which unis are good for languages (french and german)?

I want to do languages at uni but I really have no idea where I want to apply yet - any suggestions?

Hi flora-s,

I don’t study German, but I do study French so I can give you some insight in that regard. Picking the right course for you can be a very overwhelming prospect, as there are so many universities that offer the course. I’d start off by picking out the most important thing for you, be it the module variety, the year abroad connections with partner institutions, or the way the course is taught. For me, it was modules, so I made a list of universities that I liked the look of and went from there. The year abroad connections were also important, and Exeter ticked both boxes for me.

There’s a brilliant wealth of modules available, partner institutions to study at, and I’ve found the staff to be absolutely wonderful. I didn’t end up studying for my year abroad, but I’m currently in France working as an English assistant and I’ve had a wonderful experience at Exeter.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Jen,

University of Exeter student ambassador

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Languages degrees can vary a lot in what they offer so do look at what the module options are and how they skew in different ways. Generally for a languages degree about half of the course is spend on language learning, while the other half is more or less "area studies" in relation to places that speak the language. This can be quite varied - some like Oxford very heavily emphasise literature, others may have more emphasis on history, some might focus on contemporary sociopolitical topics, and many will have some combination of the lot. Even within those subdisciplines you have variation - for example some with a good range of literature offerings may e.g. only focus on contemporary or late modern literature, while some may also offer medieval literature. Same principle applies to other areas.

Year abroad options and locations will also make a significant difference to your experience - being a student in Paris is going to be pretty different to being a language assistant in a smaller city in Lower Saxony for example!

Reply 3

flora-s

Thank you so much! I think I would like somewhere with more translation and linguistics maybe? I'll definitely have to have a look at some courses

Reply 4

ExeterStudentRep

Official Rep

Original post by flora-s

Thank you so much! I think I would like somewhere with more translation and linguistics maybe? I'll definitely have to have a look at some courses

Hi flora-s,

I’ve just read your comment and I figured that I’d mention that Exeter, at least for French, has a French linguistics pathway (basically optional modules that you can do from first to final year.) I did a linguistics module in first year and found it really interesting, and I have a friend who’s followed this pathway and really enjoys it. I thought I’d mention it!

All the best,

Jen,

University of Exeter student ambassador