German and Japanese

BA German and Japanese 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 study Japanese throughout the course. The core language teaching will enable you to develop various linguistic skills including speaking and writing accurately, understanding and analysing audio, video and written materials, using different registers, speaking to a group with confidence, and translating with appropriate sensitivity.

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.

Japanese
- You will follow a Japanese Studies curriculum through which you will learn about Japan-related topics in historical, linguistic, cultural, religious and other contexts, drawing on the wide range of research carried out by staff in Japanese Studies.

- The course centres on a core framework in Year 1 but some choice of modules from Year 2 onwards will enable you to focus on particular areas of interest in the study of Japan and East Asia.

- Japanese Studies at Manchester is taught by a diverse team of academic specialists in the field.

- The course gives you the opportunity to build on existing knowledge of either language, and to study one as a beginner.

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.