BA (Hons) Modern Languages with Translation (with Foundation Year)

In this module, you’ll gain core analytical skills for your degree as you explore the intercultural differences between societies and expressions of identity. You’ll also enhance your communication skills, which are essential for any future career.

In this module, you’ll get to understand language and how to study it. You’ll look at language as a system, and how we use it in different instances of communication. You’ll understand language and its associated terms and definitions. You’ll gain core linguistic skills as you explore linguistic analysis in:

• sound (phonetics and phonology)
• language as meaning (semantics)
• language as structure (syntax).

You’ll gain a strong grounding in these concepts by studying instances of written and spoken language. You’ll develop valuable insights into language and its systems and uses.

You can choose to study one or more languages, from Beginners (French, Spanish, or Japanese) and/or Intermediate (French or Spanish).

On this module, you'll build your sense of a criminology community through collaborating and planning a criminology newsletter. This will help you take ownership of your criminology studies.

You'll build on the skills and knowledge you gained on Creating Criminology 1, where you will have interacted with guest speakers from careers and with recent alumni. You'll get to use alumni as interviewees for your Criminology newsletter. You'll also engage with discussions for your future after university, and where you can make a positive impact with your Criminology degree.

Explore the study and understanding of Culture and Society by looking at relevant Customs, Icons and Symbols with a particular emphasis on communicative practice of reading and written language in contexts.

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your French degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of French, you’ll develop strong skills in French speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in French, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between France and other countries.

In this module, you’ll dive into art and artists through the century. You’ll explore the Camden Town Group of painters. You’ll examine the abstract sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. And you’ll analyse the collages of Pop artists like Peter Blake. You’ll scrutinise paintings, sculptures and films. You’ll discuss how British artists tried to create modern forms of expression. And you’ll investigate the ways they promoted their work, like:

• exhibitions
• manifestos
• books
• little magazines.

You’ll participate in on-site visits, where you’ll examine works of art firsthand. You’ll also attend exciting lectures and seminars where you’ll explore your ideas and enrich your understanding of modern British art.

Sustainability, climate change, conservation: these are pressing contemporary issues with a rich and compelling history. This module will introduce you to the ways in which climate and the environment have changed over the past 6 centuries.

Explore responses and impacts from cultures and countries across the globe, from the 15th and 16th centuries, through to the present climate emergency.

Investigate environmental changes and how they were contested and experienced at communal, national and international levels. You'll think about the political, economic, social and cultural contexts of resource management, energy use and food production and consider future policy solutions.

You’ll engage with a wide variety of historical sources which we can use to understand environmental history, including:

• demographic sources
• institutional records
• visual sources such as maps and plans.

You'll gain digital history skills, through the digital mapping technology you'll use on the course.

How is political opinion, authority and democracy shaped and influenced? In this module, you’ll explore foundational issues in political philosophy through exploring the main political ideologies. You’ll start your journey with Liberalism as the default position in the West since the English, American and French Revolutions. Your focus then shifts to the ideologies that arose in response to Liberalism, including:

• Conservatism
• Communism
• Fascism
• Communitarianism
• Anarchism
• and Feminism.

You’ll also consider questions linked to the theory of knowledge, such as can any ideology be rationally justified?

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your Spanish degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of Spanish, you’ll develop strong skills in Spanish speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in Spanish, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between Spain and other countries.

You'll start an exploration of how educators can support and encourage curiosity and exploration in children, through the use of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).

You'll focus on understanding and developing teaching methods that can enhance childrens' learning. Incorporating STEAM concepts into each of these areas. You will have the chance to

• investigate
• observe
• and create opportunities for hands-on experiments and problem-based learning.

You'll also join discussions on the challenges and difficulties that may arise when implementing STEAM in different educational settings.

This is your chance to work in the community and learn about education in real-life situations. The goal is to give you a wide range of experiences and show you that education also happens away from the school environment. You'll also discuss important things like:

• keeping people safe
• being fair and inclusive
• and doing the right thing.

You'll have the choice to pick a place locally that interests you, and we'll help you arrange your experience there.

You are the marketers of tomorrow, so it is key you understand and are able to respond to the ethical and environmental sustainability challenges that will be faced. As such, your learning is tied to the Business School’s commitment to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management.

You will discuss the meaning of ethical marketing and key environmental issues, such as:

• global warming
• pollution
• biodiversity loss
• freshwater depletion.

You'll examine the role of marketing in causing, as well as responding to, such issues. You’ll look at a variety of stakeholder perspectives and frameworks to aid the analysis of marketing responses.

In this module, you’ll investigate politics - and the struggle for power - across the nations. You’ll gain a clear introduction to how and why political systems differ in our world today. You’ll examine case studies from a wide range of states, and gain a strong insight into how different regimes function – from the democratic to the totalitarian.

