Our BA Linguistics (including foundation year) is open to Home and EU students. It will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the three-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills.
This four-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further three years of study. During your Year Zero, you study four academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module.
You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK.
After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department, you progress to complete your course with the Department of Language and Linguistics, an academic community in which the majority of research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, placing us firmly within the top 10 departments in the UK and among the top 150 departments on the planet (QS World University Rankings 2016).
Our course offers you a solid grounding in linguistics, while still allowing for a large amount of personal choice. You explore a wide range of core topics in linguistics, mastering key concepts in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, and also investigate specialist areas including:
Linguistics is an increasingly important subject, impacting on areas in psychology, philosophy, education and artificial intelligence. It has real-world applications in such diverse fields as human rights, computer-assisted language learning, and the study of institutional language in settings like doctor-patient interactions, interviewer-interviewee dialogues, and courtroom exchanges.
We have some of the best teachers across the University in our Essex Pathways Department, all of whom have strong subject backgrounds and are highly skilled in their areas.
Our staff are internationally renowned. Their books dominate the reading lists at other universities. We maintain excellent student-staff ratios, and we integrate language learning with linguistics wherever there is synergy.
In theoretical linguistics, Doug Arnold, Bob Borsley, Louisa Sadler, and Mike Jones work on the structure of sentences, focusing on English and other languages; Andrew Spencer investigates how complex words are created; and Nancy Kula and Wyn Johnson work on sound structure.
In sociolinguistics, Peter Patrick, Rebecca Clift, Enam Al Wer and Vineeta Chand all work on different aspects of how language varies, and investigating which factors affect successful conversation. Peter is also involved in language rights, and offers expert opinions in asylum cases where language is used to determine origin.
In applied linguistics, Florence Myles, Monika Schmid, Sophia Skoufaki, Karen Roehr-Brackin, Adela Gánem-Gutiérrez, and Roger Hawkins focus on the learning of second and further languages, whilst Julian Good, and Christina Gkonou focus on issues to do with the classroom teaching of English as a foreign language.
In psycholinguistics, Sonja Eisenbeiss, Claire delle Luche and Fang Liu use experimental techniques to understand how children learn language, how adults process language, and what happens when language ability is impaired by brain disorders.
By studying within our Essex Pathways Department for your foundation year, you will have access to all of the facilities that the University of Essex has to offer, as well as those provided by our department to support you:
In our Department of Language and Linguistics you also have access to:
Studying language and linguistics allows you to develop your research and IT skills by collecting and analysing linguistic data using state-of-the-art technology, and a combination of team-work and independent projects enhances your communication, problem-solving, and management skills.
Our graduates have gone on to have careers in a wide variety of fields, including teaching, journalism, branding, advertising, marketing, travel, communications, publishing, speech and occupational therapy, interpreting, translating and media.
For example, some of our department’s recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:
We also work with the University’s Employability and Careers Centre to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.
UK and EU applicants should have, or expect to have:
72 UCAS tariff points from at least two full A-levels, or equivalent.
Examples of the above tariff may include:
Essex Pathways Department accepts a wide range of qualifications from applicants. If you are unsure whether you meet the entry criteria, please get in touch for advice.
Essex Pathways Department is unable to accept applications from international students. Foundation pathways for international students are available at the University of Essex International College and are delivered and awarded by Kaplan, in partnership with the University of Essex. Successful completion will enable you to progress to the relevant degree course at the University of Essex.
We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.
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English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 5.5 overall. Specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels required. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications
If you are an international student requiring a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Our Year 0 courses are only open to UK and EU applicants. If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to your chosen degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College.
We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of compulsory and optional modules chosen from lists. Below is just one example structure from the current academic year of a combination of modules you could take. Your course structure could differ based on the modules you choose.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore all modules listed are subject to change. To view the compulsory modules and full list of optional modules currently on offer, please view the programme specification via the link below.
This module is designed to prepare students wishing to join a degree course in the Department of Language and Linguistics. It is also a suitable choice for students who simply have an interest in language and it similarly provides a sound academic background for the study of subjects which rely extensively on proficient use of the English language such as Literature, History, Sociology, and Philosophy.
Britain has experienced unprecedented changes in the last 100 years. What has brought about these changes and how have they affected the Britain of today? This course will outline political, economic, social and cultural change in the UK during the Twentieth Century and beyond and offer an insight into Britain’s place in the modern world.
View The United Kingdom from 1900 to the Present Day on our Module Directory
Want to study Hamlet? And contemporary works by Angela Carter or Kazuo Ishiguru? Interested in World War One poetry? Study a range of drama, poetry and prose fiction. Describe, analyse and reflect on key texts from Shakespeare to the present day. Become familiar with the crucial terms for assessing literature.
