(BA) Bachelor of Arts
Literature and Modern Languages
Withdrawn
University of Essex
University of Essex
Language and Linguistics
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
English
Languages, Cultures and Societies
BA QRF9
10/05/2023
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A-levels: ABB
If Portuguese is taken as the major language, A Level pass (or equivalent) in Italian, French, Spanish or Portuguese or first language level fluency in Italian, French, Romanian or Spanish is required.
BTEC: DDD, depending on subject studied - advice on acceptability can be provided.
IB: 32 points or three Higher Level certificates with 655
We are also happy to consider a combination of separate IB Diploma Programme Courses (formerly certificates) at both Higher and Standard Level. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard level, and the course applied for.
We can also consider combinations with BTECs or other qualifications in the Career-related programme – the acceptability of BTECs and other qualifications depends on the subject studied, advice on acceptability can be provided. Please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information.
To study Portuguese as your major language, you need a pass in Higher Level Italian, French, Spanish or Portuguese or fluency in Italian, French, Romanian or Spanish.
Access to HE Diploma:15 Level 3 credits at Distinction and 30 level 3 credits at Merit, depending on subject studied - advice on acceptability can be provided.
T-levels: Distinction, depending on subject studied - advice on acceptability can be provided.
What if I don’t achieve the grades I hoped?
If your final grades are not as high as you had hoped, the good news is you may still be able to secure a place with us on a course which includes a foundation year. Visit our undergraduate application information page for more details.
What if I have a non-traditional academic background?
Don’t worry. To gain a deeper knowledge of your course suitability, we will look at your educational and employment history, together with your personal statement and reference.
You may be considered for entry into Year 1 of your chosen course. Alternatively, some UK and EU applicants may be considered for Essex Pathways, an additional year of study (known as a foundation year/year 0) helping students gain the necessary skills and knowledge in order to succeed on their chosen course. You can find a list of Essex Pathways courses and entry requirements here
If you are a mature student, further information is here
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall. (Different requirements apply for second year entry.)
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
If you are an international student requiring a visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels required. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications.
Additional Notes
If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College here.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
1. Enable students to become proficient in one or more modern languages, developing an appropriate level of fluency and accuracy in using the chosen language(s) as a medium of understanding, expression and communication (both oral and written), with awareness of stylistic and sociolinguistic variation, and (where relevant higher-level courses are taken) developing a corresponding level of proficiency in translation, interpreting, and creative writing.
2. Understand the methodology necessary for undertaking a close analysis of a text passage or film extract.
3. Acquire the critical terminology to identify and name the literary devices at work in a text.
4. Work in a small group to prepare a presentation that demonstrates the skills involved in the close reading of an unseen text.
5. Appreciate the relationship between the written and the spoken language.
6. Develop students' understanding of aspects of the culture and society of one or more countries which use the chosen modern language(s) as a medium of communication, enabling them to draw comparisons with their own culture and observe contrasts, and (through the year abroad) to experience, engage with and integrate into another culture.
7. Provide students with a varied, flexible and distinctive curriculum focused on the study of literature and encompassing several genres and periods.
8. Enable students to learn how to exercise their own judgements in the reading of both primary and secondary literary texts.
9. Acquaint students with a range of contextual, conceptual and comparative frameworks used in the study of literature.
10. Equip students with a range of transferable cognitive skills, practical skills and key skills, and a foundation for further study, employment and lifelong learning.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: Phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, usage, and socio-stylistic variation in the chosen modern language(s), and (on relevant higher-level courses) techniques of translation, interpreting, and creative writin
A2: Aspects of the culture and society of one or more countries which use the chosen modern language(s) as a medium of communication, drawing comparisons with their own culture and observing contrasts
A3: Linguistic concepts and metalanguage used to describe and analyse the chosen modern language(s), and analytic methods and techniques used to analyse texts and other authentic modern language materials from a variety of perspectives
A4: A range of English literature from the early modern period to present-day, including knowledge of a variety of genres (poetry, fiction, and drama)
A5: The major figures in the field, and the major literary tendencies or movements covered by the degree scheme
A6: The complex relationship between literature and culture (an appreciation of the way in which literary texts are embedded in their cultural and historical milieux, and an awareness of their role in creating cultural change)
A7: The key critical debates that have informed the field (and some familiarity with the most recent critical interventions)
A8: The basic methods of critical analysis and argument in Literature
A9: Specialised study in the final year in areas of Literature which students have identified as being of particular interes
Learning methods
Modern language proficiency A1 is developed through classwork, homework, use of dedicated software and Web materials, and the year abroad.
