BSc German and English Language

Key facts

4 years full-time with integrated year abroad

UCAS Code: QR32

Typical Offers
A-levels: ABB from 3 A-levels, including German Grade B. General Studies accepted. Aston DOES NOT accept the double AS qualification in lieu of 2 AS-levels.

IB: 33-34 points in the IB diploma including TOK/Bonus points. Standard level Maths and English 5 required and 6 in Higher Level German.

Access: Pass Access to HE Diploma with Merit in each module. Humanities or Social Sciences Access course preferred, but other courses considered on an individual basis. A-level grade B in German or equivalent.

BTEC: National Extended Diploma DDD – DDM. A-level grade B in German or equivalent. Mix of Diploma/ Subsidiary Diploma/A-levels acceptable.

We accept a wide range of UK, EU and International qualifications: please contact us for further advice.

Specific subject requirements:
GCSE English Language and Maths Grade C.

Applicants receiving offers are invited to an open day.

Tuition fees: £9,000 (£1,000 during placement year) for UK/EU students. (2012). More on fees

Scholarships available for 2012

Key benefits

1st for graduate level jobs after 6 months for European Languages (unistats.com 2011)
90% of Modern Language students at Aston are satisfied with the quality of their course (Guardian University Guide 2012)
Contemporary and applied focus, with a high level of teaching delivered in German
Check out our German Blog to find out more about German at Aston
English Language scored 4.5 out of 5 for students' personal development (National Student Survey, 2011)
Aston is one of only a few UK universities to offer English Language programmes with a fully-integrated year abroad
Enlish Language modules that draw directly on the work done in our research centre

Programme Overview

The German strand of the course is designed to develop your linguistic skills to near-native proficiency and fluency. We stress the development of your practical command of German, emphasising language as a means of communication and mutual understanding. Our programme also aims to develop your understanding of German culture and society - its traditions, its complexities, its underlying ideas - and to develop your critical, analytical and collaborative skills.

The English Language strand of the course aims to provide you with the theoretical knowledge and understanding of English language, how it works in society and its role in the world today. We emphasise the practical application of English Language studies to the real world through professionally relevant modules such as Teaching and Learning English and Language in a Legal Context.

Sample Module Options

The following module descriptions are indications only - the modules on offer and the content of the modules is subject to change.

Click on the module titles to find out more.

Year 1

This is the core language skills module for first-year students which provides a solid linguistic basis for the coming years of study. The module consists of three parts: a) grammar lecture, revising the major topics of German grammar; b) communication skills seminars, practising written and oral language skills with group work, whole-class work and individual study; and c) an e-learning component comprising listening skills, vocabulary and general knowledge of the German-speaking areas.

Assessment method: grammar tests, reader’s diary, written exam, oral exam and portfolio of self-study assignments.

The module provides students with knowledge of nineteenth- and twentieth-century history and area studies as an essential intellectual basis for the modules in Levels Two and Three. Landeskunde lectures give students a basic knowledge of the German speaking countries, including geography, political systems, education systems, and aspects of the economy. In the second Teaching Period students are introduced to major events in German history from the late nineteenth century to the end of National Socialism, and their lasting effects on modern Germany are examined.

Assessment method: 1-hour written examination at the end of Teaching Period I (25%). 10-minute oral presentation (25%), 1500-word essay (50%), research skills portfolio (pass/fail) in Teaching Period II.

In this module, students are introduced to film studies as an academic discipline. In seminars they learn about the grammar of film (i.e. the use of picture, sound, camera movements) and cover basic principles of interaction between audiences and the film industry. Focussing on a varying common theme (e.g. “coming of age”, “outsiders and social misfits”), students watch and analyse a range of contemporary German films and comment on them in class-discussions as well as in writing.

Assessment method: 2-hour written, video based examination at the end of the Teaching Period (50%), 5 written tasks to be completed during teaching time, in weeks without seminars (10% each).

The topical content areas are determined by respective current events reported in the German news media. These serve as a platform to discuss wider issues in German politics, society, economy and culture. Examples can include elections, public debates, or major events. Students will also be made familiar with the nature and political affiliations of different newspapers and other media.

