Programme And Module Handbook
 
Programme Specification


Date Specification Approved 15/11/2022
College College Arts and Law
School Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department Modern Languages
Partner College and School Art Hist, Cur and Vis Studies
Collaborative Organisation and Form of Collaboration
Qualification and Programme Title B.A. Modern Languages and History of Art Full-time
Programme Code 397A
Delivery Location Campus
Language of Study English
Length of Programme 4 Year(s)
Accreditations This programme has no outside accreditations
Aims of the Programme Modern Languages:
To enable students to achieve the appropriate level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (specified by language under Learning Outcomes) through the systematic integration of language and content teaching.
To enable students to explain and assess critically the multi-disciplinary features and significance of the culture, history and society of their chosen language communities.
To enable students to be digitally literate. Students will be able to use appropriate, up-to-date technology in the effective learning of languages and to understand works of culture (understood in the broadest sense, to include history, society, politics, and other material covered in modules aligned with the Birmingham Languages Graduate).
To enable students to handle and analyse material relating to research projects based in the Department of Modern Languages.
To enable students to engage with appropriately adapted questions derived from research projects based in the Departmentt of Modern Languages.
To enable students to become effective independent learners, with regular opportunities to develop skills in research, academic writing, and reflective learning.
To enable students to be competitively employable through the acquisition of direct and transferable skills as well as through: 1) appropriate integration of Modern Languages careers topics within core modules; 2) optional placement opportunities relating to Modern Languages (credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing); 3) non-credit bearing Modern Languages careers events.
To enable students to give a persuasive account of their degree and of why they have assembled their degree in a particular way.
To provide students with language and language-related transferable skills useful in a range of contexts, both educational and professional; and to respond to national and international needs for advanced strategic competence in a variety of world languages.
To enable students to acquire first-hand experience of living and studying and/or working abroad.
To enable students to develop a wide range of transferable skills, including the assimilation, analysis, organisation and synthesis of information and its effective communication in speech and writing, through the study of complex material, which can be applied in a variety of educational and professional contexts, thereby meeting a national and international need for competence in modern foreign languages.

History of Art

To provide a programme that allows the history of art to be studied from a range of different perspectives
To maintain an intellectually challenging, coherent and stimulating curriculum
To enhance students' learning experiences by offering modules which are informed and invigorated by the research and publications undertaken by members of staff
To provide a programme of increasing sophistication that enables students to tackle problems of growing complexity.
To instil in students an understanding of works of art seen in the original.
To develop a range of transferable skills in oral and written expression and communication, and in powers of self discipline and organisation.
To maintain a system of pastoral care and monitoring so as to encourage the best performances of our students.
To develop student expertise in the study, analysis and interpretation of visual and moving images in their historic and cultural contexts.
To give students the opportunity to become involved in the theoretical and practical concerns of a working art gallery through a variety of activities, and to engage with both the collection and its staff in a variety of ways.
Programme Outcomes
Students are expected to have Knowledge and Understanding of: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
The advanced strategic usage of one or more modern languages, including the linguistic structures of the language(s). By final year students of French, Italian, Spanish and Russian should have achieved at least C1 level and normally C2 level within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

*Students should be able to select and use appropriate, up-to-date technology in the effective learning of languages (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE, BA).
The features and significance of the culture, history and society of their chosen language communities. Students should be able to use appropriate, up-to-date technology in such understanding.

Dependent on the range of optional modules offered, specialised further topics within Modern Languages such as translation, interpreting, politics, linguistics, cinema, history, society or culture (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE, BA).
Key methods and concepts used in the analysis of a range of fields relating to language and culture. (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE, BA).
Advanced knowledge of the society and culture of the countries where the language is spoken.

*The significance of language and languages to our connections to other peoples and places around the globe, and in our own lives. This understanding will (a) span multiple disciplines and (b) extend across times, places, and identities, including with regards to:
  • ? The historical and contemporary significance of different languages and cultures
  • ? Cultural responses to the urgent human problems of history and the contemporary period, and to the human condition more widely
(different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE, BA).
History of Art: aspects of the art (and/or artefacts) of a range of geographical regions and/or chronological periods
History of Art: a more concentrated knowledge of some of the above
History of Art: a foundation in the cultural significance of artefacts
History of Art: the material processes through which works of art are made
History of Art: the concepts, values and debates which inform study and practice in the subject area
History of Art: a theoretical and practical understanding of galleries and their functions
Material is developed and delivered by a combination of native and non-native teaching staff, and involving a wide range of registers, contexts and modes (e.g. journalistic, literary, colloquial, translation, correspondence, administration) as well as unassessed assignments. Beginners follow an expanded, intensive course of language study. Extensive supporting material is available through Canvas and self-access facilities on the main campus. The Year Abroad provides students with the opportunity for a period of immersion in the language(s) studied. (1)