View Major Writers in English Literature on our Module Directory
What are your skills? And how do they fit in with your career plans? Build your employability skills through this non-credit bearing but obligatory module. Attend workshops and events, engage in activities to raise your employability and build your knowledge of the graduate job market.
View Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics on our Module Directory
This module introduces you to the production of language sounds and their distribution in words, in particular, but not exclusively, in English. You will study the basic principles of phonology and develop the knowledge required to understand and begin to analyse sound systems. You will also discuss phonological processes and investigate the context and motivation of occurrence.
Develop three important skills for your future studies in this mixture of lecture and lab sessions: Tools of the trade – brush up on your ICT skills; Presentational skills – get to grips with talking in front of an audience as well as presenting written ideas; Analytical skills – refine your analytical skills for academic and non-academic work. By the time you’ve completed this module, you will be equipped with a skill set will see you through your studies and beyond.
View Understanding Data in Linguistics on our Module Directory
Discover the role of variation in language systems, and learn the techniques and concepts needed to study the way language varies. You will look at geographical, social and historical dialects, explore language myths, and cover topics such as measuring language variation, social patterns and functions of language variation, speaker variables, and the relationship of language variation to language change. At the end of this module, you will have gained a clear understanding of the role variation plays in language systems, and will be able to look critically at the social functions and values of dialects and vernacular language usage.
Discover how to describe and analyse the structure of words, phrases, and sentences in this introductory half module. With topics including the English parts of speech, word structure and the distinction between inflection, derivation and compounding, and the identification of phrases, you will gain a solid grasp of the foundational material for the study of English linguistics, whilst developing useful analytical skills.
Gain a thorough overview of key concepts, methods, and theoretical approaches in research on language development throughout the lifespan. Investigate monolingual and bilingual child language acquisition, second language acquisition, language loss, and the attrition of the first language in second language learners, by looking at a broad range of studies, including ongoing studies from the Centre for Language Development throughout the Lifespan (LaDeLi), at the University of Essex.
How are words organised in our brain? How do we understand sentences? What is the relationship between language, music, and the brain? Find the answers to these questions by taking a critical look at findings from a broad range of studies, whilst learning about key concepts, methods, and theoretical approaches in research on language processing.
View Adult Language Development and Processing on our Module Directory
Do you dream of a career that could take you around the world? This module will introduce you to the fundamentals of English Language Teaching, showing how the theory of linguistics, pedagogy and psychology all shape classroom practice. You will look at the variety, purpose, content and contexts of ELT, focussing on the classroom, the language, and the different participants in the learning process, and will cover everything from the role of the teacher to classroom management.
View Foundations of Teaching English as a Foreign Language I on our Module Directory
Build on your knowledge acquired in LG117 in this complementary module, which will introduce you to the fundamentals of contemporary language teaching practice. Discover how classroom practice is shaped by background theory, covering aspects of linguistics, pedagogy and psychology. By the end of this module, you will be familiar with some of the main issues relating to TEFL, know more about the factors which influence second language learning and how they can inform teaching practice, and become familiar with some of the varied outlooks to teaching vocabulary, grammar, comprehension and communication skills.
View Foundations of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (II) on our Module Directory
Continuing from LG110, you will build on your existing knowledge, reinforcing the cognitive aspect of spoken language, the way in which sounds combine to make up words, and the interaction between word formation and phonology, as well as phonology in the wider context of phrases. The theory you learn throughout this module can be used to analyse other languages.
Build on analytical concepts introduced in your first year, and investigate a range of key grammatical constructions in English. With an emphasis on description, rather than a particular theoretical approach, this practically orientated module will provide you with a solid foundation for tackling more theoretical options in English linguistics. As well as gaining an understanding of key areas of English grammar and grammatical terminology, you will also equip yourself with analytical, data, and evaluation skills.
View Analysing the structure of English on our Module Directory
What is 'meaning' as it relates to words and sentences? How is the meaning of a sentence affected by the context it is produced in? These are the fundamental issues you will address in this module. You will examine the relationship between what is said and what is meant, with the first part of the course looking at basic issues in Semantics. The second part of the course will examine the distinction between a speaker's words and what a speaker means by those words – the domain of pragmatics.
Discover the steps involved in undertaking a research project in language and linguistics and develop your own final-year project. Topics include: Reviewing literature; Formulating research questions and hypotheses; Choosing a suitable research design; Data collection; Analysis techniques; Reporting findings. You will learn through a mixture of lectures, seminars and lab sessions to build your knowledge, skills, and confidence in researching, structuring, and writing a research project.
View Research methods for language and linguistics on our Module Directory
The module introduces you to the field of second language learning, from an applied linguistics perspective. You will cover key topics and questions in the field, such as how second language learning differs from first language learning, the role of the learner's age in the second language learning process, the influence of the first language on the second (and vice versa), the role of the learning context and social dimensions of second language learning, cognitive processes underpinning language learning, the stages of development of learner language, and the role of individual learner variables.
