University of Hertfordshire

BA (Hons) English Language and Linguistics

Why choose to study a language you already speak? It’s easy to take your own language for granted, but this BA English Language and Linguistics course allows you to explore it from every angle.

You’ll be introduced to Linguistics, the scientific study of everything to do with language, from its structure and how it develops in children, to the ways it reflects society, how it’s used, and how it changes over time. You’ll be taught by research-active academics working in cutting-edge areas such as language and gender, formulaic language, corpus studies, bilingualism, bilingual processing, and codeswitching.

What links our work is our focus on the applied use of the English language, from English Language teaching to the use of forensic linguistics in solving language-related real-life problems such as plagiarism and crime investigation, to speech and language therapy, and the study of language disorders. In your first year, alongside core linguistics modules, you’ll study language and mind, where you’ll analyze child speech transcripts and consider language acquisition. You’ll also explore the diversity of use of the English language including regional variants, pidgin and creole English, language and ethnicity, and slang and street English.

Study abroad

Taking a year’s study abroad is an excellent opportunity to broaden your understanding of the world. Living in another country opens up fresh perspectives and helps create global citizens. For our English Language students, it will enable you to experience global English while gaining an appreciation of other cultures and societies. Recent English Language students have studied in Japan.

Work placement

Work placements enable you to gain valuable experience, explore career possibilities, and make useful contacts with a potential future employer. We offer a career development module in your second year that will equip you to take up an English Language teaching work placement, whether teaching phonics to primary school pupils or at a special needs school or volunteering at the Stroke Association. You may also shadow speech and language therapists or help with specialist language teaching in a sixth form college.