In this module, you'll use anthropological perspectives to make an in-depth investigation of contemporary life in Japan. You'll cover factors and topics that affect Japanese everyday life such as:

• child rearing
• education and early socialization
• households, marriage and kinship
• work and employment
• gender and sexuality
• religion and ritual
• immigration and diversity
• Japanese popular culture
• and the globalization of Japanese culture.

This will give you a good base of knowledge for taking more advanced modules on the anthropology of Japan in years 2 and 3.

In this module, you’ll dive into International Relations and its key theories. You’ll explore how International Relations emerges from specific cultural and historic concerns. You’ll gain core analytical skills, as you interpret historical events such as the First World War, decolonisation and the ‘War on Terror’, and use them to explore pressing debates in International Relations.

You’ll learn how International Relations has been shaped as a Western discipline, and how to challenge this by learning about aspects of international relations that have been erased or forgotten, such as colonialism and imperialism. You’ll learn to see International Relations as a rich array of competing stories about our world and what’s possible within it.

This module offers the opportunity to study abroad, experience a new culture, and apply your skills in different contexts to enhance your employability. It will help you develop self-management, cross-cultural communication, and interpersonal skills.

You’ll receive support to secure a place at a partner institution abroad, where you can choose modules related to your degree or explore new areas that complement your studies.

Studying at an international university will help you enhance your interpersonal skills through cross-cultural communication with students and tutors, allowing you to build lasting relationships. You'll also improve your study skills by focusing on your chosen areas of interest, gaining valuable international experience that will strengthen your CV.

This year abroad module lasts for one academic year and is taken after the conclusion of your second year of study, once you’ve completed all your level 5 studies. Your year abroad is not credit-bearing.

This module provides an introduction to organisations, their structure and culture, and the behaviour of individuals and groups within them. This module incorporates elements which will enable you to understand your personal tendencies and will significantly contribute to your further professional success.

You will engage with key models and concepts that form the field of intercultural communication. This will help you as a basis for the analysis of practical examples taken from a variety of texts. Which will be in your main languages of study, including audio-visual support.

You will learn to detect intercultural components in the source text. Translating the text in respect of the target cultural and linguistic conventions. Building your linguistic and intercultural skills

Working with different language combinations will show the importance of intercultural communication skills. Within a multilingual environment, and in the role of the translator as a cultural mediator.

Continue to improve your language skills in your chosen language/s as a beginner or as an intermediate entry language student.

The world's most pressing challenges don't fit neatly into one subject or discipline. This module puts you at the heart of tackling them.

Working alongside academics, fellow students and external partners, you'll contribute to real, cross-disciplinary projects addressing complex, real-world problems. The experience is designed to stretch you, building confidence, resilience and a deeper understanding of your subject in the context of today's world and tomorrow's workplace.

This is also a space for reflection. You'll draw on what you discover through these hands-on experiences to develop greater self-awareness, clarify your values and strengthen your belief in your own ability to succeed in complex, collaborative environments.

The second in a series of three modules running throughout the programme, Oxford Stories builds on the foundations of your first year and prepares you for the professional world beyond graduation.

Continue your study of a second language

On this module, you'll learn to identify and evaluate the latest developments in consumer behaviour. Including emerging consumer trends across various consumption contexts, using psychology and appropriate research methods and tools. You'll also build a deeper understanding of diversity, inclusivity, ethics, and sustainability, as well as skills in responsible marketing.

In this module, you’ll explore the relationship between language, culture and globalisation. You’ll gain key analytical skills as you observe how language operates in local and global contexts. You’ll look at language through a sociolinguistic approach - considering the relationship between language and society and how they affect each other. You’ll explore how English rose to become an international language, spoken in countries all over the world. You’ll explore a range of topics, including:

• language and gender
• language and politics
• language and standardisation
• globalisation discourses
• linguistic imperialism (when we impose our language on speakers of another language).

Do you dream of working as an English language teacher? Do you want to help adult learners grasp the English language? In this module, you’ll get to grips with English language teaching. You’ll gain a strong knowledge of teaching English, and essential skills in effective language teaching. You’ll also develop key practical skills for teaching English to adult learners. If you take this course, you’ll be able to apply to British Study Centres Oxford to complete your teaching practice, and acquire a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA). This is recognised by Cambridge Assessment as a pre-service training qualification.

How do we govern the world, when it’s no longer dominated by states and national governments? How do different types of migration shape the movement of people across the world? In this module, you’ll get to understand the key part of international relations - borders and solidarities (groups with a common identity or interest). You’ll explore the various forms of borders and solidarities, including:

• movements across national boundaries
• regional organisations
• trade agreements.

You’ll link them to key forces and events, such as:

• NGOs
• corporations
• colonisation
• refugee movements
• the migrant ‘crisis’.

