Copy of Content blocks for course page
Edit the course information
#
- 0
- French and German BA (RR12)
- 0a
French and German at Warwick
This course will not be available for 2022 entry, but you may be interested in our BA Modern Languages degree.
- 0c
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5fkxT-thSs
- 2a
- RR12
- 2b
- Bachelor of Arts (BA)
- 2c
- 4 years full-time, normally including a year abroad
- 2d
26 September 2022
- 2e
- Modern Languages and Cultures
- 2f
- University of Warwick
- 3a
A joint languages degree equips you with excellent communication, research, critical and evaluative skills, all of which are highly sought after by employers.
Study two world languages and their cultures on our French and German (BA) course, and explore a wide range of topics covering literature, culture, history and politics.
- 3b
This joint languages degree gives you the chance to study two major European languages and their associated cultures.
You will take core modules in French and German language every year, combining these with a range of literary, cultural and political options.
- 3c
Every year of your degree will include core modules in French and German language. These modules will develop your knowledge and understanding of written and spoken French and German.
In your first year you will take the core module The Story of Modern France. In this module you will examine primary texts from major periods and events in French history, literature, and politics. You will also select a module on German culture and history in your first year.
After your first year, you can explore your own particular interests beyond the languages you have chosen by selecting modules from a large range of specialist cultural modules. Our modules reflect the research specialism of academics in the French and German departments. These specialist cultural modules will extend your knowledge and understanding of the culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film and history of the French-speaking and the German-speaking worlds.
You will normally spend your second or third year abroad.
- 3d
We employ a variety of teaching styles within the School of Modern Languages including:
- Lectures
- Seminars (consisting of around 15 students and focussing on student participation)
- Written and spoken language classes in small groups
You will spend the rest of your time:
- Studying independently
- Preparing for classes
- Reading
- Analysing materials set for study
- Writing essays
- Working on your language skills
- 3e
Seminars generally involve around 15 students.
- 3f
12 hours per week (15 hours per week in first year).
- 3g
We will track your progress through:
- Language assignments
- Essays
- Presentations
- Portfolio submissions
- Examinations (written and oral)
To help you improve your skills you will receive detailed and personalised feedback throughout your course. Your intermediate- and final-year marks each contribute 50% of your final degree classification.
- 3h
Study abroad
We strongly recommend that you take a year abroad as part of your modern languages degree, if you are able to. If you are unable to take a year abroad you will move to a three-year degree. You will be required to complete further language reinforcement work. You will also be encouraged to spend time abroad in other ways, during vacation times.
You will usually spend your year abroad doing one of three things:
- Working as a language assistant teaching English in a primary or secondary school
- Studying full-time at a partner university in your chosen country
- On a work placement
- 4a
AAB to include either French or German
- 4b
36 to include 5 in Higher Level French or German
- 4c
We welcome applications from students taking BTECs alongside A level French or German
- 5a
Year One
Modern French Language 1
You will deepen your understanding of French grammar and syntax with the help of tutors experienced in facilitating the transition from A-level to university-level competence. You will learn appropriate technical vocabulary and handle complex structures. You will develop the skills required to produce authentic and accurate translations of journalistic material from French to English. Finally, writing in formal French introduces you to the structures and methods used to debate ideas on contemporary issues. You will increase your reading and comprehension skills and develop your ability to exploit texts for vocabulary, idioms, syntax and grammatical structures. Working with a native speaker in small groups, you will discuss topics on contemporary French culture and society, using audio, video and written resources.
or
Modern French Language for Beginners
As a beginner in the acquisition of the French language, you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking, listening, writing and reading. You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well as communicative fluency and competence. By the end of the year, you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in French, read authentic texts such as newspaper articles, follow the gist of TV/video extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in French. You will also work on basic translations to and from French as a means of consolidating your knowledge.
Modern German Language 1
You will develop your translation, grammatical and speaking skills in German, and in doing so broaden your vocabulary and range of idiom, expression and awareness of various stylistic registers. You will work in a pair or group on a media project under the supervision of a tutor, which will contribute to your end-of-year mark in spoken German.
or
Modern German Language for Beginners
As a beginner in the acquisition of the German language, you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking, listening, writing and reading. You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well and communicative fluency and competence. By the end of the year, you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in German, read authentic texts such as newspaper articles, follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in German. You will also work on basic translations to and from German as a means of consolidating your knowledge.
