English Language
Scholarships
Ranking
Top 200 in the world for English Language and Literature (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2019)
Download Brochure
Scholarships
Ranking
Top 200 in the world for English Language and Literature (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2019)
Download Brochure
Qualifications
Overview
Are you curious about how the English language works? Are you fascinated by the changes that have taken place in the English language over centuries of time? Or even how individuals vary their use of English from one day to the next, depending on social situation or communication medium? Ever thought about how a person’s early experience of English shapes them? Or how and why Aotearoa New Zealand English differs from the language spoken in other English-speaking countries?
English Language studies aim to satisfy these curiosities and illuminate even further; focusing on the structure, functions, and contexts of use of English. Students will learn about the sound systems and grammatical systems of English, and they will come to understand how English varies in different historical, geographical, and social contexts.
- UC is ranked in the top 200 universities in the world for English Language and Literature (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2019).
- The study of languages is an interdisciplinary field of study that bridges the sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. The Department of Linguistics is internationally renowned for its research work on the linguistics of English. This reflects UC’s established staff expertise in this area.
- Te Kāhui Roro Reo | New Zealand Institute for Language, Brain and Behaviour is a research centre at UC, where researchers from different departments at the university reflect on the foundations of language as an integrated, multimodal, statistical system operating in a social, physical, and physiological context.
UC offers a major and a minor in English Language as part of the Bachelor of Arts. You can also study this subject as a minor within the Bachelor of Commerce.
100-level courses
ENLA 101 and ENLA 102 are prerequisites for 200-level English Language courses.
- ENLA 101 The English Language – introduces students to the study of the English language, its words, sounds and sentences. It also introduces the conceptual and analytical tools which linguists use to understand how languages are constructed.
- ENLA 102 Language and Society in New Zealand and Beyond – participants will assess the role of language experience in how we speak, how we listen and how our beliefs are shaped.
200-level and beyond
Beyond first-year, more specialised courses explore a variety of topics. At 200-level, students are introduced to the sociolinguistic study of language and will analyse English language variation across space and time. At 300-level, courses include New Zealand English and the History of English.
Students taking English Language courses can benefit from exposure to other Linguistics courses and/or from taking a course in another language other than English (or their native language).
This subject provides a foundation for any career which requires advanced communication skills and/or a detailed understanding of the English language, such as teaching, management, marketing, the media, research, and publishing.
An English Language degree is an ideal preparation for training in teaching English as a second language, which is a popular career and offers excellent travel opportunities.
Find out more about what you can do with a degree in English Language.
Contact us
Phone +64 3 369 3377
Email artsdegreeadvice@canterbury.ac.nz
Location
Level 2, Locke building – see campus maps
Postal address
College of Arts | Te Rāngai Toi Tangata
University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand
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