English Language BA (Hons)
UCAS Code: Combined honours only - See combinations tab|Duration: 3 years|Full Time|Hope Park|UCAS Campus Code: L46Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Language has a profound influence on the way we see, construct and interpret the world around us. It shapes our identities and culture and can be used to manipulate the way we think. The English Language degree examines a wide range of varieties of English in their social, cultural and historical contexts. It teaches you how to closely analyse texts ranging from everyday discourse to fictional narratives to the language of the media.
Studying English Language provides you with a sound knowledge of how language is structured, how it developed and spread globally, and how it functions both in society and in our minds, but it also equips you with a variety of practical critical and analytical skills. We pride ourselves on offering a challenging and stimulating degree with a wide range of innovative teaching and assessment methods. We place an emphasis on employability through how language is used for professional purposes and the practical and transferable skills valuable in selected careers.
You will be taught by academics who are actively engaged in research and have published in their specialist fields. You will also benefit from the University’s Special Collections in the library, home to over 75,000 printed materials and complemented by an environmentally controlled vault that houses rare books and manuscripts from as early as the ninth century, as well as our close links with Liverpool’s cultural institutions. With a strong commitment to small-group teaching and the personal development of all of our students, we strive to support you in the pursuit of academic excellence.
Hear from one of our English Language students
Course structure
Teaching on this degree is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, seminars which are smaller groups, and tutorials which typically have no more than 10 students in the first year. You also have the opportunity to have a one-to-one meeting with your tutor each week.
As part a Combined Honours degree, in your first year there are approximately 6 teaching hours each week, which reduce to approximately 5 teaching hours in your second and third years.
On top of teaching hours, you will also be expected to spend a number of hours each week studying independently, as well as studying in groups to prepare for any group assessments you may have.
Assessment and feedback
Assessments consist of essays of various types, portfolios, language analyses, learning journals, group presentations and written exams. In the final year, building on work from your first two years, you undertake an independently researched dissertation or research project which you also present at an internal Honours Conference.
You will be given written feedback on your assessments, and you will have the opportunity to discuss this with your tutor in more detail.
Year One
The first year introduces you to the major themes in the study of English Language. You will look at the way English has developed and changed over time, how it impacts on our everyday lives and how it is used in communication. To underpin your studies in these areas, you will learn how to describe the structures, sounds and meanings of English and be introduced to the writing and research skills that support your studies.
Language and Society
You will explore the complex ways in which language intersects with society. Your discussions will range from multilingual societies, and attitudes to language to the way language varies according to such things as class, region and gender.
Understanding Language
Understanding Language examines the building blocks of language including Phonetics and Phonology, Grammar and Semantics. During the series of lectures for Understanding Language, you will learn about the sounds of language and how you produce them, how sounds are organised and you will learn to transcribe English sounds using the International Phonetic Alphabet. In Grammar, you will learn how words are formed, and also learn to identify the different parts of speech and how they are parsed in sentences through learning to draw tree structure diagrams. In Semantics, you will learn about how we make meaning through various linguistic devices. Phonetics is one of the most fun courses that you can learn. During this course you will learn the IPA, which will be like learning a new language.
History and Change
This course strand will give you a great opportunity to dive back into the past and go on a journey of how English language began and how it changed over time in response to wider historical, cultural and technological changes. We will look chronologically at these changes and developments, starting before written record even began, then following the various stages of English from its oldest forms in the early Middle Ages, until arriving at the 21st century. You will learn how to identify and analyse how language features, such as words, meanings, grammar or writing systems change over time, how historical events impact on language, and how attitudes to language usage shift in response to standardisation and globalisation.
Year Two
The second year continues your journey through language by examining its use and acquisition in different social and functional contexts. The second year also in introduces a professional strand where you explore the possible ways in which our understanding of language can be applied in the workplace.
Discourse Analysis
You will apply your understanding of the structures and properties of language to explore and understand the way in which people use texts in spoken and written communication. You will examine the details of how conversation works as well as looking at the way in which advertising, newspapers and fictional texts position readers as having particular beliefs. You will also look at where fiction and fact intersect in the examination of serial killer discourse.
Language and Mind
Making use of an extensive range of transcripts of children’s talk, you will explore theories of first language acquisition. You will develop your ability to identify language patterns across different children considering how age, gender and exceptional circumstances impact on the rate and level at which language competence is achieved.