A French cultural module:
The Story of Modern France
Why is modern France so deeply invested in the past? What are the milestones in the creation of modern France? How have notions of France and Frenchness been shaped through the stories told about them? These are some of the questions you will explore through close reading of primary sources from major periods and events in French history. You will explore a range of materials, from the cartoons of May 1968 to prints dating back to the French Revolution, and from stories of Charlemagne to films and texts reflecting France’s ongoing preoccupation with its (often controversial) recent past. Equipped with these foundations, you will be well prepared to study further aspects of French and Francophone culture in the later stages of your degree.
A German cultural module:
The Changing Face of Germany in Film and Text
In your study of the intellectual history of post-war Germany, you will consider the rise of the mass media and the role played by writers and intellectuals. Through your analysis of diverse literary and filmic texts, you will build your understanding of major landmarks in German history, including post-WWII political reconstruction, the development of the press in the Federal Republic, unification and military reintegration, the opposition to rearmament and student movements, and migration and settlement. The work of intellectuals such as Heinrich Böll, Peter Weiss, Bernhard Schlink, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Paul Verhoeven will inform your studies.
or
Power and Passion: The Making of Modern German Culture
Starting with the study of the social milieu of late 18th century Germany, you will consider the cultural and intellectual changes of this period, and in particular the rise of the middle classes in the Age of Enlightenment. You will engage with the work of the globally significant writers of this period, including Goethe and Schiller, and study the light they cast on the emerging middle-class consciousness just prior to the cataclysmic changes of the French Revolution of 1789.
Intermediate Year
Modern French Language 2
You will consolidate and develop the productive and receptive language skills you acquired in your first year. By the end of the module, you should have appropriate knowledge of vocabulary and syntactic and grammatical structures to produce written French in two prescribed genres. You will develop your skills in translation to and from French, with a focus on specific translation problems, and increase the accuracy with which you use grammatical structures. In spoken French, you will comprehend and produce structured spoken French on a range of topics of contemporary significance in the context of simulated scenarios.
or
Modern French Language 2 (Post-beginners)
You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in French, improve your speaking, listening and comprehension skills, and develop your ability to translate from French, including through a sound knowledge of grammar, register, semantic nuances and style. There will be opportunities to write in French and to work on materials applicable to real-life situations.
Modern German Language 2
In this second-year module, you will increase your general and specialised vocabulary in German through translation into English and German, essay-writing in German, spoken and listening comprehension, and work on business-related materials. In pursuit of these aims, you will learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems, and gain increased sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular. You will also gain important research skills, including correct use of dictionaries.
or
Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)
You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in German, improve your speaking, listening and comprehension skills, and develop your ability to translate from German, including through a sound knowledge of grammar, register, semantic nuances and style. There will be opportunities to write in German and to work on business-related materials.
A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (60 credits)
Final Year
Modern French Language 3
You will consolidate and develop your ability to write and speak confidently and at a level of intellectual sophistication in correct French. By the end of the course, you should be able to produce a structured written argument on a topic related to your intellectual interests or of cultural concern, in French that is grammatically correct, idiomatic, varied in vocabulary and grammatical structure, and in an appropriate register. You should be able to translate from French to English and English to French accurately, using your detailed knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and idiom, and employing an appropriate register. You will strengthen your skills in pronunciation and intonation and demonstrate these through fluent oral presentation and discussion of an intellectually serious topic.
or
Modern German Language 3
In this third-year module, you will use vocabulary of increasing sophistication in both general and specialised fields, and improve your skills in spoken and written German and translation. You will improve your listening and reading comprehension skills, and learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems. An important aim of the course is to cultivate sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular.
A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (60 credits)
- 5b
- 6b
- There may be costs associated with other items or services such as academic texts, course notes, and trips associated with your course. Students who choose to complete a work placement or study abroad will pay reduced tuition fees for their third year.