Assessment method: speech; group discussion; two letters to the editor.

This seminar-based module introduces the German language today and its historical context. It covers topics including the German-speaking areas; spoken and written language; the development of a German standard language; language versus dialect: the examples of Low German and Frisian; language policy and language planning; German minority languages and linguistic minorities in Germany; language contact: the example of Yiddish and English borrowings into German.

Assessment method: oral poster presentation and a two-hour exam in German.

In this module, students look at how words are used in written and spoken texts to create meanings, and use dictionaries, corpus analysis and other practical techniques to understand the processes involved, and to analyse words in different ways.

Assessment method: Two pieces of coursework (class tests & essay), 20% and 80%.

This module introduces you to the basics of one model of grammar: Systemic Functional Grammar, including key concepts and terms. It also involves practical workshop activities where you apply in practice what you have learnt in theory.

Assessment method: Two pieces of coursework (class tests & essay), 30%/70%

This module looks at language as it is employed for a variety of purposes in both private and public contexts. It also extends methods of communication to cover non-verbal means whereby messages are conveyed, as substitutes for and supplements to the use of words. Topic areas to be covered will include paralinguistics in interaction and in texts (links between image, gesture and word), language and technology, media language and the language of interpersonal communication.

Assessment method: One piece of coursework (project) – 100%

The module provides a brief introduction to the historical development of English, as a basis for the investigation of the concepts of language varieties and boundaries. This leads to an exploration of the issues and controversies surrounding the present-day role of English as a world language. An emphasis on language description reinforces the terminology and concepts taught in the companion modules of Level 1, while the teaching also focuses on the socio-historical forces which have shaped the development of English, reflecting the perspective of the programme overall.

Assessment method: One piece of coursework (essay) – 100%

This module considers language as an aspect of social practice, and looks at the links between linguistic and social issues. Using a ‘problem-solving’ perspective, we look at domains in which language is itself a matter of controversy and explore the concepts needed for informed analysis of the issues.

Assessment method: One piece of coursework (essay) 100%

This module introduces the concepts of register and genre: the ways in which spoken and written texts are shaped by their purpose, the relationship between reader and writer or speaker and hearer, and formal aspects of the communication (pictures, writing, speech, song etc).

Assessment method: Coursework 20%; Examination 80%

This module introduces language description at the levels of phonetics and phonology. It provides the descriptive and analytical tools needed to discuss phonological processes and aspects of speech production, involved in variation across accents of English.

Assessment method: Essay 30%; Transcription 20%; Assignment 50%.

Year 2

In this module, students are introduced to translation from German into English. It consists of two parts: a) textual skills with a focus on differences in grammar and word building in German and English; b) translation practice from German into English focusing on culture-specifics and text conventions.

Assessment method: grammar and vocabulary exam and translation exam.

This module introduces the major historical and current aspects of Germany’s capital throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Students are familiarised with the methods and approaches of cultural studies and gain further insights into themes discussed in other modules (German History and Society; Postwar Germany; German Politics and Society). The seminars cover Berlin as a political and cultural centre during Imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic, the National Socialist period, and post-war divided Germany, using both written sources and film, music and the visual arts.

Assessment method: oral presentation and essay.

This module consolidates and develops the first-year work on all aspects of German language, using a variety of formats including class discussion, small-group or individual projects, and guided self-study. The module has two components: a) academic writing and communication skills in German; b) a set of independent learning tasks delivered by e-learning.

Assessment method: written examination (commentary in German), oral presentation, oral exam, essay and portfolio of self-study materials.

This module follows on from the Level One history course and provides students with solid knowledge and understanding of Germany from 1945 to the present day. The focus is on major events and themes of post-war history along with contemporary German politics, society, economy and culture. Topic areas include nationhood, division and reunification, the German political system and Germany’s place in Europe and the world.

Assessment method: Group presentation and written exam.

