general, and English in particular, functions in the world today. You will examine the origins of English and how it could evolve in an era of global change and technological innovation. You will discover how the importance and impact of language in a variety of contexts, both as a complex system for embodying ideas, emotions and beliefs, and as a means of influencing, persuading and moving others.

You will be able to develop a set of linguistic and analytical skills which will help you become a highly effective communicator. This is a course about how language shapes your world – by learning and understanding how language works, we can help the world open up to you.

As part of this joint honours course you can develop your written and spoken communication skills in two of the world's most powerful languages. English is currently the world's most widely spoken language, and you will be able to study it in combination with French (an official language in 32 countries, and with a projected growth to 750 million people worldwide by 2050), Mandarin Chinese (currently the language with the greatest number of native speakers) or Spanish (more than 470 million speakers worldwide including in Central and South American countries and the USA).

Key features

  • You will analyse the structure and mechanics of how language functions with a wider study of the cultural and social aspects of language and communication.
  • You will take two 15 credit modules per study level in your chosen language, which will equate to three hours of language per week.  During your weekly language workshop, you will develop your language skills through the study of the country, the society, the culture and the people.
  • You’ll be taught by experienced practitioners who, thanks to their experience, can ensure that the skills you develop are relevant to professional practice and the sector.
  • Visiting lecturers have included world-renowned expert of forensic linguistics Dr John Olsson, while organised trips have seen students visit professional events such as the London Language Show.
  • A final-year placement module gives you the opportunity to put your research, reasoning and communication skills into practice in a workplace environment.
  • Our specificity is to cater for any language experience, meaning you will study at a level and pace that really suits you and your needs. Learning a new language with us will therefore not only provide you with linguistic skills, but will also enhance skills in your native language and develop your presentation, written and critical skills.
  • Enhance your employability through a recognised competence in a foreign language, distinguishing you from other graduates and significantly improving your career prospects.
  • Broaden your horizons through our international experience programme  DMU Global, which offers opportunities for you to gain experience of a different culture, practise your language skills with native speakers and extend your global outlook to understand how English functions in an international context.

Scholarships:

DMU Global High Flyers Award
Our dedicated DMU Global High Flyers Award offers ambitious students a discount of up to £1,000 towards a DMU Global opportunity (terms and conditions apply).

More courses like this:

Creative Writing, English Language, English Literature and History

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: 

English Language with Mandarin BA (Hons) Q311 
English Language with French BA (Hons) Q310
English Language with Spanish BA (Hons) Q3R2

Duration: Three years full-time, four years full-time with a placement. Six years part-time.

Fees and funding: 

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

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement

Fees and funding: 

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

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements

  • 104 points from at least 2 A'levels
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DMM
  • International Baccalaureate: 24+ Points

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.

We will normally require students have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

Interview required: No

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

 

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

 

First year

  • Words in Action: An Introduction to Grammar and Linguistics

  • Evolving Language: An Introduction to the Histories of Language

  • Topics in Linguistics

  • Foundations in English Language Teaching for International Learners

  • Approaches to Reading and Writing
  • Introduction to the Novel
  • Exploring Creative Writing
  • Modern Language 1 (Basic User of Independent User depending on entry language level)

Second year

  • Sociolinguistics

  • Grammar: Analysing linguistic structure

  • Semantics: Analysing linguistic meaning

  • Phonetics and Phonology

  • Research Methods for Linguists

  • Language in Context

  • English Language in UK Schools

  • Introducing English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

  • Varieties of English Language Teaching for International Learners

  • Text Technologies

  • Writing Place

  • Modern Language 2

Third year

  • English Language Dissertation

  • English Language in the Workplace (Placement Module)

  • Language Acquisition

  • Language, Mind and Culture

  • Powerful Language: An Introduction To Rhetoric

  • Perception, Persuasion, Power: Communication and Control

  • English Language for Specific and Professional Purposes

  • Textual Studies Using Computers

  • Professional Writing Skills

  • Modern Language 3
  • Language, Gender and Sexuality
  • Data From Texts: Corpus Linguistics

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.

The course will be divided into 75per cent English Language and 25 per cent Modern Foreign Language

Overview

This degree aims to make you a highly skilled, articulate communicator in not one, but two languages. It will develop your ability to analyse and understand how written and spoken language work, and also to operate effectively in a language and in cultures which are not your own.

From your first year, you will be combining theoretical knowledge and practical skills to help you understand how language works, and acquiring a knowledge of the history and cultures where English and your chosen modern foreign language are used. Later years offer a range of theoretical and reality-based courses, a final year work placement module and the opportunity to study material such as propaganda and interrogation, pragmatics, the mechanics of meaning, psycholinguistics and psychotherapy. This degree is centred on language and communication, and the acquisition of tools and theories that will help you, and other people, communicate more effectively.

Our staff are experts in fields as diverse as online communication and identity, language and globalisation, semantics and meaning, and propaganda and counter-terrorism. You will benefit from a range of visiting speakers throughout the course. Previous guest lecturers have included world experts in subjects such as forensic linguistics. 

Contact hours
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. Assessment is through coursework (presentations, essays and reports) and usually an exam. Your precise timetable will depend on the optional modules you choose to take, however, in your first year you will normally attend around 10 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 25 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

 

Facilities and features

Placements

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.

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

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

Through our English in the Workplace module  you can put the skills developed during your English degree into practice.  This insight into the professional world is a valuable  opportunity to  enhance and build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you  to progress  to your chosen career.

Previous students have taken up placements in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, including some international posts, across a range of companies including public relations agencies and local schools. For instance, English language students have worked as teaching assistants in schools, supported children with special educational needs through speech and language therapy, assisted with Digital Humanities research projects at DMU’s Centre for Textual Studies, worked in local publishing, at the Leicester Mercury and for the BBC.

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.

Students on the #DMUglobal trip to New York

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.

Students on this course have previously  been on  DMU Global trips to  explore ekphrastic writing and themes of oppression in Berlin, as well as visited media organisation TED’s headquarters TED HQ and key literary locations in New York.  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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Graduate careers

Our  graduates  have  strong  linguistic, reasoning and analytical skills, making them highly sought-after by many employers. As a DMU student, we develop your analysis and presentation skills to help you become an articulate, adaptable, professional communicator who can operate with ease in any professional setting and with a diverse range of people.

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