The aim of this module is to examine language variation according to social, contextual and linguistic factors. You will look at how language is actually used, how people feel about it, and how the two are often opposed – including how the structure of language interacts with both. You will consider language as a resource to convey cultural and personal identity, and what it reveals of language attitudes and social structure, and therefore of status and inequality in areas such as social class, gender, age, and ethnicity. You will explore how social identity illuminates variation in language, and cover topics such as regional and social dialects, language rights, and language variation and change.
How do we receive and recognise speech? How are words and concepts stored in our mind? Building on your knowledge of Psycholinguistics gained in earlier modules, the focus of this module is on language processing. You will study how humans learn, represent, comprehend, and produce language. Topics covered include visual and auditory recognition of words, sentence comprehension, sentence production, language acquisition, and the neural representation of language. You will also have the opportunity to gain some practical experience with the elaboration of a research poster.
Building on your existing knowledge of Psycholinguistics, this module aims to familiarise you with processes of language development and language change that may occur throughout the lifespan of an individual. You will look at some of the most common theoretical approaches to language learning and gain an insight into both monolingual and bilingual language development from infancy to puberty. You will also look into how and why some parts of language proficiency may be lost.
View Language Development throughout the Lifespan on our Module Directory
What are your skills? And how do they fit in with your career plans? Build your employability skills through this non-credit bearing but obligatory module. Attend workshops and events, engage in activities to raise your employability and build your knowledge of the graduate job market.
View Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics on our Module Directory
Explore North America’s language history. Study language contact and conflict beginning with Native American languages. Why did English dominate other colonial languages? Why is Spanish expanding today but French contracting? How has US English – including Southern, African American, Midwestern and New England dialects – spread and changed? Should English be official?
From a human rights perspective, what kinds of conflicts occur around languages? Are there linguistic human rights? What are they? How do governments, lawmakers, schools, courts and international organisations identify and treat language problems? Can language planners and policymakers address conflicts involving indigenous peoples, national minorities, ethnic or racial groups?
Why should we use computers in the language classroom? When is their use appropriate? And how do you best use them? Study computer-assisted language learning (CALL), so that you understand the arguments for and against. Create CALL tasks using available tools and become familiar with a range of CALL resources.
View Computer Assisted Language Learning on our Module Directory
How do we bring off the everyday miracle of having a conversation? This introduction to Conversation Analysis (CA) will examine the mechanics of interaction, showing us with how verbal and non-verbal actions are coordinated in time.
View Conversation and Social Interaction on our Module Directory
What fascinates you about linguistics? Work independently on an extended project of your choosing within linguistics, with supervision from our expert staff. Build your subject knowledge, as well as your research skills and project management abilities.
What are your skills? And how do they fit in with your career plans? Build your employability skills through this non-credit bearing but obligatory module. Attend workshops and events, engage in activities to raise your employability and build your knowledge of the graduate job market.
View Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics on our Module Directory
£9,250
TBC
Fees will increase for each academic year of study.
Our events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex. We run a number of Open Days throughout the year which enable you to discover what our campus has to offer. You have the chance to:
Check out our Visit Us pages to find out more information about booking onto one of our events. And if the dates aren’t suitable for you, feel free to book a campus tour here.
Applications for our full-time undergraduate courses should be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Applications are online at: www.ucas.com. Full details on this process can be obtained from the UCAS website in the how to apply section.
Our UK students and EU students, who are still at school or college, can apply through their school. Your school will be able to check and then submit your completed application to UCAS. Our other EU applicants or independent applicants in the UK can also apply online through UCAS Apply.
The UCAS code for our University of Essex is ESSEX E70. The individual campus codes for our Loughton and Southend Campuses are ‘L’ and ‘S’ respectively.
Please note that this course is not open to international applicants.
Resident in the UK? If your application is successful, we will invite you to attend one of our applicant days. These run from January to April and give you the chance to explore the campus, meet our students and really get a feel for life as an Essex student.
Some of our courses also hold interviews and if you’re invited to one, this will take place during your applicant day. Don’t panic, they’re nothing to worry about and it’s a great way for us to find out more about you and for you to find out more about the course. Some of our interviews are one-to-one with an academic, others are group activities, but we’ll send you all the information you need beforehand.
If you’re outside the UK and are planning a trip, feel free to email applicantdays@essex.ac.uk so we can help you plan a visit to the University.
Home to over 13,000 students from more than 130 countries, our Colchester Campus is the largest of our three sites, making us one of the most internationally diverse campuses on the planet - we like to think of ourselves as the world in one place.
The Campus is set within 200 acres of beautiful parkland, located two miles from the historic town centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded town. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.
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