English Language & Teaching with Foundation Year

Ranked 1st in the UK for Teaching Quality (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025)

Why study this course

Excellent opportunities to develop your practice of English teaching for a variety of educational settings in the UK and the rest of the world.

Ideal if you are looking to expand your horizons within education, beyond the traditional primary and secondary teaching routes.

With an additional specialism in online teaching, this course will also prepare you for the growing market in virtual education

Study at a university with 160 years teaching experience

Course summary

Our English Language and Teaching programme immerses you in the fascinating study of English, from how it developed from humble origins to the global language with all its variations that we use today, to how it is learned by children as a first language or by learners of English as a second or further language - and much more. You will explore questions about language structures and language use in society, language disorders, and language acquisition and you will learn practical methods - and get hands-on experience - of how to teach it. Crucially, you will develop skills and knowledge to help you gain employment or pursue further studies for work or research in linguistics, education, and language teaching, and a range of other relevant fields.

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Key facts

Award	BA (Hons)
Duration	4 years
Mode of study	Full-time
Start date	September 2025
Award	Bishop Grosseteste University
Institution code	B38

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About this course

Bishop Grosseteste University is the ideal place to combine your interests in language, teaching, and the study of English whilst developing practical skills and gaining professional experience to enhance your employability during and after you graduate. Our students progress to careers as teachers of English and other languages, in education support roles, further study, PGCEs for primary and secondary teacher training...and more. They work in private and mainstream schools and colleges, for local government departments, and they find employment in international education sectors, among many others.

So, are you drawn to topics involving language - how language is structured, how language develops in children, the study of language disorders, language and society, language use in media or politics or advertising, and how people learn a foreign language? If so, here on the BA in English Language and Teaching programme you will study modules that develop your knowledge of these topics, but you will also get hands on: you will learn the practical skills for lesson planning, producing teaching and learning materials, understanding tests for language learners or for analysing language disorders, and you will get to teach learners of English in the classroom and online, giving you the confidence to teach English or the other languages you know.

The TESOL team, who run the BA in English Language Teaching programme and our extremely successful MA in Education with TESOL, have well-established partnerships with local schools, colleges, and English language providers here in Lincoln and in international universities, which gives you with the opportunity to observe experienced teachers as part of your training. Our lecturers and qualified language teaching staff will support you closely to develop your confidence to plan and deliver lessons yourself.
Some Language Learning facts:

English is spoken by around 1.5-2 billion people globally and there are more people learning English as a second language than speak it as a first language
English will continue to be the world's most widely spoken language over the next decade
There is a massive demand globally for English language skills and language teachers are at the heart of this, despite increased automation and AI
Lincolnshire, like all areas of the UK, have increasing numbers of EAL (English as an Additional Language) students in primary and secondary schools who need specialist support to develop their English whilst maintaining their first languages in order to have the best chances of thriving in school and beyond
Teachers who have English as their first language ('native speakers') have been favoured in employment, but there is a growing awareness and demand for teachers who have learned English as a second/further language ('non-native speakers')
The UK is lacking the necessary langauge skills - beyond English - for the future and needs language teachers, strategies, and policies to develop our multilingual competence for future prosperity

By studying the BA in English Language and Teaching at BGU Lincoln, you are expanding your opportunities to apply your interest in language in a range of employment settings, or for further research - and make a difference.

What you will study

Students on this course currently study some or all of the following modules:

Course modules

In this module you will explore and consider what it means to be a successful learner at university. You’ll explore the principles of effective learning and engage with a range of tools and techniques to practise and develop strategies for your own learning. These include for example, understanding your needs as a learner, effective time management and organisational skills.

You will learn about a range of resources and practise locating and using these resources to support effective learning. These resources will include, for example, textbooks, websites, academic journals, and popular press. In addition to these key techniques, the module covers academic conventions including referencing, citation and the risks of plagiarism.

This module will allow you to learn to utilise sources in a considered and critical way. You will begin to engage effectively with literature and other sources in a meaningful manner that promotes deep learning and enables knowledge and understanding of a topic. You will also begin to differentiate qualitative and quantitative data and consider their appropriate interpretation and use.

Critical thinking is an integral part of university study. While studying this module you will define critical thinking, its importance and how it can help you in your learning. A range of critical thinking models will be utilised to demonstrate how this works in action, allowing you to recognise critical thinking and identify barriers and challenges.

The skilled use of digital technologies is an important element in university study and is used to support both the obtaining and demonstration of knowledge. This module will develop your digital capabilities and confidence, encouraging you to develop techniques for the purposeful use of a range of digital tools to support learning. These include specific tools such as the Virtual Learning Environment and appropriate and effective uses of wider applications such as social media, email and the internet.

This module explores, compares and evaluates a range of communication types, giving you opportunities to combine written and spoken communication in a range of contexts and for a range of audiences. From a theoretical, sociological perspective you will explore different communication media and styles of discourse, for example, discussion, debate, enquiry and reporting.

Reflection is a powerful learning tool that enables you to consider your existing knowledge and also to plan for your future learning and professional development. The module content includes the principles of reflective learning and collaborative planning with reference to structured models.

