English Language & Linguistics

Year 1

Courses are divided into modules. You will normally take modules totalling 360 credits.

King’s College London reviews the modules offered on a regular basis to provide up-todate, innovative and relevant programmes of study. Therefore, modules offered may change. We suggest you keep an eye on this page for updates.

In year one you will study six required modules, totalling 120 credits, to build a strong foundation, particularly in English language and linguistics. In addition, there are two non-credit bearing workshops designed to help you with your learning in a university environment

You are required to take the following modules:

• Describing English Language (15 credits)
• Language and Communication (15 credits)
• Introduction to Sociolinguistics (30 credits)
• Analysing English 1 (30 credits)
• Language Development (15 credits)
• Second Language Learning (15 credits)

There are no optional modules in your first year.

Year 2

In Year 2, you are required to take the Research Methods module; a minimum of two from English Lexis, English Grammar and English Phonology & Phonetics, plus a selection of optional modules to equal 120 credits for the year. A few selected Year 3 modules may be available for you to take in Year 2 as well.

You may opt to take a foreign language module from the Modern Language Centre and/or a literature module from the English Department (subject to availability; registration at the discretion of the English Department). You may take a maximum of 30 optional credits from outside the BA English Language & Linguistics course, over the duration of your course this does not include the foreign language modules.

You are required to take the following modules:

• Research Methods for Applied Language Studies (30 credits)

A minimum of two* from the following:

• English Grammar (15 credits)
• English Lexis (15 credits)
• English Phonology and Phonetics (15 credits)

* If three of these modules are chosen, one will count as an optional module so fewer from the optional modules mabe selected.

You are required to select four 15 credit modules from a range of optional modules. Optional modules may typically include:

• Language & the Media (15 credits)
• Working with Digital Texts (15 credits)
• Language & Communication Impairment (15 credits)
• Analysing Spoken Discourse (15 credits)
• Teaching & Learning the Language System (15 credits)
• Teaching Language as Communicative Skills (15 credits)
• Language Attitudes & Ideologies (15 credits)
• Introduction to Philosophy of Language (15 credits)
• The Making of Language (15 credits)
• Film, Poetry, Style (15 credits)
• A language module from the Modern Language Centre (15 credits)
• A literature module from the English Department (15 credits)

You will also have the opportunity to study abroad in the second semester of your second year. Our partner universities currently include:

• University of Auckland
• Hong Kong University
• Ghent University
• University of Melbourne
• University of Alicante (taught in English)
• University of Klagenfurt, Austria (taught in English)

Year 3

You are required to study a selection of optional modules to equal 120 credits in total for Year 3. A few Year 2 modules may also be available for you to take during Year 3. If you have have taken a foreign language module from the Modern Language Centre in Year 2, you may continue this at a higher level in Year 3. You may also opt to take a literature module from the English Department (subject to availability; registration at the discretion of the English Department).

You are required to take at least one of the following modules:

• Dissertation in Applied Language Studies (30 credits)
• Researching Language Issues (15 credits)

You are required to choose optional modules to bring your total for the year to 120 credits. Optional modules may typically include:

• Language, Discourse & Social Media (15 credits)
• Critical Discourse Analysis & Electronic Media (15 credits)
• Experiments in Language and Cognition (15 credits)
• Literacies in Theory & Practice (15 credits)
• Language, Culture & Society (15 credits)
• Language Politics: Post-National & Global Contexts (15 credits)
• Language, People & Boundaries (15 credits)
• Analysing Stories & Identities (15 credits)
• Stylistics (15 credits)
• Linguistic Politeness (15 credits)
• Cultural Diversity in Language Teaching (15 credits)
• Language, Culture & Mind (15 credits)
• Key Debates in Philosophy of Language (15 credits)
• Health, Discourse & Communication (15 credits)
• A language module from the Modern Language Centre (15 credits)
• A literature module from the English Department (15 credits)