Arabic and English Language BA Honours University of Westminster

Wednesday 7th June 2023 - On campus - 5:30-7PM (BST)

At Westminster, we'll train you to become a competent linguist in modern languages, ready to enter graduate employment.

We place particular emphasis on employability and the contemporary cultural context and offer high-quality teaching in all language skills.

Our course offers you an opportunity to study Arabic and English languages and cultures in an integrated interdisciplinary way, exploring the connections between them and the broader historical and cross-cultural contexts in which they are produced.

This course will enable you to achieve a good or high level of linguistic competence in Arabic in all four skill areas (reading, writing, listening and speaking), it will enhance your skills in using English, and develop your linguistic and cultural knowledge understanding.

You'll be able to work in different cultural situations and you'll gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.

Our Arabic courses are only available to beginner or 'false beginner' entrants – false beginners are students who may be able to read the Arabic script, and/or have completed the equivalent of one or two years of part-time study. Please note that we may need to test you to determine your entry point.

You’ll develop your understanding of the English language in terms of the way it is structured, its linguistic diversity in Britain and around the world as a global language, the ways in which it varies between different texts, and, at a wider level, the ways in which it reflects and contributes to wider meanings in society. You’ll also have the opportunity to consider the theoretical tools of both literary analysis and language research in detail.

You may have the option to spend a full academic year abroad at a partner institution and/or an approved form of employment in a country where Arabic is the official language. You can also study an optional module from a range of topics across the University each year.

Top reasons to study with us

• Authentic language teaching for real-world communication
• Opportunities to undertake a year abroad in Arabic-speaking countries
• Individually focused academic support through our tutorial modules
• Opportunities to practise one-to-one conversation with a native speaker through the Languages Plus programme
• Study English language with world experts in language, gender and the history of English

Why study this course?

• Opportunities abroad
  You may have the option to spend a year abroad on a work, study or volunteering placement in an Arabic-speaking country.
• Language in practice
  You'll have access to our Languages Plus programme which puts you in touch with native speakers through the Language Exchange, gives you one-to-one grammar help at the Language Clinics, and allows you to gain valuable work experience in a languages-related field.
• Fantastic central London location
  Based on our Regent Campus in central London, you'll enjoy the benefits of studying in a major global city.

Professional recognition

The University of Westminster is a Higher Education Language partner of the Chartered Institute of Linguists.

With a growing global network of 3,000 employers, our Careers and Employability Service is here to support you to achieve your full potential.

• Study, work or volunteer abroad
  You may have the opportunity to spend a year abroad on a study, work or volunteering placement to boost your employability while improving your language skills.
• Boost your employability
  Arabic was cited as one of the top five most useful foreign languages by employers.
  Source: CBI/Pearson 2019.
• Employers around the world
  The University’s Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.

Career development

Our course aims to produce graduates who have strong communication and organisational skills, are flexible, adaptable and capable of working collectively and autonomously.

The language skills gained in our course will allow you to develop the interlingual and intercultural competencies associated with an international outlook and global citizenship.

Career development skills are embedded in the course, and opportunities for part-time work, internships, placements, careers workshops, work-related learning, and more, are available to you – opening up a range of future job roles or further training options.

Job roles

This course will prepare you for roles such as:

• Business analyst
• Copywriter
• Journalist and media content creator
• Translator and interpreter
• Teacher of languages or English

Graduate employment

Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:

• British Council
• Date Palm School
• Hackney Mental Health Support
• Transport for London (TFL)
• University of East London

Learning takes place in a variety of classroom settings including lectures, tutorials, practical sessions, seminars and workshops through task-based and problem-solving exercises, traditional lecturer-led dissemination of information, and via peer presentations and discussions.

The following subjects are indicative of what you will study in this course.

Year 1

Subjects of study include:

• Introducing the English Language
• Intercultural Communication: An Introduction
• Introduction to the Study of Language and Culture
• Objects and Meaning: World Cultures in London Galleries and Museums
• The Arabic World and the Word
• World Varieties of English

Credit Level 4

Year 2

Subjects of study include:

• Child Language Acquisition
• Cultures and Conflicts: Representations of War, Conflict and Revolution across Cultures
• Discourse Across Time
• Expressions of Arabic Culture
• Language and Literary Style
• Language, Power and Institutions: Decoding Dominant Narratives
• Multilingual E-Collaboration: Transposing Current Affairs
• Transnational Issues and Local Cultures on Film

Credit Level 5

Year Abroad

Between Years 2 and 3 you may have the option to spend a full academic year abroad at a partner institution and/or approved form of employment in a country where Arabic is the official language.

Year 3

Subjects of study include:

• Applied Language Studies
• Developing Career Competencies for Linguists
• Dissertation/Professional Project
• Gender Matters
• Language and Power
• Language Contact and Change
• Language Form
• Multilingualism
• Narrating the Other: Politics and Literature
• People and Things on the Move: Identity, Place and Memory in and Across Diasporic Spaces
• Studies in Literary Language
• Themes in Arabic Studies

Credit Level 6

International Opportunities

You may have the opportunity to spend one year abroad in your third year, where you could work as a paid language assistant in a foreign school or undertake a work (or volunteering) placement, both of which provide valuable opportunities to boost your employability while improving language competence.

Shorter periods of stay or study in other countries, from a few days up to one semester, are also offered in the courses.

You may also undertake a study placement at one of our university partners or one of our accredited Arabic language centres in Morocco or Jordan. You can also undertake a combination of both study and work. These arrangements are subject to change.

We also provide a range of other international opportunities that all students can apply for.