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What's the Modern Languages course like at Bristol?

Hi everyone :smile:

I've got an offer at Bristol to read Hispanic Studies. I was wondering what the course is like/ how flexible it is? I have offers also from Durham, Nottingham and Southampton for virtually the same subject. Durham has the reputation but a weaker course, and Southampton has the most flexible course I've seen so far.
If I study sole Spanish @ Bristol, is it easy to pick up a module in another language, say Catalan/ Portuguese?
Many thanks. :wink:

p.s. also, If you have info about the courses of the other 3 then let me know! xx
Reply 1
Portuguese is better than Catalan :smug:
Inside University of Bristol
University of Bristol
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Reply 2
p.s. please quote me! i've somehow managed to delete my box saying "watched threads" ! thanks :s-smilie:
Reply 3
Original post by RubyJ
p.s. please quote me! i've somehow managed to delete my box saying "watched threads" ! thanks :s-smilie:


Hey, I just dropped out of Notts with Spanish having been a third of my course. While the department's not terrible, it's fairly standard and a bit uninspiring. Oral classes were horrible as most of the teachers are Cuban and therefore so hard to understand! Also, arranging appointments with your teacher can be difficult as they're quite elusive and difficult to get hold of if you have a problem with anything and need advice. The history/culture modules are taught in quite a boring way, especially Islamic Iberia (which I find interesting!) and Hispanic Cinema, and you don't get a lot of choice. They say you should read and listen to the radio in your own time, but the only material they suggest is El Pais (I mean, come on!:rolleyes:)...and wow! This message turned out to be a lot bitchier than I intended, sorry! But anyway, I've applied to Bristol as their course looks great and I know people who have done languages there and loved it
Reply 4
Original post by TheOFactor
Hey, I just dropped out of Notts with Spanish having been a third of my course. While the department's not terrible, it's fairly standard and a bit uninspiring. Oral classes were horrible as most of the teachers are Cuban and therefore so hard to understand! Also, arranging appointments with your teacher can be difficult as they're quite elusive and difficult to get hold of if you have a problem with anything and need advice. The history/culture modules are taught in quite a boring way, especially Islamic Iberia (which I find interesting!) and Hispanic Cinema, and you don't get a lot of choice. They say you should read and listen to the radio in your own time, but the only material they suggest is El Pais (I mean, come on!:rolleyes:)...and wow! This message turned out to be a lot bitchier than I intended, sorry! But anyway, I've applied to Bristol as their course looks great and I know people who have done languages there and loved it


Hi, that's really useful, thanks, as I applied to Nottingham as well. Do you know what the Bristol course entails? Thanks again!:smile:
Reply 5
Original post by RubyJ
Hi, that's really useful, thanks, as I applied to Nottingham as well. Do you know what the Bristol course entails? Thanks again!:smile:


If you choose Notts don't worry, it's not quite as bad as I'm making out. You just need to put in more of an effort and be more independent to make the most out of your course, which isn't a bad skill to learn anyway

A lot of unis focus on Spanish/Latin American history, politics, and culture, with a few options of art, literature and cinema options available early on, and translation/TESOL in the final year. A few have more traditional, literature-focused courses, such as UCL and Oxford. The great thing about Bristol is that I think it combines all these elements well, giving you a fair balance of each. Although I don't think you get much choice in the first year, you still learn a great variety of things (as my friends who've studied there have told me) in terms of history and lit, so you don't get too bored. You also get a choice between Portuguese and Catalan (which I think you've already mentioned). Personally, I love the amount of Catalan you can learn, with a depth you don't get at other unis, as I might be considering moving to Barcelona after my degree. I know that in 2nd and 4th years, you get more options in a range of subjects. Although that doesn't really distinguish Briz from other unis that much, I think you get to study things like literature or art etc. in a lot more depth. In terms of the actual language teaching, I think you get the standard 4 components; grammar, writing, listening and speaking, with an hour per week devoted to each (could be wrong here). Apparently the teachers are great because they make you participate in classes (don't let you hide in the back) and don't let you speak in English, which is embarassing but very helpful!

I've just had a look around their site, and you can see all the units offered for each year here http://www.bris.ac.uk/hispanic/current/undergrad/ - some pretty cool options in year 2, like ¨from frontiers to football: nations in latin america¨!
Reply 6
Original post by TheOFactor
If you choose Notts don't worry, it's not quite as bad as I'm making out. You just need to put in more of an effort and be more independent to make the most out of your course, which isn't a bad skill to learn anyway

A lot of unis focus on Spanish/Latin American history, politics, and culture, with a few options of art, literature and cinema options available early on, and translation/TESOL in the final year. A few have more traditional, literature-focused courses, such as UCL and Oxford. The great thing about Bristol is that I think it combines all these elements well, giving you a fair balance of each. Although I don't think you get much choice in the first year, you still learn a great variety of things (as my friends who've studied there have told me) in terms of history and lit, so you don't get too bored. You also get a choice between Portuguese and Catalan (which I think you've already mentioned). Personally, I love the amount of Catalan you can learn, with a depth you don't get at other unis, as I might be considering moving to Barcelona after my degree. I know that in 2nd and 4th years, you get more options in a range of subjects. Although that doesn't really distinguish Briz from other unis that much, I think you get to study things like literature or art etc. in a lot more depth. In terms of the actual language teaching, I think you get the standard 4 components; grammar, writing, listening and speaking, with an hour per week devoted to each (could be wrong here). Apparently the teachers are great because they make you participate in classes (don't let you hide in the back) and don't let you speak in English, which is embarassing but very helpful!

I've just had a look around their site, and you can see all the units offered for each year here http://www.bris.ac.uk/hispanic/current/undergrad/ - some pretty cool options in year 2, like ¨from frontiers to football: nations in latin america¨!


that's fantastic, thank you. I'll have a look at the site. Do you know if Bristol do a linguistics module? Sorry to keep pestering you.
Reply 7
Original post by RubyJ
that's fantastic, thank you. I'll have a look at the site. Do you know if Bristol do a linguistics module? Sorry to keep pestering you.


Not as far as I know actually. Not as all-round as I thought they were! :lol: ....the same goes for Notts. Have you checked Durham's and Soton's courses to see if they offer linguistics?
Reply 8
Soton do, but don't think Durham do. :frown: Thanks again.
Reply 9
Original post by RubyJ
Soton do, but don't think Durham do. :frown: Thanks again.


Just had a brief look on Ston's website - looks good! Infact it seems more focused on linguistics than anything else:smile:. Do you not actually want to go there though?

Don't want to confuse you even more, but Manchester offer a good linguistics course: http://manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/search2011/atoz/course/?code=00290 (I'm shamelessly plugging all my uni choices:rolleyes:)...only consider this if you REALLY don't want to go to your current options (which are great), they might still have places left
Reply 10
Original post by TheOFactor
Just had a brief look on Ston's website - looks good! Infact it seems more focused on linguistics than anything else:smile:. Do you not actually want to go there though?

Don't want to confuse you even more, but Manchester offer a good linguistics course: http://manchester.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/search2011/atoz/course/?code=00290 (I'm shamelessly plugging all my uni choices:rolleyes:)...only consider this if you REALLY don't want to go to your current options (which are great), they might still have places left



I liked it, but it doesn't have the reputation of Bristol/ Durham, so still pondering. plus, its very close to where I live, and quite looking forward to starting everything afresh. thanks for the Manchester info, but I can't change my uni choices now. :smile:
(edited 12 years ago)

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