BA Modern Languages (French and Portuguese)

Programme overview

Entry requirements

Entry Requirements are available on the Course Search entry

Programme specification

The information on this page is accurate for students entering the programme in 2023/2024 or before. For students entering the programme from September 2024 or after, you can find the details of your programme:

BA Modern Languages (French and Portuguese)(For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

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]
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At Level 1, students must study 120 credits. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects. Students are required to take a minimum of 40 credits in French (Route A) / 60 credits (Route B) and a minimum of 40 credits in Portuguese (Route A) / 60 credits (Route B).

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

Compulsory Modules

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
SPPO1035	Introduction to Brazil, Portugal and Portuguese Speaking Africa	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Optional Modules

Route A (French)

Students with prior knowledge of French (B1 of the CEFR) will be required to study the following modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN1010	French Language Awareness and Skills (Common European Framework B2)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
FREN1020	Introduction to French Studies (Resistance and Desire)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Route B (French)

Students with no prior knowledge of French will be required to study the following modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN1012	French for Beginners (A1 of the CEFR)	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
FREN1013	Pre-Intermediate French (A2 of the CEFR)	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)	PFP
FREN1023	Ab Initio Introduction to French Studies (Resistance and Desire)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Route A (Portuguese)

Students with prior knowledge of Portuguese will be required to study the following modules 

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
SPPO1087	Portuguese Language Skills in Context	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Route B (Portuguese)

Students with no prior knowledge of Portuguese will be required to study the following modules 

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
SPPO1080	Portuguese Language for Beginners 1A	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
SPPO1081	Portuguese for Beginners 1B	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)	PFP

Route A (French)

Students with prior knowledge of French (taking FREN1010) may study up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN1019	Writing the self in French	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
FREN1070	Introduction to Skills in French Translation	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

All students may take up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules: 

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL1050	Introduction to Audio-Visual Culture	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1060	Language: Structure and Sound	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL1070	World Histories	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1090	Intercultural Competence: Theory and Application	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL1100	Politics, Culture and Society	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1150	Worlds of Literature	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL1401	Discourse, Culture and Identity	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Discovery Modules

All students may choose to study 20 credits of discovery modules

Year 2

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
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At Level 2, students must study 120 credits. Overall, students must take 100 credits across their two subjects. Students are required to take a minimum 40 credits in French 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 (French AND Portuguese), a further option with French, or discovery modules.

Compulsory Modules

Students will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
SPPO2090	Portuguese Language Skills	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Optional Modules

Route A (French)

Students who took FREN1010 in year 1 will be required to study the following module:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN2010	French Language in Contexts	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Route B (French)

Students who took FREN1012 and FREN1013 in year 1 will be required to study the following modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN2017	French Language Skills (B1/B2 of the CEFR)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
FREN2210	Forms of Subversion	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

Route A (French)

Students taking FREN2010 are required to study a minimum of 20 credits and may study up to 40 credits of the following optional modules:

Route B (French)

Students taking FREN2017 and FREN2210 may take FREN2351 from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN2090	Politics and Society in France since 1945	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
FREN2340	Twentieth and Twenty-First Century French Fiction	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
FREN2351	Aspects of French History 1789-1945	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
FREN2352	Self and Other	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Route A (French)

Students taking FREN2010 may study up to 20 credits of the following optional modules:

Route B

Students taking FREN2017 and FREN2210 may take FREN2200 from the following optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN2200	Cinema in France: The Seventh Art	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
FREN2350	Introduction to Professional French Translation and Interpreting	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
FREN2360	The French-Speaking Business World	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
SPPO2020	Film and Literature in the Portuguese-speaking World	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
SPPO2412	Culture and Society in the Portuguese-Speaking World	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL2001	Linguists into Schools	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2003	Global Queer Politics and Cultures	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2015	Black Europe	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2070	Reception, Transmission and Translation: The Global Circulation of Literature	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL2075	Global Environmental Humanities	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL2250	Digital Communications Across Cultures	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)

Discovery Modules

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

Year 3

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
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Compulsory Modules

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL9500	LCS Year Abroad	120	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP

Optional Modules

Year 4

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
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At Level 3, students must study 120 credits. Students are required to take a minimum of 40 credits in French 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 French OR Portuguese).


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

Compulsory Modules

Students must study the following compulsory modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN3010	Advanced French Language Skills	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
MODL3050	Final Year Project	40	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)	PFP
SPPO3110	Advanced Portuguese Language	20	Semesters 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 French may take up to 20 credits from the following list of optional modules:

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
FREN3073	Theory and Practice of Interpreting (French and English)	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
FREN3093	Iconic Images	20	Not running in 202526
FREN3094	The Kaleidoscope: Cultural Perspectives on Contemporary France	20	Not running in 202526
FREN3641	The Algerian War of Independence: From the Colonial to the Post-Colonial	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
FREN3865	Paris in Revolt. The May 1968 events, past and present	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)

Students who take their FYP in French are required to take the following optional module.

Students who take their FYP in Portuguese may take the following optional modules. 

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
SPPO3701	Urban Realities and Representations in the Portuguese Speaking World	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

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

Code	Title	Credits	Semester	Pass for Progression
MODL3200	Representing the Holocaust: Transgression and the Taboo	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3410	Contemporary World Literature	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)
MODL3600	Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption	20	Not running in 202526
MODL3610	Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents	20	Not running in 202526
MODL3620	Decolonial Approaches	20	Semester 1 (Sep to Jan)
MODL3630	Social Movements across Cultures	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3650	Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present	20	Semester 2 (Jan to Jun)
MODL3800	Linguists into Schools	20	Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun)

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

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