Description
The undergraduate Licence in English and German offers students the opportunity to study German and English, and enables students to gain strong skills in each of these two languages. Until now, students who wished to ‘study two languages’ at university had to enrol in the Licence in Applied Foreign Languages (LEA). It is now possible to study both English and German in the same way, within a demanding study pathway that combines course units on literature and civilisation, but which also includes translation and linguistics.
The Licence study pathway offers students in-depth learning in German and English, situating this within an intellectual, social and historical context. The programme of study intends to develop students’ capacity for critical thought and analysis, and to activate their faculty for written and oral expression, both in the foreign languages under study and in French.
Linguistic, literary, historical and cultural approaches are brought together in one coherent programme.
Objectives
The learning objectives are:
- to gain a good command of German and English translation (towards and from French);
- to gain a critical distance from the language systems under study, achieved via comparison with the French language, and particularly within the context of translation and foreign language summaries;
- to be able to compose and orally present a developed argumentation, in response to problems and debates;
- to be able to analyse speech and reference texts;
- to be able to analyse images, cinema, theatre and media from the societies under study;
- to gain command of cultural codes and references from the areas under study, and an ability to compare them.
Training content
Three years of study
Throughout the three years of this undergraduate Licence, the teaching of English and German are given equal weighting. Each semester includes course units on translation (into and from the foreign languages), in grammar/linguistics, and in written and oral expression. There are also phonetics tutorials in the multimedia laboratories.
First year ofundergraduate study (Licence 1)
The emphasis is placed on the fundamental basics of the two languages under study, and students start to become acquainted with the culture (historical; literary; artistic) of German- and English-speaking countries.
Second year of undergraduate study (Licence 2)
Whilst continuing to develop a more detailed grasp of the two languages, students also cover key themes of the two cultural areas under study. Through the analysis of a diverse range of works (novels; poetry; theatre; paintings; cinema; television), students are able to develop a capacity for critical thought and clear argumentation in both languages, both written and oral.
Third year of undergraduate study (Licence 3)
By now, students are true experts in two languages and cultures, and are capable of thinking through questions and issues that are particular to the two cultural areas under study. They are able to construct a specialised speech, based on authentic documents. This dual skills-base enables students to address questions of ‘interculturalism’ with discriminating intelligence. Up until the second semester of the second year of study (S4), students have the option of changing the direction of their studies towards the undergraduate Licence in German, or the undergraduate Licence in English. Students are highly encouraged to spend a semester or a year abroad. Thanks to our numerous partnerships with universities in Germany, Austria, Great Britain, the United States, Canada, etc., students are able go abroad within a range of contexts, for example as part of the Erasmus exchange programme, or as a teaching assistant.
Access condition
Find information regarding enrolment procedures and the supporting documents to be provided, according to your profile and your level of studies :
Identifier ROME
- E1108 : Traduction, interprétariat
- E1106 : Journalisme et information média
- E1102 : Ecriture d'ouvrages, de livres
- K2106 : Enseignement des écoles
- K2107 : Enseignement général du second degré
- K2111 : Formation professionnelle
Career pathways
Students can gain access to translation and interpreting professions, following further study at Master’s level in translation studies or at an interpreting school. Students gain a high standard in two languages and a sophisticated understanding of the cultural realties of a range of foreign countries, giving them a definite advantage in competitive employment sectors. The undergraduate Licence in English and German can also lead to a professional Master’s in Intercultural Studies. Professions related to intercultural communication also offer a variety of opportunities (as a press agent, cultural event organiser, etc.). The sectors of international relations, diplomacy, and security really value graduates who have a good command of several languages. Upon graduation from the undergraduate Licence in English and German, there are several programmes of study at Master’s level from which students may choose: the professional Master’s in
Intercultural Studies (a programme of study that focuses on ‘interculturalism’), and the Master’s in Global Security and Trilingual Analytics (SGAT).
There are many employment opportunities in professions related to teaching, upon completion of this undergraduate Licence. Students can take the competitive entry examination for secondary school teaching of German, or of course English, (known as ‘CAPES’). This is within the framework of the Master’s for Future Teachers (‘Master MEEF’), a programme of study offered by Université Bordeaux Montaigne. Students can also prepare for the competitive examination for the recruitment of French primary school teachers.
Further studies
Finally, the undergraduate Licence in English and German can also lead into research-oriented Masters’ programmes, particularly the research Master’s in German and English at Université Bordeaux Montaigne. Students can also take the competitive university examination for teachers (known as ‘Agrégation’), or indeed pursue further study at PhD level.
