BA Modern Languages and English Language
About this course
BA in Modern Languages and English Language, a combined degree examining communication systems, linguistic structures, and modern foreign languages alongside English language and societal usage. Core topics include Data Analysis, Research Methods, and Language & Translation. This four-year undergraduate programme features a compulsory year abroad where students undertake a work placement, study at a partner university, or work as a language teaching assistant. In the first year, students cover foundational concepts through compulsory modules such as Sounds, Grammar and Meaning, English Language and Society, and a chosen language module tailored to beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels in French, German, Italian, or Spanish. The second year builds competence with core modules like English Grammar and Phonology and Sociolinguistics alongside further language study. After spending the third year abroad, the final year focuses on advanced linguistic proficiency through modules including Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language I, Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language II, and Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language III. Students can also select from a wide range of optional modules covering topics such as child language development, professional communication, cinema, and cultural history, or undertake an extended essay or professional communication project.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: BBB IB: 30 points overall
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What students say
Based on about 30 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 88%
- Learning opportunities: 87%
- Assessment and feedback: 84%
- Academic support: 90%
- Organisation and management: 79%
- Learning resources: 81%
- Student voice: 83%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 50 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- Continued on course: 90%
- Left higher education: 10%
What graduates do next
Based on about 8 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Working: 75%
- Working and studying: 10%
- Unemployed: 10%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 35%
- Administrative occupations: 10%
- Teaching and Childcare Support Occupation: 10%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 10%
- Legal professionals: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 80%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 65%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 55%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 55 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 3%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 2%
- West Midlands: 4%
- East of England: 13%
- London: 28%
- South East: 33%
- South West: 11%
- Wales: 3%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 35 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 95%
- Other HE qualification: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Silver for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Sounds, Grammar and Meaning
- English Language and Society
- Beginners French, German, Italian or Spanish Language
- Intermediate French, German, Italian or Spanish Language
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language I
- Globalization and Language
- Ideas of Frenchness 1
- Ideas of Frenchness 2
- The Making of Contemporary Germany
- Belonging in Germany
- Making Italians: A Journey in the History and Culture of Modern Italy
- Optional Language Modules
- Introduction to Linguistics
- What is Comparative Literature?
- Greats of European Cinema
- Thinking Translation: History and Theory
- The Making of Modern Spain and Latin America
- Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Culture
- English Grammar and Phonology
- Sociolinguistics
- Intermediate French, German, Italian or Spanish Language
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language I
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language II
- The First World War: Then and Now
- Cinema of Germany
- 'Apocalittici e integrati': Intellectuals and Society in Twentieth Century Italy
- Transatlantic Exchanges: Latin America in the Global Nineteenth Century
- Science, Perversion, and Dream in Global Fantastic Literature
- Language and the Mind
- Language and Gender
- Analysing Speech
- Optional Language Modules
- How to Think in French
- Children’s Books in France
- Glorification, Denial and Contempt – Reconstructing Austria's Past
- Modern and Contemporary Spanish Narratives
- Culture and Revolution in Modern Latin America
- Society, Thought, and Art in Modern Europe
- Unity, Nationalism and Regionalism in Europe
- Introduction to English Language Teaching
- Global Ecologies: Discourse, Environment and Society
- Study Year Abroad
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language I
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language II
- Advanced French, German, Italian or Spanish Language III
- Philanthropy à la française : The History of Ideas and Practices in the French Third Sector
- The German Language and National identity
- Crisis, Change, Opportunity: Italy from 1968 to the Present
- Memory, Dictatorship and Cultural Resistance in the Southern Cone
- Language and Power
- Child Language Development
- Issues in Bilingualism
- Language in Professional Communication
- Professional Communication Project
- May '68
- French Popular Music and Society
- War on Screen - Germany and its Films about WWII
- Language, Diversity, and Inclusion: The Representation of Otherness in the Italian Context
- Narrating the Colombian Conflict
- Writers and Publishers in Spain
- Future Worlds in Film
- Extended Essay
- Identity and Conflict in Modern Europe
- Teaching the Language Skills
- Language and Migration
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Modern Languages and English Language at University of Reading earn?
The median salary is £28,000 after 15 months, £27,000 after 3 years, £34,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £27,000 and £44,000. The £34,000 median after five years is £6,000 more than the UK median for English language.
What do graduates of BA Modern Languages and English Language at University of Reading do next?
85% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Modern Languages and English Language at University of Reading?
88% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Modern Languages and English Language at University of Reading?
The typical offer is BBB at A level, or 30 points in the IB. The average entrant had 120 UCAS points.
Does BA Modern Languages and English Language at University of Reading include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has a compulsory year abroad.
How many students continue on BA Modern Languages and English Language at University of Reading?
90% of students continued into their second year, and 10% left higher education.