Academic writing is an essential element of successful university study, so this module explores a range of techniques to help develop your own academic writing style. It will enable you to draw together your learning throughout the Foundation Year and reflect on the feedback you have received. You will structure a clear and effective piece of academic writing on a subject-linked topic in which you will apply standard academic conventions.

You will explore how children learn their first language. You will study how spoken and written skills are developed by learning about the different language acquisition theories.

What is the difference between how we produce the sounds 'p' and 'b' ? Why does the rhythm of English sound different to Spanish? What are the processes that allow us to create new words and phrases? In this module you will discover how we describe and analyse the sounds, words and structures of languages, with a focus on English. You will learn the fundamentals of how languages work and how to identify differences and similarities between them. In the process, you will be developing your knowledge of key concepts and terminology that professionals use to support a range of people and their language needs, from learners of English to those with speech and communication disorders.

Through studying this module, you will develop an understanding of the main theories that try to explain how second languages are learned. You will find out what learner language looks like and how it develops, and about bilingualism and other topics that will give you a strong theoretical grounding to prepare for practical language teaching experience in your Level 5 TESOL modules.

You will go on a journey of when and where English language began to sound like an English you can recognise and how it changed and evolved into the English language that we use today.

The TESOL Methodologies module will guide you through the approaches and techniques that professional language teachers use for teaching English, or other languages, in the UK and all over the world. You will find out about the development of methodologies over time, from audiolingualism to the post-methods era, enabling you to develop a toolkit of techniques that you can select from and identify in practical teaching modules. A particular focus will be how these methods can be applied for the teaching of the four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Not only will you learn about language teaching methods and approaches, but you will understand the principles that underlie them by examining the relationship between method and general learning, as well as language learning, theories. This part of the study develops your criticality and professional capacity to select appropriate methods and builds on the theoretical knowledge of Second Language Acquisition you gained in Year 1. Further topics covered in the module will include lesson planning, classroom management, teacher and students roles, among others.

You will study the regional, national and international varieties of English and how social and occupational groups, gender and ethnicity influence the individuals’ language use and attitudes.

This module will provide you with the tools that you need to do your own research in English language and teaching.

In this module you have the opportunity to teach English to a learner on a one-to-one basis. You will plan your lessons and select activities and materials for your learner.

During this module you will practice teaching English to a group of students. It will help you design your lessons and prepare your materials and activities for your teaching practice.

In this module you will have the opportunity to analyse and evaluate how English language, in spoken, written or digital forms, shapes meaning for use in fields ranging from media to politics to marketing. You will also explore how factors such as audience, purpose, genre and mode affect our use of language.

This module will introduce you to the basic principles of how teachers construct and present English language tests. You will look at the different purposes of tests and you will critically evaluate testing techniques.

This module will give you the opportunity to evaluate and design materials for English language teaching use. You will develop a practical understanding of the role, principles and procedures of the design and evaluation of language teaching materials.

If you aspire to teach English in the primary, secondary, further, higher education or the professional sectors, this module will familiarise you with specific English language teaching contexts in the UK and abroad and the finer details of the National Curriculum for English Language.

In this module you will use your creative skills and imagination to examine innovative ways in the teaching of English. You will have the opportunity to explore how to use technology, augmented and virtual reality and games as tools in English language teaching.

In this module you will demonstrate your ability to design, conduct and report the results of a research project in an area of TESOL and/or Linguistics. You will work independently and under the guidance of a supervisor.

Entry requirements

Application for this course is via UCAS, although there is no formal requirement for UCAS points to access the course (normally GCSE English or equivalent is desirable). As part of your application you will have the opportunity to speak with a member of BGU Admissions staff to resolve any questions or queries you may have.

Different degree subjects may have specific entry requirements to allow you to progress from the Foundation Year. Whilst not a condition of entry onto the Foundation Year, you will need to have met these by the time you complete the first year of this four year course.

How you will be taught

There is no one-size-fits-all method of teaching at BGU – we shape our methods to suit each subject and each group, combining the best aspects of traditional university teaching with innovative techniques to promote student participation and interactivity.

Academic staff

Assessment

Assessment in English Language and Teaching is an integral part of your learning here at BGU and takes a variety of forms. Students will generally be assessed through a wide range of methods such as assessed presentations, written assignments, online discussion and ICT based tasks, teaching practice and portfolios of work. A research project in the form of the final dissertation in the third year of the course will encourage students to become research-informed English language teachers who have the ability to make knowledgeable judgements about their own practice.

Careers & Further study

BGU boasts extremely high employability ratings and our BA English Language and Teaching course will provide you with a solid foundation in English Language and Teaching. With your degree you can continue your professional development in English language teaching, education, speech and language therapy, media and publishing, both in international and UK contexts. You will also have the opportunity to pursue further studies within a field of linguistics. Alongside the BA, if you wish to progress towards achieving QTS, opportunities exist to complete our pre-teaching course which can assist you with gaining a place on one of our PGCE courses.