Languages
Languages are based at Craiglockhart Campus. Our teaching focuses on practical learning: you study listening, speaking, reading and writing in the context of the culture of the country whose language you’re studying. You’ll gain all the skills you need to deal professionally with speakers of your language in the workplace, whether here or abroad. You’ll also gain the intercultural skills employers value in the globalised workplace.
You can study French, German, Spanish or English as a Foreign Language to degree level, and we also offer Italian at lower levels. You’ll be taught in small groups and have the use of digital language labs, helping you to practice speaking and to research authentic materials from the countries where these languages are spoken. The lecturers are friendly and approachable and you’ll also be able to practice your skills talking to the international students in the friendly atmosphere at Craiglockhart.
All of our language degrees include at least one trimester, and often a full academic year, studying at one of our partner universities. You’ll be supported by a tutor in Edinburgh and helped to organise your stay abroad. Some funding may be available, depending on the country you visit. This is a great way to improve your language skills, immerse yourself in the foreign culture, and gain invaluable experience to make your CV stand out from the crowd when you graduate.
Language Degrees at Edinburgh Napier University
Our focus is on flexibility and choice. You can study up to three languages in a variety of combinations: in addition to the university entry requirements you need at least a higher or equivalent in the language you intend to study as your main language.
The degree course International Business Languages is our most flexible programme and allows you to study one, two or even three languages in combination with modules in intercultural communication and other subjects from the Business School. You can build up a degree profile to suit your interests from the wide range of subjects on offer.
The course Languages and Intercultural Communication focuses on language study with options from the Business School.
Alternatively, you can combine your language study with Marketing, Tourism, Hospitality or Festivals and Events and graduate with a joint degree in one of these areas.
For those who don’t want to specialise, but want to continue to study a language they already have some knowledge of, or learn a completely new one, Language modules are available to many students as options and to all students as part of the university’s co-curricular module scheme.
Postgraduate Study
We offer two Masters programmes: MSc Intercultural Business Communication and MSc Intercultural Business Communication with TESOL. These programmes are ideal for graduates in any discipline who want to broaden their horizons and acquire the knowledge and skills essential in today’s globalised workplace.
Further information on the courses offered by the School of Marketing, Tourism & Languages.
Facilities
We have superb facilities to help your language learning:
Digital Language Labs
There are 3 digital language labs, each capable of welcoming 20 students at a time. Each lab is equipped with the latest software which allows our language lecturers to create highly interactive classes. Time simply flies as the facilities in the language labs allow you to do a range of related activities, all from your workstation. For example, you may be asked to:
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Watch a short video about a particular region of Spain, then look at some Spanish Tourism websites before creating a powerpoint presentation of a tourist itinerary.
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Listen to a French employer describing a particular job, and the sort of person that they need to fill that vacancy. You might then be asked to search various French web pages for an advertisement for a similar job and write an application – in French, of course!
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Imagine that you are preparing for your six months study in Germany, review the websites for some German Universities to make sure they offer a pre-selected list of courses, then check the various accommodation options that you would have, again to a list of pre-selected criteria. Finally, you may be asked to conduct a short discussion – in German – with your tutor, outlining which University you have chosen to study at and why.
Resources
A large range of video and audio resources have been digitised and stored on the University server. You can access these at any time, to practise your language study.
Study Abroad Opportunities
One of the best opportunities available to any University student is the chance to study abroad for a short period. Living and studying in another country and another culture is a truly life-enhancing experience. It greatly improves language skills, of course, but it also helps you to become more confident, more mature – and more employable!
We have long-standing agreements with several Socrates Partners in Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and The Netherlands. The University also has a number of partners in the USA and elsewhere.
Research
Languages lecturers are active in a number of research areas and we welcome enquiries from students interested in pursuing research with us. Current areas of research interest include:
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Intercultural communication
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Second language learning pedagogy
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Discourse analysis
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The internationalisation of UK Higher Education
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Learning and teaching in an international context
See individual lecturers’ profiles for more information.