You’ll gain valuable practical and professional knowledge, as you explore major issues today, and how global governance or migration shape our lives.

This module gives you the chance to study a topic that interests you in Modern Languages with Translation. You’ll work independently, with the support of our expert academic team, and will carry out work on a small project of your choosing. You’ll gain core skills for work, including in:

• enquiry
• research
• analysis
• evaluation.

This module will help you to develop a better understanding of language acquisition processes and language learning strategies. You'll also have opportunities to apply this knowledge and understanding to your own language learning.

Together we'll explore topics such as:

• child first language acquisition
• child bilingual acquisition
• adult second language acquisition
• and language impairment.

In this module you'll look at and analyse governmental and political institutions in Europe. You'll cover policy-making, the participatory process and contemporary issues in European politics, with a focus on comparative study as well as the process of regionalisation. You'll examine:

• The evolution of democracy and citizenship in Europe
• Parties, party systems and elections in Europe
• The EU and theories of European integration
• Regional nationalism and sub-state governance in Europe
• The unique challenges facing post-communist Europe
• The rise of populist nationalism in Europe
• The politics of migration in Europe
• The European welfare state
• The impact of global challenges on European politics.

In this module, you’ll collect, analyse and present primary data of cultural aspects that interest you, using methodological approaches and techniques that best fit your research. You’ll gain core critical skills for your final year, as you analyse your data and the data-collection process, as well as the wider cross-cultural experiences of individuals, groups and communities, either in the UK or abroad. You’ll also present the outcomes of your independent research at an academic conference, giving you vital skills for your future career.

On this module you'll have the the opportunity to:

• Improve your knowledge and competence in cross-cultural communications
• Explore challenges posed by visual culture; its translation and adaptation
• Understand the main translation strategies available for types of material in context
• Expand your cultural and/or linguistic understanding of the cultures of your chosen language
• Engage with a broad variety of materials from the target culture in its visual and written forms
• Advance and develop your presentation skills
• Improve and progress your ability to work well and collaborate as part of a team
• Undertake extensive research on material from the visual culture of your target language.

Examples of explored themes can include translation of cultural references. Such as:

• humour, of visual elements such as emoji
• censorship
• ideology
• translation/adaptation of pragmatic aspects such as register, politeness etc.

Continue to progress your language skills in your chosen language/s as a beginner or as an intermediate entry language student.

For this advanced module, you need a very high linguistic competence in French or Spanish. You’ll translate texts from the target language into English. We’ll cover a broad span of texts, contexts, styles and registers, including newspapers, literary texts and blogs. You’ll enhance your ability to translate texts creatively and precisely, following parameters of

• register
• style
• purpose
• audience
• meaning.

Continue further with your study of a second language .

What should world leaders do? How much power should countries give each other? And how should states and individuals behave towards each other? In this module, you’ll get to understand the key questions in world politics. You’ll explore:

• how we determine rights and duties
• how we both enable and restrict dominance
• how issues of race, gender and class interact
• in relation to world politics.

You’ll choose one of three topics that on international ethics and power - human rights, migration and immigration, or racism and colonialism.

In this module you’ll examine the production and naturalisation of socio-political identities and the inter-related politics of resistance to these identities and using these identities.

You will investigate the links between localised, everyday practices of identity and national/global forms of domination, exclusion and hierarchy - focusing on Western, liberal democratic states.

Explore the ways in which practices of domination, exclusion and hierarchy are both perpetuated and legitimised, and challenged by individuals and communities. You’ll also cover issues of race, gender, class and imperialism.

The Independent Study Module gives you the opportunity to explore a legal topic in greater depth, working closely with an academic whose research interests align with your chosen area. It allows you to investigate issues that go beyond the taught curriculum and develop expertise in a subject that reflects your interests and future ambitions.

You'll build advanced research, analysis and academic writing skills as you engage with legal scholarship, case law and contemporary debates. Students on our named pathways complete their project within their area of specialism, providing an opportunity to deepen their knowledge and showcase their expertise.

Whether you're considering postgraduate study, legal practice or another professional path, the module enables you to pursue an area you're passionate about while developing the independent learning skills valued by employers and researchers alike.

This module is compulsory if studying one of the named pathways.

You'll embark on the second of three action-orientated experiential modules that form a spine of Supportive Challenge learning opportunities which run throughout the programme of study. You'll be offered the opportunity to draw meaningful, practical experiences to develop personal awareness and self-efficacy while developing your understanding of your chosen subject or profession in the context of the contemporary world and the future world of work.

You'll also be allowed to experience the real-world of the so-called 'wicked problems' which are complex and cannot be addressed by only one subject, discipline or professional context. You'll immerse yourself in interactive projects, enhancing your understanding and aspirations and cultivating deep personal values leading to a greater sense of self-belief, confidence and resilience in your ability to succeed in complex contexts.