Cultural awareness A2 is developed through class and web materials, and the year abroad (during which students experience, engage with and integrate into another culture, either by a period of study at a partner institution offering the opportunity to operate in a different academic, linguistic and cultural environment, or by working as a language assistant and thereby acquiring valuable vocational experience of working abroad).
Skills of linguistic analysis A3 are developed through study of authentic (textual, or video, or film, or aural) materials in class.
A1-A3 are reinforced by feedback from staff in class, in office hours, or by email.
A4-A9 are acquired through lectures, classes and continuously assessed coursework (with regular feedback, both oral and written, from tutors).
The lectures offer surveys of the major periods of literature covered in the scheme and address the major approaches and issues (mainly 4-7).
The classes, on the other hand, tend to focus in more detail on textual examples, and give emphasis to student discussion and/ or presentation, preparing their argumentative skills for formal assessment (7).
In Year 4, the format changes to a two-hour seminar, which may include informal lectures/presentations by the teacher and gives further scope for students to practise their oral communication skills as well as to pursue more specialised areas of interest (7,8,9).
In addition, students are expected to extend and enhance the knowledge and understanding they acquire from classes and lectures by regularly consulting archival materials related to the course.
This independent research is then consolidated in essay work.
Assessment methods
A1-A3 are assessed on Modern Languages courses by a range of methods which typically include: role-play activities; class presentations; oral exams; written coursework, e.g.
Essays, book reports, translations, project work; unseen written exams; class tests; web-based assignments involving a web search or producing web materials.
A4-A9 are assessed on Literature modules.
Formal assessment of students' knowledge and understanding takes place through coursework essays and unseen written examinations.
Students are expected to analyse texts in the light of the contextual, conceptual and comparative frameworks offered to them during the scheme, whilst also formulating their own arguments and displaying critical competence.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Abstract and synthesise information from authentic written and spoken modern language materials
B2: Interact in the chosen modern language(s), expressing their own ideas (and responding to those put forward by others) coherently and articulatel
B3: Analyse authentic modern language materials from a variety of perspectives
B4: Analyse and interpret literary texts
B5: Read complex literary texts and comment cogently on the
B6: Reason critically and argue coherently
B7: Identify critical literary positions and interrogate them
B8: Make and account for textual and cultural connection
B9: To think independently and to make connections between familiar and new ideas
Learning methods
B1-B3 are developed on Modern Languages courses by a range of methods which typically include: group discussion of topical themes and analysis of authentic (textual, or video, or film, or aural) materials in class; laboratory work involving use of dedicated software and Web materials; and staff advice, feedback and interaction with students in office hours and via email.
Skills B4-B9 are developed on Literature courses.
Intellectual and cognitive skills are initiated through lectures in the first two years, and further developed in seminars, as well as one-to-one tutorials where appropriate.
The seminar- based work of the final year, like that of the first two years, encourages critical discussion arising from the analysis and interpretation of texts with an emphasis on being able to reason cogently, argue coherently and present one's own viewpoint persuasively.
Year III students are guided towards the acquisition of a reflective understanding of the arguments they and others propose, the analyses they and others offer, and the critical positions they and others employ.
This is done through in situ feedback (formally and informally, as appropriate) in oral and written presentations, group based critical discussions and the analysis and interpretation of texts and critical positions.
Therefore, Year III further develops and hones skills 4-8, but it is also where cumulatively 9 comes into its own, and where we seek evidence of the successful deployment of skill 9 in the assessment.