The module concentrates on specific topic areas in German society, culture, politics, and economy since 1990 (‘Berlin Republic’). These include, for example, reunification problems, elections, and multiculturalism. The topic areas chosen in a given year are related to current affairs. Students are given the opportunity to apply the tools and knowledge-base acquired in Teaching Period 1 (Postwar Germany) to critically engage with, and keep informed about, German current affairs.

Assessment method: essay, group-discussion.

This module defines and introduces the students to significant developments in contemporary German cinema. The overarching theme is regularly adapted to new trends and has recently focused on the issue of migration in German cinema. Students are introduced to central aspects in cinema studies as well as key theoretical concepts in migration studies such as discussions of nationhood and Heimat, postcolonialism and basic principles of spatial theory. Seminars are complemented by independent watching of selected films.

Assessment method: 2-hour written, video based examination at the end of the Teaching Period (50%), 5 written tasks to be completed during teaching time, in weeks without seminars (10% each).

This seminar opens up perspectives on the second German-speaking country, with special reference to the similarities and dissimilarities between Austria and Germany. It thus develops the knowledge acquired in German History and Society (Level One) and Postwar Germany (Level Two), and increases students’ awareness of the role of regional differences. Topics covered include Austrian political history, Austrian language and culture, and contemporary Austrian society.

Assessment method: 2000-word essay in German, class presentation with handout.

This module has a dual aim: to introduce students to the techniques and applications of discourse analysis as a way of studying language in use, and to improve their understanding of authentic spoken German. In seminar work, the methods of linguistic fieldwork – collecting and transcribing spoken language data – are introduced and students are helped to find ways of analysing and evaluating the results. Each student creates and carries out a fieldwork project consisting of a transcription of authentic data and its analysis.

Assessment method: 2000-word project in German.

This module explores the main organisational features of written discourse and a range of analytical approaches, including revisiting concepts from Grammar and Meaning to show how we build unified texts from individual clauses and sentences.

This module introduces you to different variations of English, including: social and regional variation; Englishes around the world and differences between spoken and written modes.

The context for the module will be set by considering how language and work are inter-related on a macro scale. It will look at the impact of global trends on both work and language practices, as increasing numbers of business enterprises trade across national borders, necessitating international – and ‘intercultural’ – communication. The remainder of the module will take a more micro perspective, reviewing the ways in which speakers, writers and readers make use of particular kinds of discourse in work-related communication.

This module aims to introduce you to the ways in which media texts both reflect and construct our social practice and values. It addresses a range of issues, such as what makes something newsworthy, whether there is objectivity in news reporting, whether different social groups are equally represented in mass media texts, and what part visual images and layout play in our media messages; and it introduces you to a variety of methods for describing and critically evaluating media texts in relation to these issues.

This is an introductory course to TESOL. By the end of the module, the students will have become aware of the basic requirements of a teacher of English to speakers of other languages. They will have had the chance to develop some of the skills necessary for the TESOL teacher. The emphasis will be on developing the skills, organisational and pedagogical, which will allow them to teach or tutor their specialism. The areas covered will be course and syllabus design, materials evaluation and preparation, strategies for teaching lexis and grammar, lesson planning, delivery and evaluation.

Year 3 - Year Abroad

Final Year

In this module, students work on aspects of written and spoken German at an advanced level. The module has four components: a) translation from German into English; b) debates; c) genre-specific writing with a focus on accuracy and style; abstracting from German into English with a focus on accurate reading and the skills of linguistic mediation; d) independent learning using a structured set of advanced grammar exercises to improve accuracy in German.

Assessment method: translation into English, group debate, written report in German, three-hour examination and a portfolio of grammar work.

This module runs through the whole of the final year and draws together the skills students have acquired throughout the programme. It involves choosing a research topic from the areas of German history, politics, economics, language or culture; researching this; and writing it up in an extended essay in academic German. The written project is complemented by an oral defence of the project in German. Students attend weekly seminars on research skills and individual supervision tutorials.

Assessment method: research project (5,000-6,000 words) and viva.

