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Introduction
Why choose this course?
Key features
 You will analyse the structure and mechanics of how language functions with a wider study of the cultural and social aspects of language and communication.
 Set yourself apart with a recognised competence in Mandarin. Study Mandarin at a level and pace that really suits you and your needs, alongside developing your knowledge of the country, the society, the culture and the people.
 You will be taught by experienced practitioners who, thanks to their experience, ensure that the skills you develop are relevant to professional practice and the sector.
 Evolve a range of transferrable skills that are valuable to a variety of career paths. Our graduates have gone on to work at Meisei University in Tokyo, the Department of Transport, communications agencies, and schools in the UK and overseas.
 Visiting lecturers have included forensic linguistics expert Dr John Olsson, while organised trips to professional events have seen students visit the London Language Show.
 Gain workplace abilities and experience by putting your research, reasoning, and communication skills into practice on a placement or extracurricular internship.
 Benefit from Education 2030, where a simplified ‘block learning’ timetable means you will study one subject at a time and have more time to engage with your learning, receive faster feedback and enjoy a better study-life balance.
Overview
English Language with Mandarin is a stimulating, thought-provoking course designed to make you analyse and reflect on how language in general, and English in particular, functions in the world today. You will examine the origins of English and how it could evolve in an era of global change and technological innovation. You will discover how the importance and impact of language in a variety of contexts, both as a complex system for embodying ideas, emotions, and beliefs, and as a means of influencing, persuading, and moving others.
You will develop a set of linguistic and analytical skills which will help you become a highly effective communicator. This is a course about how language shapes your world – by learning and understanding how language works, we can help the world open up to you.
Alongside your English language curriculum, you will study Mandarin from either beginner level or post-beginner level. You will develop your linguistic skills and gain an understanding of social, cultural, political, historical, and artistic topics.
Modules
Year 1
Block 1: Approaches to Reading and Writing
Block 2: Words in Action
Block 3: Beginner OR Post-Beginner Mandarin
Block 4: Topics in Linguistics: Theory in Practice
Year 2
Block 1: Structure and Meaning
Block 2: Research Methods for Linguists
Block 3: Post-Beginner OR Intermediate Mandarin
Block 4: Pragmatics, Theory and Practice
Year 3
Block 1: Yearlong: Dissertation
Block 2: Language Acquisition and Expression
Block 3: Intermediate OR Advanced Mandarin
Block 4: Communication, Control and Resistance
Entry Criteria
ENTRY REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Home Office Share Code
For EU students only.
IF no Qualification
Please provide CV with at least 2 years of work experience, and employee reference letter.
Entry criteria
Typical entry requirements
 104 points from at least 2 A'levels
 BTEC Extended Diploma DMM
 International Baccalaureate: 24+ Points or
 T Levels Merit
Plus five GCSEs grades 9-4 including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above.
 Pass Access with 30 level 3 credits at Merit and GCSE English (Language or Literature) at grade 4 or above.
We will normally require students have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.
 We also accept the BTEC First Diploma plus two GCSEs including English Language or Literature at grade 4 or above
Interview required: No
English language requirements
If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.
English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.
Assessment
ASSESSMENT METHODS
1. INTERNAL ENGLISH TEST if you don't have an English accredited certificate
2. Academic Interview
Teaching and assessment
This degree aims to make you a highly skilled, articulate communicator in not one, but two languages. It will develop your ability to analyse and understand how written and spoken language work, and also to operate effectively in a language and in cultures which are not your own.
From your first year, you will be combining theoretical knowledge and practical skills to help you understand how language works, and acquiring a knowledge of the history and cultures where English and Mandarin are used. You will have Mandarin classes throughout the year as this continuous approach is recognised as the best way to learn a language, with the majority of teaching taking place in Block 3.
There is a varied mix of assessment including: reports, essays, blogs, wikis, tests and oral presentations. The assessments are designed to build on each other as you progress in your studies and you will have opportunities to receive feedback on your work throughout. With a variety of different assessment methods, you can build on your individual strengths as well as develop a range of skills in creativity, project management, team work, verbal communication, writing for a variety of audiences and the use of different technologies. For the Mandarin language modules, assessment is focused on evaluating your competence in the four key skills of Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Hearing and your knowledge of the cultural, social, and historical context.
You will be taught by staff who are experts in fields as diverse as online communication and identity, language and globalisation, semantics and meaning, and propaganda and counter-terrorism. You will benefit from a range of visiting speakers throughout the course. Previous guest lecturers have included world experts in subjects such as forensic linguistics.
Contact hours
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials, seminars, group work and self-directed study. In your first year you will normally attend around 10 hours of timetabled taught sessions (lectures and tutorials) each week, and we expect you to undertake at least 25 further hours of independent study to complete project work and research.
Career Opportunities
Placements
Insight into the professional world is a valuable opportunity to enhance and build on your knowledge in a real-world setting, preparing you to progress onto your chosen career. 
Previous students have taken up placements in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors, including some international posts, across a range of companies including public relations agencies and local schools. For instance, our students have worked as teaching assistants in schools, supported children with special educational needs through speech and language therapy, assisted with Digital Humanities research projects at DMU’s Centre for Textual Studies, worked in local publishing, at the Leicester Mercury and for the BBC. 
DMU Global
Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons, helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.
Students on this course have previously been on DMU Global trips to explore ekphrastic writing and themes of oppression in Berlin, as well as visited media organisation TED’s headquarters TED HQ and key literary locations in New York. 
Graduate careers
Our graduates have strong linguistic, reasoning and analytical skills, making them highly sought-after by many employers. We develop our students’ information analysis and presentation skills to produce articulate, adaptable, professional communicators who can operate with ease in any setting and with any group of people.
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