Program Overview

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Our BA Language Studies (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 . This course explores the structure and use of the English language as well as how Media is used to communicate, from the perspectives of both businesses and politicians and also in every day society. Does language in the media affect people’s opinions and actions? How is language used in social and traditional media for politics, art, and business communication? What does the language used in the media tell us about English-speaking societies? During your studies you explore topics such as:

• Propaganda in film and literature
• How language is used in conversation
• How the pronunciation of speech varies
• The role of new media in shaping mass culture
• How questioning in broadcast interviews has changed over time
• How politicians use rhetorical devices to generate applause from audiences
• How the media is used for marketing purposes
• How people use language on social media to construct identities for themselves

This unique combination of studying English language and Media communication provides an interesting curriculum and the broad range of areas covered opens many doors, giving you an edge in the global job market. This course is taught within our Department of Language and Linguistics . We are ranked 11th in the UK for Linguistics in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2023). The collaborating departments on this course stand out for their excellence in their respective fields. Essex Business School is an international community of researchers, students and entrepreneurs. You learn from world-leading academics and practitioners, solving real-world business challenges. The Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies is an interdisciplinary department with expertise in English literature, drama, creative writing, journalism, film and screen media. It has an international reputation for research quality and teaching, with excellent scores for student satisfaction and graduate prospects. The Department of Government is a world leader in political sciences and ranked 9th in the UK for Politics and International Studies in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2023). The Department of Sociology was ranked 59th globally, and 10th in the UK for Sociology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2023). Why we're great.

• You explore language, politics, business, sociology and literature in one course.
• You develop your critical thinking, research, and communication skills through various activities.
• You join our diverse community of students from all corners of the globe - the world in one place.

Our expert staff

Our staff maintain excellent student-staff ratios with capped language-specific seminars. In theoretical linguistics, Kyle Jerro and Hannah Gibson work on the structure of words and sentences, focusing on English and other languages. Scott Lewis and Nancy Kula work on sound structure. In sociolinguistics, Rebecca Clift, Enam Al Wer, Ella Jeffries and Amanda Cole all work on different aspects of how language varies, and investigate which factors cause such variation. In applied linguistics, Karen Roehr-Brackin and Adela Gánem-Gutiérrez focus on the learning of second and further languages, whilst Tracey Costley, Christina Gkonou, Neophytos Mitsigkas and Nasser Jabbari focus on issues to do with the classroom teaching of English as a foreign language. In psycholinguistics, Claire Delle Luche and Laurie Lawyer use experimental techniques such as eyetracking and EEG to understand how children learn language, how adults process language, and what happens when language ability is impaired by brain disorders or other factors (e.g. hearing impairment). In all of these areas, we combine a theoretical approach with high-level, qualitative and quantitative, empirical and experimental technique; in particular, we have a strong interest in recent developments in inferential statistics.

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Specialist facilities

The study of language provides the opportunity for plenty of hands-on experience as well as theoretical work. You might be studying texts, listening to interviews, or analysing sounds, so we provide extensive facilities to allow you to fully engage with a wide variety of linguistic methods:

• Our ‘Visual World’ Experimental Lab records response times and eye movements when individuals are presented with pictures and videos
• An exciting programme of research seminars and other events
• Our Albert Sloman Library houses a strong collection of books, journals, electronic resources and major archives
• Our Languages for All programme offers you the opportunity to study an additional language alongside your course at no extra cost
• Meet other language enthusiasts through our student-run Linguistics Society

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Your future

An English Language degree opens the door to a career in a variety of areas, including education, IT, HR, and writing. The media aspect of this course will specifically prepare you for a career in the media industry. By combining these two subject areas you add an edge to your CV and ensure you gain knowledge and experience in both areas simultaneously. We also work with the University’s Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.