Semesters 1, 2 and 3: You will spend the first three semesters in UL, building a foundation in your two (or three) chosen languages and the societies in which these languages are spoken, as well as in Linguistics, which is the science of language, and in your elective subjects.
Semesters 4 and 5: You will spend semesters 4 and 5 away from UL. You will be on a work placement for the first semester (cooperative education) and you will be studying in a university for the second semester (external academic placement). Working and studying abroad gives you a fantastic opportunity to deepen your linguistic skills and cultural knowledge. Students generally divide their time between their two main languages; so if German and Spanish are your main languages, you could spend your cooperative education in Spain or Argentina for example and spend your external academic placement in a German-speaking country. If you are studying Irish, you may be working in the Gaeltacht or in Irish-medium schools and media organisations. Whatever your language combination, you will get plenty of advice and guidance about these choices and you will start planning them well in advance.
Semesters 6, 7 and 8: During semesters 6, 7 and 8, you will acquire a deeper understanding of the historical, political, economic and cultural factors that have shaped the societies in which your two languages are spoken, while also continuing the study of these languages to a high level of proficiency. You will also acquire specialised, advanced skills such as interpreting and translating. In addition, you have the opportunity in your last 3 semesters to continue the study of your third language/ politics and international relations/marketing, or you can choose to specialise in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages or Technical Communication. You can also choose to study literature modules in your second language. In addition, you can choose from a variety of interesting electives in the areas of linguistics, media, sociology, literature and film.
A full year by year breakdown of modules is below:
Year 1 | Semester 1
- Language, Culture and Society A: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Language, Culture and Society B: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Linguistics 1
- Elective 1: French OR German OR Irish OR Spanish OR Japanese OR Marketing OR Politics and International Relations
- Elective 2: Literature in Language A OR B OR Cultural Studies and New Media
Year 1 | Semester 2
- Language, Culture and Society A: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Language, Culture and Society B: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Linguistics 2
- Elective: French OR German OR Irish OR Spanish OR Japanese OR Marketing OR Politics and International Relations
- Elective 2: Literature in Language A OR B OR Language and Culture
Year 2
Year 2 | Semester 1
- Language, Culture and Society A: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Language, Culture and Society B: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Language and Technology
- Elective 1 : French OR German OR Irish OR Spanish OR Japanese OR Marketing OR Politics and International Relations
- Elective 2: Literature in Language A OR B OR Cultural Studies
Year 2 | Semester 2
Year 3
Year 3 | Semester 1
- External Academic Placement
Year 3 | Semester 2
- Language, Culture and Society A: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Language, Culture and Society B: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Elective 1 : French OR German OR Irish OR Spanish OR Japanese OR Marketing OR Politics and International Relations OR Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages OR Technical Writing
Year 4 | Semester 1
- Language, Culture and Society A: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Language, Culture and Society B: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Applied Languages Project
- Elective 1:French OR German OR Irish OR Spanish OR Japanese OR Marketing OR Politics and International Relations OR Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages OR Technical Writing
- Elective 2: Literature in Language A OR B OR Cultural Studies OR European Cinema OR New Media
Year 4 | Semester 2
- Language, Culture and Society A: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Language, Culture and Society B: French OR German OR Irish OR Japanese OR Spanish
- Applied Languages Project
- Spanish OR Japanese OR Marketing OR Politics and International Relations OR Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages OR Technical Writing
- Elective 2: Literature in Language A OR B OR Cultural Theory OR European Cinema OR Travel Literature
