English Language BA (Hons) (with Foundation Year)
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UCAS Code: Q311|Duration: 4 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Are you interested in exploring language, becoming a writer, linguist or just in saving the world one word at a time?
Liverpool is truly one of the best locations you could think of, if you want to study language and its structures, and it’s not just thanks to its trademark accents and dialects. Whether it’s the bilingual signs of the first Chinatown in Europe or the Viking heritage of the Wirral, the region’s rich and complex history of languages and cultures interacting with each other creates a vibrant multilingual and multicultural landscape.
Our graduates have built a range of interesting careers in journalism, the legal profession, police, teaching and education, as well as going on to study at postgraduate level, courses such as teaching English to speakers of other languages or law conversion courses.
Our students have conducted their own final-year research in areas as diverse as the influence of autism on language acquisition in children, the language of AI-written prose, computer-mediated analyses of political speeches, the history of words for madness and many others.
Our language programme builds on the links with Liverpool’s cultural institutions and benefits from a unique blend of expertise of international scholars from different fields of linguistics. We pride ourselves on our:
- small-group teaching with a close personal connection to our students, helping them develop and pursue their own academic interests;
- focus on the development of critical, analytical and digital skills that are favoured by employers around the world;
- access to Special Collections, 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;
- commitment to helping students develop employability skills and plan for future careers;
- strong commitment to ethics and sustainability, exploring language as a tool that can change the world for better or for worse.
At Liverpool Hope University, you will become a linguist prepared to unravel the complexities of language, promote cross-cultural awareness, amplify unheard voices, and use language imaginatively to make our shared world more inclusive and environmentally sound.
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 of 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 the single honours programme, you will have approximately 12 teaching hours each week with approximately 10 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.
Foundation Year
The Foundation Year is a great opportunity if you have the ability and enthusiasm to study for a degree, but do not yet have the qualifications required to enter directly onto our degree programmes. A significant part of the Foundation Year focuses upon core skills such as academic writing at HE level, becoming an independent learner, structuring academic work, critical thinking, time management and note taking.
Successful completion of the Foundation Year will enable you to progress into the first year (Level C) of your chosen honours degree. Further details can be found here.
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 writing and research skills. You will have the opportunity to explore how language choice impacts on textual effects as well as examining the choices societies make in relation to supporting marginalised languages.
Examples of topics covered:
- Phonetics and phonology
- Morphology and syntax
- Semantics
- History of the old English Language
- Language choice and effect
- Language policy and planning
Year Two
The second year continues your journey through language by examining its use and acquisition in different social and functional contexts. You will apply your understanding of the structures and properties of language to explore and examine a wide range of ways in which humans communicate across different cultural contexts and what prompts language to change over time and space. The second year also also introduces a professional focus where you explore the possible ways in which our understanding of language can be applied in your career development plans.
Example of topics covered:
- Language pathologies
- How conversation works
- Language choice in advertising, news and literature
- How and why language changes
- How language differs in relation to culture and identify
- Language philosophies
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.
Example of topics covered:
- The relationship between language and power
- Language corpora and large language models
- How language varies across and between cultures and societies
- The role of language in humour
- How religion is represented in the media and the social impacts this has
- Englishes around the world
Dissertation/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
There may be some flexibility for mature students offering non-tariff qualifications and students meeting particular widening participation criteria.
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 2025/26 academic year are £9,535* 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 £9,535*.
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.
*subject to Council approval.
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 2025/26 are £14,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
This course is also available with Foundation Year as a Combined Honours degree with the following subjects: