French and Applied Language Studies MA (Hons)

Overview

Our MA (Hons) Applied Language Studies (ALS) degree is designed to allow students to 'major' in French, German or Spanish, whilst also studying a range of complementary subjects.

This is our most flexible language degree as it allows you to specialise in the study of French while delving deeper into subjects that compliment your interests and career aspirations, or a further language, through optional courses and electives.

Year 3 is spent abroad, immersed in your chosen language. You will have the choice of studying at one of our partner institutions or teaching English as a foreign language. Year 4 allows you to refine your professional profile further through specialist optional courses.

Accreditation

• The Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies is a member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI).
• We are also official higher education partner of the Chartered Institute of Linguists – a professional body that maintains the highest standards for practising interpreters and translators: Chartered Institute of Linguists
• In addition, we are founding members of CIUTI, the world’s oldest and most prestigious international association of universities who train interpreters and translators: CIUTI

Teaching and Learning

In the early stages of study, considerable emphasis is given to assisting students in the transition into higher education through induction events in the first semester of study. These introduce students to the different teaching methods that they will encounter: mostly lectures, tutorials, workshops, lab work – as well as familiarising students with support services such as the library, computing services and the virtual learning environment. In addition, the School is committed to providing a thorough grounding in scholarship skills covering matters such as critical approaches to secondary texts and data, academic writing techniques, professional practice in Languages, and reflective learning.

Throughout the degree programme, teaching is research-informed. The acquisition of study skills, sometimes in the form of dedicated courses, is the first stage of this process, and the programme is designed so that students develop professional level expertise in these skills as they progress through their studies.

Assessment

The programme uses a range of assessment types at all stages of study. Formative assessment is used in all courses to provide students and staff with feedback on performance and the achievement of learning outcomes. This feedback is used both to inform programme development, but also to enable the adaptation of learning opportunities to meet the needs of individual students and the cohort of learners. Summative assessment for most courses will involve a combination of coursework and examinations, with greater weight typically given to unseen examination rather than coursework. The format and weighting of all assessment is determined by its appropriateness for measuring the learning outcomes of courses.