English Literature and a Modern Language

English Literature and a Modern Language is a combination that gives you access to literary traditions across languages, developing both the close reading and critical analysis skills of literary study and the linguistic and cultural competence needed to engage with a living foreign language and its literature. English literature encompasses centuries of writing in one of the world's great literary languages, offering an engagement with texts that span the medieval to the contemporary and range from poetry and drama to the novel and essay. A modern language adds access to the thought, culture, and creative work of another linguistic community, and the ability to read and communicate in that language directly.

At Cardiff University, this three-year full-time programme allows you to combine English literature with one of the modern languages offered by the department, which may include Welsh, French, Spanish, German, or another language. Cardiff has particular strengths in Welsh and in European modern languages alongside its English department, and the combination is especially interesting in the context of a bilingual Wales where English and Welsh literature have existed in dialogue for centuries. You will develop skills in close reading, literary history, critical theory, and written analysis in English alongside growing proficiency and literary engagement in your chosen modern language, with texts studied across a range of periods and traditions in both languages.

Graduates from English Literature and a Modern Language go on to careers in education, publishing, journalism, translation, cultural organisations, the civil service, broadcasting, public relations, and many other fields where strong literary and communication skills in more than one language are an asset. Some graduates pursue postgraduate study in English, comparative literature, modern languages, or linguistics, while others move into professional roles that draw on the intellectual and linguistic versatility the degree develops.