English Language & Linguistics

Course detail Description

The English Language & Linguistics BA is ideal if you are interested in how English evolves and how it is used and influenced by different groups within society. The course seeks to explore the following areas:

• Media: how language is used across different forms of media, including traditional print and broadcast media as well as social and new media.
• Society: the relationships between language, society, interaction and identity.
• Education: the teaching and learning of English as a foreign and/or second language.
• Mind: the psychology of language, the mental processes behind language use in children and adults.
• Arts: how language is used creatively in literature including novels, poetry and film.
• How to describe, analyse and research language.

You will begin by following a set course in your first year to provide you with a foundation in the subject. You will then be increasingly free to choose modules that reflect your personal interests in your second and third year.

We will teach you through a combination of lectures, small group discussions and workshops, and we will expect you to undertake a significant amount of self-study. We will also give you a personal tutor to support you through your studies and one-on-one supervision during your dissertation or language research project in your final year. The majority of your teaching will be face-to-face, but it will be supplemented by our virtual learning environment. Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.

We will primarily assess you through written exams, coursework essays, presentations (individual and group), reports, projects and assignments. In your final year you are also required to carry out your own research project.

London is the perfect place for your studies - there are over 300 languages spoken in the city so if you want to look at language use in multilingual communities you really won't find anywhere better! Our Waterloo Campus is situated next to London’s South Bank Centre which includes the National Film Theatre, British Film Institute (BFI), Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery and the National Theatre. Covent Garden and the West End are only a short walk away, as is Shakespeare’s Globe. The School is based in the Waterloo Bridge Wing of the Franklin-Wilkins Building, with all the facilities offered by the university easily available. The on-site library and computing facilities are readily accessible together with the opportunity to use the University of London library at Senate House. The majority of learning for this degree takes place at the Waterloo Campus, although please note that locations are determined by where each module is taught and may vary depending on the optional modules you select.

Comparative Literature BA
English BA
French BA
German BA
Spanish & Latin American Studies with a year abroad BA

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Structure

• Year 1
• Year 2
• Year 3

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-to-date, 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 Quantitative Research Methods and Qualitative Research Methods modules; 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.

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 English Language & Linguistics BA over the duration of your course, this does not include the foreign language modules.

You are required to take the following modules:

• Quantitative Research Methods (15 credits)
• Qualitative Research Methods (15 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 maybe 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)
• 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
• 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 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 one of the following modules:

• Dissertation in Applied Language Studies (30 credits)
• Language Research Project (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 Posthumanism, Digital Data (15 credits)
• Language, Culture & Society (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)
• The Origins 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)