English Language BA(Hons)

Year 1

In the first year, you will be introduced to the basic concepts and skills that will enable you to describe language and analyse texts. You will reflect critically on key debates around the English language (for example, prescriptivism vs. descriptivism) and develop metalinguistic skills in grammatical analysis, text analysis, phonology and stylistics.

You will also gain an understanding of the development of the English language from Anglo Saxon times to the present day. In addition, you will look at how children acquire their first language, how language is used in the media and how the sound system of English works.

Modules

• Language in the Social World

  This module introduces issues around language and society. You will develop an understanding of language as a social phenomenon, including the interplay of individual linguistic choices and social structures. You'll also expand your abilities to synthesise materials, think critically and communicate effectively about the relationship of language and society.

• Approaches to Language and Communication

  This module introduces human and animal communication systems and the frameworks which describe and explain them. You'll examine the relationship between language and communication and explore notions from key-thinkers to discuss philosophical, sociological and cognitive views of linguistic communication.

• Understanding Language

  This module introduces the study of language (linguistics) and its main branches of phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. It will enable you to carry out analysis of real language data using different linguistic frameworks. You'll be encouraged to be more critical of your own language ability and to develop and hone communication skills whilst also developing your written work.

• Introduction to Intercultural Communication

  This module explores intercultural communication in a technologically connected world. Through examining communication in national and individual-level communities and groups, you'll investigate how different narratives and positions emerge. You will explore the challenges and opportunities of intercultural communication in a complex, interconnected and inequitable world shaped by technology and other global forces.

• Investigating Language

  This module provides a solid foundation in research methodologies and methods. It will develop your abilities in reading, processing and critically assessing analytical research. It will also build your skills in investigating language and linguistic patterns.

• Understanding Culture

  This module introduces the relationship of language and culture through the discipline of linguistic anthropology. You'll build skills in key areas such as linguistic determinism and relativism, the ethnography of communication and communicative competence. Through this intellectual framing (a concept introduced in the module), you will be able to make connections about your own cultural experience of language use.

Our courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis in order to make sure that what you learn with us is relevant and that your course enables you to develop appropriate skills. When you apply to study with us, we will inform you of any new developments in your chosen programme through Student View.

Year 2

In year 2, you will develop your understanding of the diversity of the English language and its uses. You will explore different regional varieties of English in the British Isles and the cultural and social influences that have determined their development.

A further aspect of English language in year 2 is the investigation of the impact of language on social identity and its role in power relations. You will also develop an understanding of the tools involved in researching language use, and you will study the characteristic differences between spoken and written forms of communication.

You can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects. 

Core modules

• Language Minoritisation and Revitalisation
• Researching English Language Use
• Mind and Language
• Deconstruction: Language, Theory, Society

Options*

• Creative Writing: Process and Craft
• Studying Travel Writing
• Queer Writing
• Literature in Practice
• American Literature 1850-1960
• Linguistics and Grammar: Concepts and Analyses
• Mind and Language
• Multilingualism
• Sign Language Linguistics
• Image and Text: The Language of Comics and Graphic Novels
• Writing for Stage, Radio and Screen
• Media in Practice
• Introduction to Journalism
• Cinema and Society  
• Documentary Filmmaking: Theory and Practice
• Power and Persuasion
• Narratives, Conflict and Power

You can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects. 

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Placements 

In year 2 you can choose a placement module which will allow you to gain professional experience in industries such as publishing, broadcasting, social media marketing, PR and the charity sector. 

Recent placement hosts include:

• Action Medical Research
• Action Tutoring
• Airstream Photo Booth
• Brighton Dome and Festival
• British Forces Broadcasting Services
• Epoque Press
• Factory Films
• The Old Market Theatre
• Little Green Pig
• Men’s Health Magazine
• Prsnt.

In year 3 you can choose the Community Placement module aimed at further building your professional experience. This is 30 to 50 hours of voluntary work with a not-for-profit or community organisation. The placement is assessed and contributes to your degree.

Mia Kurian, graduate

“My placement was with Metropolitan City Church Brighton as their Social Media Manager. I learnt a lot about myself and my interests and the type of career I may want to pursue. I got to try my hand at website design, something I had never done before, and it was a great opportunity for me to expand my creativity. Professionally, I gained a lot of experience that has been extremely useful in my career today. I learnt about creating brand cohesion and creating a brand image from scratch, something I’ve never done before.

"I absolutely loved it. It was an incredible learning experience as well as insightful. It allowed me to learn a lot about myself and the future I want. My placement manager was lovely and supportive and allowed me the freedom to explore my creativity.”

Final year

In the final year, you will consolidate your skills and knowledge through applying current analytic frameworks more critically to texts, understanding the theoretical viewpoints informing different approaches and evaluating the different kinds of insights generated. You will also explore the global spread of English and its development as a world language.

Years 2 and 3 will allow you to tailor your degree to your own interests or career ambitions and create a unique profile for yourself. The options are in the following areas: linguistics, English literature, media/film/photography, language teaching, creative writing and journalism.

Core modules

• World Englishes
• Approaches to Analysing Discourse
• Dissertation

Options*

• Community Placement: Theory in Practice
• Russian Literature and Culture: The Golden Age and Beyond
• Apocalypse, Utopia, Dystopia
• Literature and Philosophy
• Women’s Writing and Feminist Theory
• Adaptations
• Creative Writing Project
• Gothic: Texts and Contexts
• Victorian Sexualities
• Writing the Contemporary
• European Literatures and Film
• Approaches to the Study of Meaning
• Language, Culture and Ideology
• Language of Gender and Sexuality
• English Language Teaching
• Public Journalism
• Popular Culture – Europe and Beyond
• From Script to Screen
• Conversation Analysis
• Language, Law and the State: The Politics of Force
• Analysing Big Data: Quantitative Methods in Language Research

You can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects.

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Meet the team

Dr Federica Formato, course leader

Federica is interested in language in connection with gender and sexuality in Italian. She is published on violence against women in sentencing remarks in England and Wales (with Dr Amanda Potts) and on constructions of hegemonic and subordinate masculinities in YouTube comments (with Dr Mandie Iveson). Her first monograph Gender, Discourse and Ideology in Italian was published in 2019 (Palgrave) and her second will have the title Feminism, corpus-assisted research and language inclusivity. Read Federica's full profile.

Other staff who teach on the course include: Dr Jelena Timotijevic, Dr Tim Wharton, Simon Wilkinson, Dr Vy Rajapillai, Dr Barbara Chamberlin, Dr Chrystie Myketiak (pictured), Paul Slater, Dr Joseph Ronan and Dr Dora Carpenter-Latiri.

Dr Chrystie Myketiak

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2023–24.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

Maps

Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton