Course summary

Would you love to become a highly proficient linguist while at the same time developing an understanding of how language works? As the science of language, linguistics studies everything to do with language, including how language is structured, how it develops in children, the ways in which it reflects society and culture, how it defines individuals and groups, and how it changes over time. Our Certificate of Higher Education in Linguistics and Language offers you the opportunity to learn about the central ideas and concerns of contemporary linguistics at one of the world’s top research-intensive universities. You will also learn a language from beginner level (French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish), which will enable you to communicate in a variety of social and work situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. The course has five possible routes, so that you graduate with one of the following awards based on which language you choose to study:

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and French

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and German

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Italian

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Japanese

• Certificate of Higher Education Linguistics and Spanish

• Applied linguistics has been taught at Birkbeck since 1965, so you will be taught by experienced specialists from a centre of teaching and research excellence.

• Ours is a community of scholars with shared interests in interdisciplinary topics and cross-cultural research. Our affiliated research centres, the Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies (CFFCS) and the Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CILAVS), provide an important platform for this exchange.

• translator

• English as a Foreign Language teacher

• publishing copy editor/proofreader

• civil service fast-streamer

• editorial assistant.