2025/26 Undergraduate Programme Catalogue

BA Modern Languages (Arabic and Portuguese)

Programme overview

Programme code
BA-ML/AR&PO
UCAS code
Duration
4 Years
Method of Attendance
Full Time
Programme manager
Maria Chiara La Sala
Contact address
m.c.lasala@leeds.ac.uk
Total credits
480
School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme
School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
Examination board through which the programme will be considered
Relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Groups
The programme will meet the QAA Benchmarks defined for Languages, Cultures and Societies outlined here:

https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/sbs/sbs-languages-cultures-and-societies-23.pdf?sfvrsn=3c71a881_10

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements are available on the Course Search entry

Programme specification

On this programme, students will become highly competent in their two chosen languages while acquiring an understanding of, analysing, interpreting and engaging with the cultures and societies where these languages are spoken.

A compulsory period of residence abroad will provide students with the unique opportunity to develop language skills in a rich and varied context of use, while engaging with other cultures and societies, thereby fostering intercultural awareness and pluricultural competence, self-reliance and flexibility.

This dual-language programme offers opportunities for students at all levels to engage with the connections and contrasts between the languages they study (e.g. through ‘MODL’ modules that span multiple language areas), enabling them to deepen their critical understanding of their chosen languages. There might also be an opportunity to take discovery modules, which include modules in an additional language for students wishing to expand their linguistic repertoire.

At Level 1, students will study core language modules that are tailored to their ability alongside modules which will introduce them to the cultures and societies of the languages they are studying. They will also receive training in crucial academic skills such as critical analysis, argumentation, research and academic writing.

At Level 2 and 3 students will continue to develop their communicative proficiency and their linguistic and intercultural awareness through core language modules. They will also choose from a range of optional modules exploring various aspects of the cultures, history, politics, and social and economic structures of the countries of the languages of study. They will analyse and critically interpret a wide diversity of cultural forms, products and practice, and will learn to mediate, analyse and compare ideas and events that cross national, cultural or linguistic boundaries.

Throughout the programme, students will develop valuable interpretative, analytical and digital skills, as well as becoming confident researchers. Students will demonstrate these qualities when they undertake a Final Year Project on a topic of their choice in one of the language subjects they study.

Year 1

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

At Level 1, students must study 120 credits. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects. Students are required to take 60 credits in Arabic and a minimum of 40 credits in Portuguese.

The remaining 20 credits may be taken as a MODL module, which can count towards either of their two subjects (Arabic AND Portuguese), a further option with Portuguese, or discovery modules.

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
ARAB1001Beginning Arabic 120Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ARAB1002Beginning Arabic 220Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)PFP
ARAB1171Studying the Middle East and North Africa20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
SPPO1035Introduction to Brazil, Portugal and Portuguese Speaking Africa20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
SPPO1087Portuguese Language Skills in Context20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Optional Modules

Students may study up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL1050Introduction to Audio-Visual Culture20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1060Language: Structure and Sound20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL1070World Histories20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1090Intercultural Competence: Theory and Application20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL1100Politics, Culture and Society20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1150Worlds of Literature20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1401Discourse, Culture and Identity20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may choose to take up to 20 credits of discovery modules.

Year 2

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory residence abroad module

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL9500LCS Year Abroad120Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Year 3

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

At Level 2, students must study 120 credits. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects. Students are required to take 60 credits in Arabic and a minimum of 40 credits in Portuguese.

The remaining 20 credits may be taken as a MODL module, which can count towards either of their two subjects (Arabic AND Portuguese), a further option with Portuguese, or discovery modules.

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
ARAB2010Advanced Arabic Grammar and Translation20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB2020Essential Skills in Practical Arabic20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
SPPO2090Portuguese Language Skills20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Optional Modules

Students will be required to study 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
ARAB2066Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB2095Global Media: Discourse, Representation and Society20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB2181Cultures of the Arab Middle East and North Africa20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ARAB2190Global Jihad: From the Taliban to ISIS20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB2310Modern Middle Eastern History20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB2312Islamic Law: Authority, Continuity and Change20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students are required to study a minimum of 20 credits and may study up to 40 credits from the following list of optional modules: 

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
SPPO2020Film and Literature in the Portuguese-speaking World20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
SPPO2412Culture and Society in the Portuguese-Speaking World20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students may study up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL2001Linguists into Schools20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2003Global Queer Politics and Cultures20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2015Black Europe20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2070Reception, Transmission and Translation: The Global Circulation of Literature20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2075Global Environmental Humanities20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2250Digital Communications Across Cultures20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

Students may choose to take up to 20 credits of discovery modules.

Year 4

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable

At Level 3, students must study 120 credits. Students are required to take a minimum of 40 credits in Arabic and a minimum of 40 credits in Portuguese. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects.

All students must take 40 credits as a Final Year Project (FYP) module, which can be taken in - and count towards - either of their two subjects (EITHER Arabic OR Portuguese).

The remaining 20 credits may be taken as a MODL module, which can count towards either of their two subjects (Arabic AND Portuguese), a further option with Arabic OR Portuguese, or discovery modules.

Compulsory Modules

All students will be required to study the following compulsory modules: 

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
ARAB3020Advanced Skills in Arabic Language20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
MODL3050Final Year Project40Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP
SPPO3110Advanced Portuguese Language20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)PFP

Optional Modules

Students who take their FYP in Portuguese are required to take a minimum of 20 credits and may take up to 40 credits from the following list of optional modules.

Students who take their FYP in Arabic may take up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules. 

Module about cinemas and audio-visual cultures in the Middle East and North Africa - 20 Credits

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
ARAB3072Islam and Modernity20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
ARAB3090The Qur’an and the Hadith: Muslim Scriptural Sources20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
ARAB3110Middle Eastern Politics: Regimes, Societies and Conflict20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
ARAB3888Advanced Media Arabic: Translation Skills in Text Typology20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Students who take their FYP in Arabic are required to take the following module. Students who take their FYP in Portuguese may take the module:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
SPPO3701Urban Realities and Representations in the Portuguese Speaking World20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

All students may study up to 20 credits from the following optional modules:

CodeTitleCreditsSemesterPass for Progression
MODL3200Representing the Holocaust: Transgression and the Taboo20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3410Contemporary World Literature20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL3600Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption20Not running in 202526
MODL3610Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents20Not running in 202526
MODL3620Decolonial Approaches20Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3630Social Movements across Cultures20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3650Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present20Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3800Linguists into Schools20Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Please note that optional modules run subject to enrolments. An optional module may not run if only a low number of students choose it.

Discovery Modules

All students may choose to take up to 20 credits of discovery modules.

Last updated: 24/07/2025 15:44:29

Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team