Linguistics and Language (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish)

Would you love to become a highly proficient linguist while at the same time developing an understanding of how language works? As the science of language, linguistics studies everything to do with language, including how language is structured, how it develops in children, the ways in which it reflects society and culture, how it defines individuals and groups, and how it changes over time.

Our Certificate of Higher Education in Linguistics and Language offers you the opportunity to learn about the central ideas and concerns of contemporary linguistics at one of the world’s top research-intensive universities. You will also learn a language from beginner level (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean or Spanish), which will enable you to communicate in a variety of social and work situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

The course has six possible routes, so that you graduate with one of the following awards based on the language you choose to study:

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and French

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and German

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Italian

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Japanese

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Korean

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Spanish

This course has an evening timetable with lectures, seminars and classes taking place in the evening.

Highlights

• Applied linguistics has been taught at Birkbeck since 1965, so you will be taught by experienced specialists from a centre of teaching and research excellence.

• Ours is a community of scholars with shared interests in interdisciplinary topics and cross-cultural research. Our affiliated research centres, the Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies (CFFCS) and the Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CILAVS), provide an important platform for this exchange.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue career paths in publishing, education, policy-making or language education. Possible professions include:

• translator

• English as a Foreign Language teacher

• publishing copy editor/proofreader

• civil service fast-streamer

• editorial assistant.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

The linguistics subjects are assessed entirely by coursework, mainly in the form of essays. The language components are also assessed by written work, as well as by unseen examinations.