Language and Law/TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
You will make a choice between 2 options based on the intersection of language knowledge and the wider professional world. Language and Law allows you to explore the ways in which language is used in court rooms, police interviews, the construction of laws and wills. This provides an excellent foundation for further study in Forensic linguistics or Law and also provides an insight into issues in policing and crime prevention. TESOL introduces you to the techniques of teaching English to speakers of other languages. You will develop both skills and understandings that allow you to plan and deliver teaching sessions for those acquiring English. This provides an excellent foundation for going on to a formal TESOL qualification which opens doors around the world.
Researching Language
Continuing the theme of the intersection of language and professional contexts, you will explore language issues in society through a series of ‘sandbox exercises’ which take our understanding of language into a workplace scenario. For example, you may be asked to imagine how you would carry out research on the language tuition needs of newly arrived refugees. Here you will develop your teamwork abilities in preparation for a workplace environment as well as research skills in preparation for your individual research that you complete as part of your third year studies.
Year Three
In the third year you will continue your examination of language in use in social contexts and the impact that language has. You will also consider the role of technology in working with language data. Alongside these topics, you will also complete a dissertation or research project which is based on your own particular area of interest and your own research.
Language and Power
Power is more than an authoritative voice in decision making; its strongest form may well be the ability to define social reality, to impose visions of the world. Such visions are inscribed in language and enacted in interaction (Gal 1991:197). In this part of the course, you will examine the ways in which language exerts or challenges the distribution of power in society and you will discuss topics as diverse as new capitalism and gender relations.
Digital Humanities
Developments in information technology have introduced groundbreaking changes to the way humanities in general and language study in particular are done. We have new methods, new tools, and new (often very 'Big') data, and therefore we can ask different questions and find out completely new things! This course will provide you with an overview of the field of Digital Humanities, particularly how it applies to language and linguistics, and introduce the wider contexts of research beyond academia. You will have the opportunity to build your own small website and present your research project in a digital fashion, which should give you new skills and ways of thinking about knowledge and how we generate and transmit it.
Honours Seminar
The course content in the final year is built on a foundation of lecturers’ research interests and you will have the opportunity to choose between 2 honours seminar programmes where you will work at the cutting edge of research with your lecturers. Topics change from year to year but have included Language and Gender, Language in the Media, Pragmatics and Religion in the Media.
Research planning
One of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of your academic journey will be your final year Research Project or Dissertation. You will select an area of language study that has particularly interested you and develop it further through your own research. This can be a daunting exercise but you will take part in research planning sessions to support your growing research skills which run alongside discussions with your assigned research supervisor.
Research Project
A one-year project completed under the supervision of a researcher in your topic area. You present a research paper drawn from your project at an internal academic conference.
Entry requirements
| A-Levels | BBC |
|---|---|
| UCAS Tariff Points | 112 UCAS Tariff points must come from a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent). Additional points can be made up from a range of alternative qualifications |
| BTEC | DMM |
| Access to HE | 112 Tariff Points |
| IB | 28 |
| Irish Leaving Certificate | 112 Tariff Points from Higher Level qualifications only |
| Welsh Baccalaureate | This qualification can only be accepted in conjunction with other relevant qualifications |
| Subject Requirements | No specific subject requirements |
International entry requirements
| Specific Country Requirements | Select your country |
|---|---|
| IELTS | 6.0 overall (with reading and writing at 6.0) and no individual score lower than 5.5. We also accept a wide range of International Qualifications. For more information, please visit our English Language Requirements page. |
Careers
A degree in English Language opens many doors and English Language graduates gain knowledge and skills that allow them to enter a wide range of careers. Many of our graduates go on to employment in fields such as publishing, education, journalism, media, broadcasting, marketing and public relations. The subject-specific knowledge gained also provides grounding for careers in language therapy, language teaching and forensic linguistics, with further training.
Throughout your degree, you will have the opportunity to explore career options and opportunities for further study. You will acquire many highly valuable critical skills throughout the course of your English Language degree; these include a sophisticated level of analytical thinking and advanced communication, writing and organisational skills, all of which significantly enhance your CV. To many employers, these skills are highly sought after and are often more important than the actual subject of your degree. An English Language degree also provides an excellent basis for postgraduate study.
Enhancement opportunities
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award (SALA) is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2023/24 academic year are £9,250 for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,250.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
Additional costs
As well as your tuition fees, you also need to consider the cost of key books and textbooks, which in total will cost approximately £200.
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2023/24 are £12,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
This course is also available as a Combined Honours degree with the following subjects: