English and Language (French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese) with Foundation Year

If you are passionate about literature, culture, ideas and writing, our BA English and Language is a varied and flexible course that allows you to combine studying English literature with a modern language: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean or Mandarin Chinese, and its associated culture.

Why choose this course?

• The study of languages allows you to better understand other people, cultures and the worlds in which we live, while building advanced communication skills and intercultural awareness.

• You will be taught by internationally renowned academics, researchers and writers in a school which prides itself on multidisciplinary excellence.

• Our comparative culture and language-specific modules are open to everyone regardless of their language level.

What you will learn

We focus on three main approaches to studying English: storytelling, making stories and understanding texts. This allows you to learn how stories are communicated, how they are created and how texts produce meaning in the world.

You will have the opportunity to explore groundbreaking texts that include fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, biography, literary criticism, essays, poetry and plays.

The languages component gives you the chance to reach a high level of competence in a modern language of your choice. You can choose French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish starting at the level of language that suits you, whether you are a complete beginner or a native speaker.

Korean and Mandarin Chinese are offered from beginner level. If you choose either of these languages, your final degree award will be a ‘with’ degree, e.g. BA English with Korean.

How you will learn

You will be taught via lectures as well as seminars and workshops.

Language teaching takes place in small-group seminars. Teaching is also delivered in the target language.

This course is available to study full- or part-time and follows an evening timetable.

Foundation Year

If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

Highlights

• Birkbeck was ranked 2nd in the UK for its English Language and Literature research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

• Ours is a community of scholars with shared interests in interdisciplinary topics and cross-cultural research. Our affiliated research centres, the Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies and the Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies, provide an important platform for this exchange. We also convene the Eighteenth-Century Research Group.

• Based at the heart of one of the world's most exciting cities, we combine lectures, seminars and workshops with visits to theatres and other cultural and artistic institutions, and we frequently collaborate with leading arts, cultural, theatre and dance and performing arts organisations, allowing you to ground your studies in real-world practice.

Careers and employability

You will find BA English and Language graduates working in the creative industries, as well as in education, law, the civil service and business roles.

Our graduates gain valuable transferable skills in:

• high-level oral and written communication

• the ability to convey ideas and build an argument

• the ability to analyse and process complex ideas

• independent research

• the ability to work as part of a team.

Graduates can pursue careers in writing and journalism, publishing, editing or research. Possible professions include:

• editorial assistant

• journalist

• writer

• academic librarian

• public relations officer

• translator

• interpreter

• secondary school teacher

• English as a Foreign Language teacher.