BA Modern Languages at University of Bristol

Expertise in modern languages has never been more important as the UK forges a new relationship with its European partners and seeks to develop its trading and cultural ties throughout the world. With our dedicated teaching staff and our state-of-the-art Multimedia Centre, we offer an outstanding environment in which to study modern languages.

We offer a flexible degree in which you can choose to study one, two, or three modern European languages. If you are studying one or two languages, you may have the option in the second year to begin Arabic, Catalan, Czech, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, or an additional European language.

In the first year, you gain an introduction to the culture and history of the countries in which your languages are spoken. In subsequent years, you choose from a range of units. Units may include literature, linguistics, film and visual culture, gender studies and political and social history. You can also access extracurricular activities such as talks by visiting speakers, societies, language cafés, student newspapers, and talent shows.

You will spend the third year abroad as a teaching assistant, as a student at a partner university, or on a work placement. You can split your year between different countries, according to the languages you study.

The course ensures that you gain transferable skills such as different types of writing (including non-academic genres such as blogs or newspaper articles), presentation skills (including podcasts or video essays), and group work, which will be attractive to future employers.