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English Language (Single Honours) BA (Hons)

English Language and Linguistics BA (Hons)

Develop your understanding of how language functions, including how it works on you and how it can work for you.

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Block teaching designed around you

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments - rather than lots of exams at the end of the year - and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging.

Read more about block teaching

Overview

*This course was previously called English Language.

Explore the nature and functions of language, particularly English, to gain a deeper understanding of human communication.

You will develop skills and knowledge that enhance your ability to understand how communication operates and how to use language effectively. You will be exposed to various theoretical approaches and learn to apply them to your own communication.

What you learn in this degree is rooted in real-world contexts. English, with its cultural, political, and economic influence, is a valuable tool, and mastering its use is essential for employability. Our graduates have pursued further research in areas like forensic linguistics and the language of coercive control, and have built careers in media, publishing, teaching, the Civil Service, and marketing.

Key features

  • Study the richness of human language and communication, with a focus on English as the first truly global language in its many forms.
  • Explore English as a spoken, written, and digital language, while developing your ability to analyse and produce digital communication.
  • Work with and learn from active researchers whose work in areas such as pidgin and creoles, gender and sexuality, pragmatics, and information warfare directly informs your course.
  • Experience a wide variety of teaching and assessment methods – not just ‘chalk and talk’ and ‘death by PowerPoint’. This will include writing reports, analyses, group and individual presentations, blogs, and simulation or roleplay exercises—moving beyond traditional lectures and essays.
  • Select from complementary routes in Creative Writing, Drama, Film, History, Journalism, or Media. These carefully chosen pathways enrich your understanding of your main subject and broaden your skillset, giving you more career options as a graduate.
  • Develop transferable skills in critical and creative thinking, independent and collaborative work, project planning, time management, and effective communication. Skills acquired on this course make our graduates highly employable and sought after in the workplace.
  • Enhance your employability with opportunities to study, work, and travel abroad through the Turing Program, international partner institutions, and DMU Global.
  • Benefit from block teaching, where most students study one subject at a time. A simple timetable will allow you to really engage with your learning, receive regular feedback and assessments, get to know your course mates and enjoy a better study-life balance.

 

More courses like this

 

English Language and Linguistics with Mandarin

English Language and Linguistics with TESOL

English Language and Linguistics with Education Studies

  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: Q315 

Duration: Three years full-time, four years full-time with a placement. Six years part-time.

Fees and funding: 

2025/26 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

Find out more about tuition fees and available funding.

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement

Fees and funding: 

2024/25 tuition fees for international students: £15,750

Additional costs: Here at DMU we provide excellent learning resources, including the Kimberlin Library and specialist workshops and studios. However, you should be aware that sometimes you may incur additional costs for this programme.

Contact us: For more information, call us on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70.

How to apply

Application guidance document

Submit a study-related enquiry

Entry criteria

Typical entry requirements

  • 104 points from at least 2 A levels
  • BTEC Extended Diploma DMM
  • International Baccalaureate: 24+ Points or
  • T Levels Merit

Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.

  • Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.

We will normally require students have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

  • We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above

Interview required: Non-standard applicants may be invited to attend an interview via MS Teams.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

 

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

 

First year

Block 1: Structure and Nature of Language

Block 2: Journeys and Places

Block 3: Histories of English OR you can select to study one route from the list below:

  • Creative Writing: Multimodal Writing 
  • Drama: Revolutions: Staging Plays
  • Film Studies: The Film Industry 1: Disney, Warner Bros. and the Business of the Film Studio
  • History: Global Cities
  • Journalism: Understanding Journalism
  • Media: Media, Culture, and Society

Block 4: Words in Action

Second year

Block 1: Language in Use

Block 2: Exploring Work and Society

Block 3: Screening Language OR continue with the route selected in the first year:

  • Creative Writing: Story Craft
  • Drama: Theatre Revolutions
  • Film Studies: Professional Practice 2: Screen Archives
  • History: Humans and the Natural World
  • Journalism: Beyond News: Peace Journalism and Opinion Writing
  • Media: Public Relations and Strategic Communication

Block 4: Language and Linguistic Diversity

You also have the option of studying abroad or pursuing a work placement in your second year, by taking one of the following year-long modules.