*Specialised core modules in all years, taught through the integration of language and content teaching involving plenaries and target language seminars and classes. The use of language learning technology is built in to all new core modules offered in Modern Languages. (1)

Plenaries, seminars, tutorials, project supervision, guided and independent reading. (2)

*All core modules in Modern Languages. This learning outcome is a key criterion through which optional modules can also align with the BLG curriculum. Teaching and learning methods include particularly plenaries, seminars, tutorials, project supervision, guided and independent reading. (2)

Plenaries, seminars, tutorials, project supervision, guided and independent reading. (3)

*All core modules in Modern Languages. This learning outcome is a key criterion through which optional modules can also align with the BLG curriculum. Teaching and learning methods particularly include plenaries.(3)

Plenaries, seminars, tutorials, project supervision, language classes, guided and independent reading. Also through residence abroad. (4)

*All core modules in Modern Languages. This learning outcome is a key criterion through which optional modules can also align with the BLG curriculum. Teaching and learning methods include particularly plenaries, seminars, tutorials, project supervision, guided and independent reading. (4)

Lectures, seminars and oral presentations (5)

Lectures, seminars and oral presentations (6)

Seminars, oral presentations (7)

Study trips, seminars in the gallery, oral presentations and group work (8)

Lectures and seminars (9)

Study trips, gallery classes, Inside the Gallery seminars and group project sessions (10)
Unseen written examinations, assessed coursework, essays, oral and aural examinations, tasks undertaken under timed conditions, assessments completed during the Year Abroad, and dissertation work including 20 credits of Independent Study. (1)

*Target language projects and e-assessment portfolios. Formative e- assessments and student-led research. (1)

Coursework (essays, dissertation, project work, oral presentations, target language projects, e-assessment portfolios), unseen written examinations, oral/aural examinations. Formative e-assessments and student-led research. (2)

Coursework (essays, dissertation, project work, oral presentations, target language projects, e-assessment portfolios), unseen written examinations, oral/aural examinations. (3)

Coursework (essays, dissertation, project work, oral presentations, target language projects, e-assessment portfolios), unseen written examinations, oral/aural examinations. Formative e-assessments and student-led research. (4)

first-year essays and examinations; second-year essays; final-year dissertation and examinations; oral presentations. (5)

second-year essays, final-year dissertation, first and final-year examinations (6)

first-year essays, second and final year essays (7)

photograph questions in first- and final- year examinations, first- year Object and Medium essays, oral presentations (8)

second- and final- year essays, final- year dissertation, essay questions in first- and final- year examinations (9)

Inside the Gallery group project (10)
Students are expected to have attained the following Skills and other Attributes: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
Comprehension, analysis, evaluation, distillation and contextualisation of information across a range of subject areas and the application of both generic and subject specific skills (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE and BA).
Skills of oral and written presentation both in English and in the target language(s), and the ability to explain, discuss and debate in smaller and larger groups (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE and BA).
Independent study skills (self-organisation, time management, research skills, planning, drafting and editing) and the ability to produce an extended piece of academic writing on the basis of them (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE and BA).
Transferable skills relevant to employment, including problem-solving, self-reliance, initiative, adaptability, flexibility, and competences such as note-taking, the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, and to use electronic resources and ICT effectively (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE and BA).
The ability to use language in professional contexts. (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE and BA).
The ability to apply generic, practical and interpersonal skills to living, studying and/or working in a non-English-speaking country (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. DipHE and BA).
Intercultural awareness, understanding and competence, especially the ability to function in another culture, and to engage critically with their own and other cultures (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE and BA).
Generic, transferable language-learning skills and the ability to use language reference materials such as grammars, standard and specialised dictionaries, and in some cases corpora to refine knowledge and understanding of register, nuances of meaning and language use (different levels of competence and different assessments will apply at each level i.e. CertHE, DipHE and BA).
History of Art: to present arguments and analyses fluently both in good written English and orally
History of Art: visual skills of observation, description, analysis and interpretation
History of Art: historical skills, including an ability to use appropriate methods for locating, assessing and interpreting primary sources (both visual and textual)
History of Art: ability to produce logical and structured arguments supported by relevant evidence
History of Art: ability to appraise critically other people's arguments
History of Art: ability to synthesise, summarise and analyse the arguments of others
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