Assessment methods
B1-B3 are assessed on Modern Languages courses by a range of methods which typically include: role-play activities; class presentations; oral exams; written coursework, e.g.
Essays, book reports, translations, project work; unseen written exams; class tests; web-based assignments involving a web search or producing web materials.
Skills B4-B9 are assessed on Literature modules, with seminars intended as practice sessions for these skills.
Students translate the skills acquired there collectively into individually assessed essays.
In turn, the essays prepare students for the exam.
As the summative assessment for any given course, the exam tests their ability both to demonstrate and to sustain the same skills in controlled conditions
C: Practical skills
C1: Organise and present (orally and in writing) ideas and materials in the chosen modern language(s)
C2: Gather and process information from different sources, e.g. do a bibliographic search in the library, access material from online databases and locate and download appropriate modern language materials from the Web
C3: A vocabulary and a critical terminology for the analysis of literary texts
C4: A capacity for working independently and under guidance
C5: The use of accepted conventions of presenting essays, references and bibliographies, and an ability to challenge these
C6: The utilisation of a knowledge of literary and generic conventions
C7: The use of a critical methodology in written work, employing reasoned argument to appreciate and evaluate a literary text
C8: An effective style or range of styles to convey a range of responses as readers of literary texts
C9: A range of methods to perform a bibliographical search.
Learning methods
C1 and C2 are developed on Modern Languages courses by a range of methods which typically include: group discussion of topical themes and analysis of authentic (textual, or video, or film, or aural) materials in class; laboratory work involving use of dedicated software and Web materials; and staff advice, feedback and interaction with students in office hours and via email.
C3-C9 are developed in Literature courses.
Skills 3 and 6 are introduced in lectures and developed through classes (first and second years) and through seminars (third year).
Guidance on skills 4, 5, and 7-9 is given in teaching, in supervision of essays, and in Departmental Handbooks.
The strategy ensures that, having acquired a basic command of them, students exercise these skills in the third year in more specialised modules.
Assessment methods
C1 and C2 are assessed on Modern Languages modules by a range of methods which typically include: role-play activities; class presentations; oral exams; written coursework, e.g.
Essays, book reports, translations, project work; unseen written exams; class tests; web-based assignments involving a web search or producing web materials.
C3-C9 are assessed on Literature modules Assessment is by essays and examinations.
Essay questions are designed to test skills 3-9.
Examination questions test skills 3 and 6-8.
D: Key skills
D1: Present ideas, information and arguments (both orally and in writing) effectively and clearly in the chosen modern language/s (with the level of modern language fluency depending on the level of the courses taken); achieve clear, focussed, relevant and effective written expression and oral communication in English
D2: Demonstrate IT skills which will typically include the ability to do word processing, use Powerpoint and e-mail, conduct bibliographic searches, locate and download internet materials, and utilise software packages
D4: Analyse relevant materials, identifying problems and creatively proposing solutions
D5: Collaborate with others to work creatively and flexibly as part of a team
D6: Work autonomously showing organisation, self-discipline and time management; reflect on their own work; be receptive to feedback in the form of written comments on coursework and oral communication; learn new material; adapt to new ways of learning
Learning methods
Methods employed to develop key skills on Modern Languages courses typically include: group discussion of topical themes and analysis of authentic (textual, or video, or film, or aural) materials in class; laboratory work involving use of dedicated software and Web materials; and staff advice, feedback and interaction with students in office hours and via email.
On Literature courses, the relevant key skills are implicit throughout the degree, and are supported in their development by seminar work, feedback on essays, and key skills packages.
Assessment methods
Methods employed to assess key skills on Modern Languages courses typically include: role-play activities; class presentations which may involve the use of Powerpoint; oral exams; written coursework, e.g.
Essays, book reports, translations, project work; unseen written exams; class tests; web-based assignments involving a web search or producing web materials.
For Literature components, D4 is assessed through a participation mark, and other skills through coursework, dissertation, or examination.