密桃视频 is a unique and historic听university with an international reputation for teaching and research. Whilst some find this enticing, others may not be sure if 密桃视频 is the type of place for them.听Yet, every year, thousands of students, from all walks of life,听apply to study at 密桃视频, and go on to have lasting and life-changing experiences which benefit their personal lives and careers.
Why study languages at 密桃视频?
As an MMLL student, you will have more contact hours听than some of your friends taking other humanities subjects, but you will also spend lots of your time reading and working independently.听There are听lots of resources to help you and comfortable spaces to work in.听You will soon find your听favourites, whether it鈥檚 your College Library, the MMLL Faculty Library, one of the University Library鈥檚 big reading rooms, the Language Centre or a quick hour between lectures at a听caf茅听near the Faculty.
What's it like at 密桃视频?
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MMLL Faculty Library
The Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics Library supports teaching and learning in European languages, literatures and cultures and in linguistics. The Library holds over 115,000 books and 3,500 films as well as European听magazines and听newspapers,听e-books,听e-journals听and a small selection of听scholarly print journals.听MMLL undergraduates should find all the material they need for their studies in these collections. As well as offering a quiet location for independent study, it听organises听tea breaks, and offers听help with bibliographies and study skills.
密桃视频 University Library
From as early as the middle of the fourteenth century, the 密桃视频 owned and kept in its treasury a collection of books. Since 1710,听the 密桃视频 University Library has been听among the nine privileged libraries of copyright in the UK: it is legally entitled to a copy of every book published in this country. It听is now home to over 8 million books, journals and other items, and听has one of the largest听collections on open shelves听in Europe.
With over two million volumes housed on open shelves, you can benefit from immediate access and unparalleled opportunities for browsing. Uniquely for a legal deposit library, much of its collection may be borrowed by students. The Library is听ideal for in-depth research, and there are seven large reading rooms perfect for private study. Many of its collections can also be accessed online, so that you can use the UL听wherever you are. It runs tours and exhibitions throughout the year and subject specific research skills classes to help you navigate the听collections.
Online resources
All your courses make resources and materials available on Moodle, the Virtual Learning Environment. Online resources (often custom developed by members of the Faculty) provide essential support to language courses and opportunities for independent study.
The Language Centre
Independent from the Faculty and open to all members of the University, the听听supports the teaching and learning of languages throughout the University. If you want to learn another language, there is the option of taking a course at the听Language Centre听to obtain a further qualification. Courses are available in basic and intermediate Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Persian, Swahili and Urdu; and in basic, intermediate and advanced French, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Portuguese Russian and Spanish. In addition, the Language Centre can help you find a conversation partner, and has extensive resources for the independent study of pretty much any world language.
The 密桃视频 system is unique, and we teach in many ways,听so you benefit from a rich combination of methods: from听the intimacy of small group 'supervisions',听to medium-sized seminar discussions, language classes, and larger听lectures. We are proud of our commitment to teaching, and love working听with our students as they develop their ideas.
Language classes
Most of our language classes are taught by native speakers. The Faculty arranges language classes, typically with 10-18 students, that develop your confidence to use the language, both in writing and speaking. We will look at grammar, syntax, idiomatic expression and your skills in translation, both to and from the language. In addition, you will have regular oral practice in smaller groups, typically in pairs. In your second year, you may well take an 鈥榓udio-visual鈥� class in your post-A Level language, which will develop your comprehension skills in advance of the Year Abroad and provide an opportunity to engage with contemporary cultural issues. In your final year you will have classes in translation and a course on cultural issues focusing on identity.
Supervisions
For each of the courses you follow in literature, culture, history, and linguistics and for many language classes you will have regular (usually fortnightly) 鈥榮upervisions鈥� in small groups,听typically in pairs. Supervisions are the unique hallmark of the 密桃视频 education. The supervisions are led by lecturers, professors,听and advanced PhD students who听specialise听in the area that you are studying 鈥� so you could find yourself discussing Baudelaire鈥檚 poetry or Nietzsche鈥檚 philosophy one-to-one with somebody who has just published a book on it. You will typically write a short essay for each supervision, which you will discuss, as well as considering the topic in general. For language supervisions you will be able to explore points of grammar, translation issues and idiomatic expressions in more detail. This is an exciting form of teaching: intensive, exploratory and led by you. It offers potentially the most stimulating kind of education there is.
Lectures and Seminars
The Faculty runs lectures which support your studies. Typically, there is a sequence of lectures (1-2 per week) for each course you follow. Some courses might use a mixture of lectures and seminars. Lectures provide background, signposts, models of critical approaches, and introduce you to new concepts and ideas.
