English Language BA(Hons)

Why study with us?

• You’ll study at our Falmer campus on the edge of Brighton and the South Downs, with its outstanding modern facilities and easy access to the city centre.

• In year 2 you can undertake a placement, adding relevant work experience to your CV.

• Our talented teaching team creates a dynamic and supportive environment where you will be challenged and helped to learn and grow. They will help you to think critically and creatively, develop detailed methods of analysis and interpretation and precisely communicate your ideas.

• You'll gain vital skills including personal organisation, independent research, team working, and communication and presentation.

• Options mean that you can tailor your degree to your individual interests or career ambitions and create a unique profile for yourself.
• You have the opportunity to undertake a year abroad in year three, extending your degree to four years. 

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

• The Structure and Grammar of English

  On this module you'll develop your understanding of the basic structure/grammar of English and develop your awareness of how different choices of forms of spoken and written English might affect meaning.

• Text Design: Genre and Style

  This module will provide you with the tools of analysis required to explore and discuss texts from a stylistic perspective. It will enable you to distinguish text types through an analysis of linguistic features and will allow you to explore the stylistic choices made by authors. It will also help you develop your own ability to construct effective written and spoken texts.

• Perspectives on the History of English Language

  In this module you will trace the development of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present, by looking selectively at major social and historical influences on language change.

• General Linguistics 1: Phonetics and Phonology

  In this module you will develop your understanding of phonetics and phonology. In phonetics, you will study physical properties of speech sounds and of the articulatory mechanisms used in speech production and perception. In phonology, you'll study the systematic use of sounds in language. By the end of the module you will be able to describe phonetic and phonological processes from a variety of the world’s languages, as well as undertake basic phonetic and phonological analysis in a range of languages, and transcribe a wide variety of sounds.

• Language Acquisition and Development

  This module will introduce you to the key questions in language acquisition and development, such as:

  • What is distinctive about human language?
  • Are all languages basically similar?
  • How do humans acquire language?
  • What theoretical models have been proposed to explain language acquisition?

  In order to add an empirical dimension to these discussions, you will also look in detail at how English is acquired by children and how disability and impairment can affect language development and use.

• Media Language

  This module examines the relationship between the media and language use. You will examine language in the print, broadcast and digital media and consider the debates around the potential impact of such media use on English language development.

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 our applicant portal.

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.

Modules

• Language, Identity and Power
• Researching English Language Use
• Regional Englishes
• Deconstruction: Language, Theory, Society

Options*

• Creative Writing: Process and Craft
• Studying Travel Writing
• Queer Writing
• 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
• Television Studio Production
• Photography – From Painting with Light to Zeros and Ones
• 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.

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.

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
• Culture Wars: Class, Race, Gender and the Politics of Taste
• 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
• Images of War
• Autobiography and the Screen
• Conversation Analysis
• Policy and Planning

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.

Watch students talking about their experiences of the Community Placement module.

Staff profiles

Dr Chrystie Myketiak

Dr Chrystie Myketiak (pictured) examines language and discourse in their broader social contexts. Her interests include gender/sexuality and power/inequality with specialist research in mass shooter texts, the social performance of sex talk and narrative construction in clinical incident reporting.

Sarah Varney-Burch

An experienced English language teacher, Sarah has a BA in linguistics and an MA in TEFL. She teaches on the BA and MA programmes and is currently the course leader for this degree. She is completing a Doctorate in education, conducting research in the area of English for academic purposes.

International requirements

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

Course fees

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

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/EU 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.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Falmer campus