This module develops students’ ability to analyse film in a socio-historical context. It aims to deepen understanding and appreciation of film as an art form and as a medium to express and reflect discourses on German history as well as current social developments in Germany. Currently, the module focuses on the cinematic portrayal of German division and unification. It touches on questions of memory politics and introduces students to relevant theoretical concepts in that area.

Assessment method: 2-hour written, video based examination at the end of the Teaching Period (50%), 5 written tasks to be completed during teaching time, in weeks without seminars (10% each).

This module builds on the level 2 Post war Germany module as well as first-hand experience acquired during the Year Abroad. Students enhance their familiarity with the popular culture of Germany and Austria from a variety of perspectives: art, literature, music, media, society, politics, and philosophy.

Assessment method: essay.

This module follows on the themes introduced in ‘German Popular Culture’. Topic areas include the culture of the German Democratic Republic, film, the relationship of art and morality, tensions between art and politics, and the history of literature and poetry in the Federal Republic. Students will gain a deep understanding of the role of culture as a mediator between society and politics.

Assessment method: essay.

The module addresses the main areas of German-Jewish history, including the emergence of a distinct Jewish-German culture since the late Middle Ages, the Jewish struggle for civil rights in the German-speaking countries during the nineteenth century and developments in the twentieth century. By focusing on biographies of Jewish women and men who helped to shape German and Austrian societies the module will also analyse the way the German-Jewish community saw and sees itself.

Assessment method: 3000-word essay in German and an oral presentation.

In this module, students learn the key concepts and terminology of corpus linguistics and how to use corpus tools to conduct research into language in use, and look at some areas of applied linguistics in which corpora are used, such as lexicography, pedagogy, and translation.

This module considers frameworks, methods of analysis and applications associated with critical discourse analysis. It also considers the relationship between critical discourse analysis and other forms of discourse analysis, thereby developing a critical awareness of discourse analysis in general.

This module aims to introduce you to the ways in which the social construction of gender both reflects and inflects our discursive practices. It addresses a range of issues, beginning with an overview of feminist language study and alternative views of the relationship between gender, language and society. The second part of the module then moves on to consider questions of how gender issues are reflected in a range of social and institutional contexts, including for example, education, the media and the workplace. You will be introduced, throughout the module, to a variety of methods for describing and critically evaluating gendered linguistic practices in relation to these issues and contexts.

This module will provide an introduction to key approaches to the analysis of authentic spoken language in interaction.It will give you an overview of how conversations are ‘constructed’ and the relationship between what is said and what is meant, as well as some of the ways in which these two crucial aspects vary according to context and culture. It will therefore equip you to describe and evaluate a range of types of spoken text in English, and will enable you to anticipate and resolve issues of data collection and transcription, including ethical considerations.

This module will focus on one specialist area of Applied Linguistics, the application of the tools and techniques of language description to spoken and written texts which have a significance in court cases. The module will look at topics such as: techniques for authorship attribution; questions of copyright and the detection of plagiarism; disputed police records of interview and confession; suspect suicide notes; and anonymous letters.

This course aims to enable students to research in significant depth a topic in English Language, and address, elaborate and apply key concepts used in the linguistic analysis of discourse, in professional, social, educational and/or cultural institutions and contexts. The dissertation allows students to undertake supervised research on a topic that is new to them. It is the longest and most sustained piece of research undertaken in the English Language part of their degree programme.

Year Abroad

Campus accommodation guaranteed for first year and final year students returning from year abroad.

The Third Year of your course is spent abroad in German speaking country - increasing your fluency, enhancing your cultural awareness and adding value to your degree. The year abroad is an integral and assessed part of language studies at Aston University, fully supported by us, and of direct relevance to your degree.

A distinctive feature of our year abroad is the flexibility that we offer. You will be able to choose between undertaking a paid work-experience placement with a company, working as a teaching assistant in a school or studying at one of our partner universities - you might even choose to combine two of these options.

We are extremely proud of the high level of preparation, orientation and support that we provide before and during your year abroad. We have a full-time Placements Team who will give you plenty of individual help and advice, and even come and visit you during your time away.

Find out more about the Year Abroad.

