BA German and Chinese provides a comprehensive grounding in the German language, and the opportunity to explore German culture, linguistics, history and literature. You will be equipped with the skills and expertise needed to thrive in a German-speaking environment.
You will also develop a firm grounding in Mandarin Chinese and contemporary Chinese culture, society, economy and politics, as well as China's changing relations with the West.
German
Our core German language courses (at post A-Level or beginners' level) are complemented by a variety of other subject areas, including linguistics, and a wide range of cultural and historical units that use German-language sources to improve your core language competence, as well as your wider knowledge of German-speaking countries.Specialisms in German include historical and contemporary linguistics, literary studies, screen studies, gender and sexuality, modern cultural history, minority cultures and Holocaust studies. The third year includes a period spent in a German-speaking country. You can choose a work placement, teach English in schools as part of the British Council's assistantship scheme, or study at our prestigious partner institutions in Berlin, Freiburg, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Leipzig, Basel and Innsbruck.Our teaching, praised in the Teaching Quality Assessment and by external examiners, is backed up by an innovative Independent Language Learning Programme, enabling you to take control of your own learning experience.Enjoy strong links with the Goethe Institute and the Austrian Cultural Forum, which sponsor a varied programme of cultural events.
Chinese
You will study Mandarin Chinese throughout the course, enabling you to develop various linguistic skills such as speaking and writing accurately, understanding and analysing audio, video and written material, using different registers, speaking to a group with confidence, and translating with appropriate sensitivity.At the same time, you can choose China-related topics in literature, film, cultural studies, politics, history, linguistics, economics, development studies, and business, drawing on the wide range of research expertise in Chinese Studies across the Faculty of Humanities. You will benefit from our close links with the Confucius Institute, which fosters interaction between Manchester's large community of Chinese native speakers, our University students and representatives of the wider Chinese-speaking world.
The course unit details listed below are those you may choose to study as part of this programme and are referred to as optional units. These are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this programme. Although language units may show here as optional, they are a mandatory part of your modern languages degree and you will take the units relevant to your level of language in each year of study. It is compulsory to study language at all levels of your modern languages degree.