English Language with a Foundation Year

English Language with a foundation year, explores how language works, and how societies communicate.

The Foundation Year gives you an exciting introduction to Higher Education, setting you up with the skills, confidence, and knowledge that you’ll need to be successful on your undergraduate degree. It’s ideal if you need a little more support after Further Education or are returning to education after a gap.

Studying this four-year degree opens up a range of exciting career opportunities by helping you develop skills, which are highly valued by employers.

Our English Language degree will put you in a great position to succeed in a variety of careers.

Based on our stunning Singleton Park campus, in parkland overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the Gower Peninsula,

English at Swansea University is ranked:

11th in the UK for Research Impact (REF2021)
Top 20 in the UK for Teaching Satisfaction (Guardian University Guide 2025)
Top 101-150 in the World (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025)
Study a degree programme which has been designed to provide concise and balanced coverage of linguistic theory.

In year 2, you have the option of taking the internationally recognised Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), a professional qualification for teachers of English as a foreign language.

You will also have the option to study modules in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

During your Foundation Year, you will learn the key skills you’ll need to make your degree a success while developing knowledge of your subject area and how it relates to the humanities and social sciences.

You will start the degree in your second year covering topics such as how language is used in everyday communication, how language has developed over time, the effect of dialect and accent on identity, and the challenge of learning or teaching new languages.

Throughout your degree you will have a personal tutor who will provide you with pastoral and academic support.

During the second year, to enhance your student experience and career prospects, you have the option to study a semester abroad in USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong or Singapore.

There are also lots of opportunities on your doorstep too; The Swansea University Work Placement Programmes offer three work place programmes: Week of Work (WOW); Swansea paid Internship Programme (SPIN) and Santander Universities Funded Placements.

The Swansea Employability Academy (SEA) provides a network for linking students with employers, ranging from employer talks and workshops through to student led networking events.

In Year 0, you will typically study areas including: Academic Writing and Skills Development, Introduction to Being Human, Introduction to Research, Critical Reflection and Problem Solving, Research Essay, Social Science

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: The sound system of English, Mythbusters: beliefs and truths about language, Grammar and Meaning.

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Language Teaching in Context, Sociolinguistics, Child Language and Literacy, Psycholinguistics of Bilingualism, World Englishes

In Year 3, you will typically study areas including: Second Language Acquisition, Issues in current ELT, Media Linguistics, Applied Linguistics Dissertation, Forensic Linguistics.

We offer a variety of assessment methods within our programmes. In addition to traditional examinations and essays, examples of alternative assessment include:
• Presentations
• Group Work
• Oral Examinations
Throughout your undergraduate English Language degree, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing. For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/english-language-tesol-applied-linguistics/ba-english-language/or get in touch with us at study@swansea.ac.uk