Learning, teaching and assessment

You will take part in interactive seminars, presentations and group work as well as
attending lectures and tutorials. There are also opportunities for individual research and guided study. All German modules will be taught in German, which means that our students are at a real advantage when it comes to gaining maximum benefit and experience from the year abroad.

You will be allocated a personal tutor who you can provide help and advice.

Assessment is through a combination of written and oral exams, course work, essays, presentations and an extended dissertation during your final year.

Career Prospects

Aston is ranked 51st in the world for graduate employability as judged by employers. (2012 QS Guide to Global Universities)

Our graduates are in demand from a wide range of employers who value their understanding of different cultures and societies, their communication skills and motivation for team work. Recent destinations for our Languages and Social Sciences graduates include:

Graduate Trainee Managers for British Airways, Aldi Stores, John Lewis Partnership and Selfridges
Journalist for Tatler Magazine
European Union/European Parliament Officers/Assistants
Marketing Assistant at Beiersdorf (makers of NIVEA amongst other products)
Bilingual Marketing Assistant at 3Com (an international Internet and Telecomms company)
Trainee Accountant at PricewaterhouseCoopers
Case Worker - Crown Prosecution Service
PhD Forensic Linguistics - Aston University
MSc Human Resource Managment, King's College London
Tenancy Support Worker, Midland Heart

Facilities & equipment

The School of Languages and Social Sciences has a dedicated Learning Support Team and excellent facilities including:

70 computers in 4 rooms
Streamed satellite television (French, German, Spanish)
TRADOS and memoQ Translation Software
Free DVD library (French, Spanish, German, English)
Audio and video-editing tools

Teaching Staff

Read what the English Language and German staff have to say about their courses:

Dr Stefan Manz - Senior Lecturer and Head of German

'It is pure bliss to work with the open-minded and motivated students we get at Aston. Every year I am looking forward to the new cohort of students joining us. They are all different, and it is our foremost aim as lecturers to develop their personal abilities and strengths to make them fit for the job market. We also see them maturing as individuals, gaining in confidence and eloquence. At the end of their course, graduation day makes us proud of their achievements.''

Dr Krzysztof Kredens - Director of Undergraduate Programmes in English

''Our lecturers are renowned internationally for their work in Forensic Linguistics, Language and Gender, Language and Diversity and TESOL Studies. Staff at the Centre for Forensic Linguistics work routinely with law enforcement as expert witnesses in cases where speech and/or text constitutes part of the evidence. Most of our lecturers are research active. We are passionate about the teaching we provide and use our own research findings to inform it.''

Contact us

School of Languages and Social Sciences Undergraduate Admissions
Tel: 0121 204 3700
Email: lss_ugadmissions@aston.ac.uk

Student Profile

Abbey Wadey

BSc English Language

During my placement year I worked as an English Teaching Assistant at an international school in Malaysia and the placements office regularly contacted me to check on my progress.

Related courses

BSc English Language

BSc German

BSc Translation Studies - German

Fees & funding

Find out about tuition fees & student loans, and the bursaries and scholariships available.

Accommodation

All our accommodation is based on campus and over 80% of our rooms are ensuite. We offer a guarenteed place scheme for first years.

Student life

Our city centre location gives you the best of both worlds: a welcoming, lively campus community, in the heart of a vibrant city.

Student support - we're with you all the way

We offer a range of support services to ensure your time here is a success in academic, social and personal terms.

Outstanding graduate career prospects

Aston is ranked 5th in the UK, and the best outside London, for the percentage of graduates entering employment who achieve graduate level jobs (Sunday Times University Guide 2012)

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Graduate Profile

Anna Wallace

2007 Graduate - BSc German and Politics

I am currently the Public Affairs Manager for the HR professional body, the CIPD. I couldn’t work in public affairs without the knowledge of the UK parliamentary system I learnt at Aston. The communication skills I developed in my language classes have also been invaluable.

BSc German and English Language

Key facts

Key benefits

Dr Stefan Manz - Senior Lecturer and Head of German

Dr Krzysztof Kredens - Director of Undergraduate Programmes in English

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