Applied Languages (Chinese, French, German, Spanish, English as a Foreign Language)
University of Portsmouth
UCAS Code: Q140 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
104-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, to include 32 points from an A level in a Modern Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language).
106-112 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma (Language based).
Cambridge Pre-U score of 44-46, to include a Principal Subject in a Modern Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language) at M3.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
25 points from the IB Diploma, to include 3 Higher Level subjects, with 5 points from a Higher Level in a Modern Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language).
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H4,H4-H3,H3,H3,H3,H4
To include a Higher Level Modern Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language) at H3.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with a Modern Foreign Language qualification.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with a Modern Foreign Language qualification.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications. Must be with a Modern Foreign Language qualification.
104-112 Tariff points to include a minimum of 2 Advanced Highers, to include a Modern Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language) at grade D.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
UCAS Tariff
104-112 points to include a minimum of 2 A levels, or equivalent, to include 32 points from a Modern Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language).
104-112 points from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate including 1 A level to include 32 points from a Modern Foreign Language (French, German, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language), plus the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.
About this course
**Overview**
This BA (Hons) Applied Languages degree course will transform your passion for learning languages into professional communication and linguistic skills.
Study how language works, including specialist topics such as linguistics, communication theory and managing across cultures, in preparation for professional roles in areas such as a translation, interpreting, teaching and tourism.
You can choose to study either:
- Two languages at advanced level: chosen from French, German, Spanish and/or English as a foreign language
- Two languages at different levels: one language at advanced level (chosen from French, German, Spanish or English as a foreign language) and one language at beginner level (chosen from French, German, Mandarin Chinese or Spanish)
More than 60% of adults from the European Union can speak a second language, compared to less than half of the UK population (according to Eurostat 2016). When you graduate, you'll stand out in a population where language skills are lagging behind the rest of the world.
**Course highlights**
- In year three, study or work abroad in two different countries where your chosen languages are spoken, immersing yourself in their culture so you can build a career across borders
- Choose to specialise in one of four areas, or mix and match:
- teaching and education
- translation and interpreting
- culture and linguistics
- business and industry
- Produce your own translations and build up interpreting experience in real and simulated work environments, so you can prove your skills to employers
- Have the opportunity to study a third language from Arabic, British Sign Language, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese or Spanish
**Options to customise your degree**
If you're interested in a career in teaching, you can choose to enhance your degree with additional, widely recognised qualifications in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) or Teaching English as a foreign language
**Careers and opportunities**
You’ll graduate as a skilled multi-linguist, ready to take on roles across a range of fields.
There’s a growing demand for high quality translators and interpreters – the Association of Translation Companies advised that interpreters be added to the UK government's Shortage Occupation List while Wolfestone has called the UK's foreign language skills shortage 'an unspeakable disaster'.
There's also a growing need for intercultural awareness and communication skills in business. The British Council has stated that "an understanding of other cultures and languages will continue to be important for successful international relationships at all levels" (Languages for the Future, 2017).
What areas can you work in with an applied languages degree?
As the world becomes more closely connected through trade, entertainment, tourism and communications, organisations need employees who can communicate effectively in two or more languages.
You might specialise in a field such as law, finance or medicine, or in environments such as courtrooms, councils and police centres.
This degree broadens your options so you can pursue almost any career. Being multilingual is useful in all sectors, including:
- journalism and the media
- international management
- translation and interpreting
- teaching
- tourism
- finance
- marketing
You could also continue your studies at postgraduate level with a Master's in a subject such as Translation Studies or Applied Linguistics and TESOL.
Whatever career you pursue, our Careers and Employability service will give support and advice for 5 years after you graduate.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- 2 foreign languages (from Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, or English as a Foreign Language)
- Investigating Language Practices
- Language Project
- Language, Learning and Teaching
Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- Languages
Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Business and Markets in a Global Environment
- Clinical Linguistics
- Comparative European Politics
- Development and Democracy in Latin America
- East Asian States and Societies
- Empire and Its Afterlives in Britain, Europe, and Africa
- Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences
- English Forms and Functions
- Forensic Linguistics
- France in the World: Global Actor or Global Maverick?
- Global Security
- Intercultural Perspectives On Communication
- Introduction to Professional Language Services
- Introduction to Teaching
- Introduction to Translation
- A third foreign language via IWLP (Arabic, British Sign Language, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, or Spanish)
- Language For Professional Communication 1
- Language in Literature: Stylistics
- Language of Human Resource Management
- Language Project Part 2
- Managing Across Cultures
- Marketing and Communication
- Modernity and Globalisation
- Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday
- News, Discourse and Media
- Principles of Economic Crime Investigation
- Professional Communication in a Global Workplace
- Professional Experience
- Rethinking Nazi Germany: Politics, History, Society
- Second Language Acquisition
- Space, Place and Being
- TESOL (Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages)
- The Making of the German Nation
- Transitional Justice and Human Rights
- Trinity Certificate Teaching Practice
- Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response
Year 3
On this degree course, you'll spend your third year in 2 countries where your chosen languages are spoken.
Year 4
Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Business and Markets in a Global Environment
- Business Planning
- Communication Theory
- Creativity in the Language Classroom
- Gender, Language and Sexuality
- General Language Grade 6 (French, German, Italian, Mandarin or Spanish)
- Interpreting 1
- Interpreting 2
- Language and Social Media
- Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates
- Professional Experience
- Research Project
- Spoken Discourse in the Workplace
- Translation Theory and Practice
- Written Discourse in the Workplace
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through:
- oral presentations
- language portfolio
- written essays and reports
- case studies
- book reviews
- blogs
- translations
- commentaries
- interviews
- magazine production
- group and individual projects
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
Year 1 students: 23% by written exams, 16% by practical exams and 61% by coursework
Year 2 students: 38% by written exams, 7% by practical exams and 55% by coursework
Year 3 students: 100% by coursework
Year 4 students: 7% by written exams, 3% by practical exams and 90% by coursework
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
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Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a broad subject for a variety of European languages. No matter which you take, the general theme is that some graduates go to that country to work, often as English language teachers, some go into further study, often to train as teachers or translators, but most get jobs in the UK in education - most often as language tutors, unsurprisingly, or translators. Modern language grads can also be in demand in business roles where communication and language skills are particularly useful, such as marketing and PR, and in finance or law. But remember — whilst employers say they rate graduates who have graduates who have more than one language, you need to have them as part of a whole package of good skills.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Others in language and area studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
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£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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