  • Student Exchange Year Abroad
  • Placement Year
  • Enterprise Placement Year

Third year

Blocks 1-4: Yearlong Dissertation

Block 2: Language, Identity, and Culture

Block 3: Communication, Control and Resistance OR continue with the route selected in the first year

  • Creative Writing: Uncreative Writing
  • Drama: Performance, Identity, and Activism A+B
  • Film Studies: Film History and Theory 3: British Cinema
  • History: The World on Display
  • Journalism: Music, Film, and Entertainment Journalism
  • Media: Gender and TV Fictions

Block 4: Hardware/Software: Language, Mind and Culture 

See detailed module information

 

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

 

Overview

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, group tutorials, and student-led seminars. Teaching sessions may include discussions, film screenings, or work in computer labs. You will be expected to complete reading and research in advance and participate in discussions with your tutor and fellow students. All students are supported by a personal tutor and have access to specialist guidance on writing and study skills. Individual tutorials with module tutors are available during weekly office hours, where you can discuss any aspect of your course or receive help with assignments.

In the first year, you will expand your knowledge of key elements in general linguistics, such as phonetics, morphology, and syntax, as well as the history and development of English as a global language. The second year broadens your understanding of language domains and the distinction between pure and applied linguistics. In the third year, you will pursue your own interests within the taught modules and your dissertation—a substantial independent project on a linguistic topic of your choice.

You will experience varied forms of assessment, including essays, presentations, podcasts, blogs, class tests, fieldwork, simulation exercises, peer evaluations, creative work, and a dissertation. This range of assessments will enable you to develop a wide range of communication and technological skills, along with the ability to think critically, independently, flexibly, and creatively.

Contact hours

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, workshops, group work and self-directed study. You will normally attend around 8-10 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures, seminars, and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 30 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.

 

Facilities and features

Placements

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available. 

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose. 

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub. 

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

 

Campus Centre

The home of  De Montfort Students' Union, (DSU) our Campus Centre offers a welcoming and lively hub for student life. Conveniently located at the heart of campus, it includes a convenience store, a Subway and a Starbucks. Here you can find the DSU-owned charitable accommodation service Sulets and DSU’s shop, SUpplies, selling art supplies, stationery and clothing, and printing and binding services. The building is also home to the DSU officer team. 

Opportunities and careers

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Careers Team
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Placements

During this course you will have the option to complete a paid placement year, an invaluable opportunity to put the skills developed during your degree into practice. This insight into the professional world will build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career.  

Our Careers Team can help to hone your professional skills with mock interviews and practice aptitude tests, and an assigned personal tutor will support you throughout your placement. 

Our students have participated in a variety of placements across several countries, from university study in Ireland to two students who spent a year studying and teaching English in South Korea. Bladimie Germain, who studied English Language and Creative Writing, visited Meisei University in Japan through a DMU Global experience. This exposure to a completely different culture inspired him to pursue an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language at DMU. He is now a lecturer at the Centre for English Communication at Reitaku University in Japan.

Students on the #DMUglobal trip to New York

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich studies, broaden cultural horizons and develop key skills valued by employers. 

Through DMU Global, we offer an exciting mix of overseas, on-campus and online international experiences, including the opportunity to study or work abroad for up to a year.

Students have been on DMU Global trips to explore ekphrastic writing and themes of oppression in Berlin, as well as visiting TED HQ and key literary locations in New York.

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Graduate careers

As a degree focused on language and communication, English Language and Linguistics develops key skills that are highly valued by employers. These include written and oral expression, critical thinking, precise analysis, strong research abilities, the presentation of various types of data, as well as project and time management.

Our graduates have pursued further study and careers in areas such as journalism, public relations, advertising, marketing, and forensic linguistics. Many have also gone on to teach English as a Foreign Language at university level or teach in UK primary and secondary schools.

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