Language skills
We offer all of our campus based postgraduate students the opportunity to develop their language skills, either for personal development or to support their research. Modern Languages run a ‘Reading for Researchers’ module in Arabic to support Postgraduate students in their studies.
This is a non-credit-bearing module, delivered online (so Distance learning students can take them too) for PGR and PGT students. It runs through Semesters 1 and 2, 2 hours per week.
It is available for all our campus based PhD students and most of our campus based Masters students. No other UK university offers you the ability to learn intensive graduate academic language skills in a year so that you will be able to read texts in Arabic.
The College of Arts and Law Graduate Language module offer you the opportunity to acquire a good reading knowledge of Arabic in order to help you pursue your research at Masters or PhD level. The aim is to ensure that you gain the ability to read academic texts representative of the research literature in your area of specialism, with the aid of a dictionary.
If you are a Masters student, check with your course convenor to see if this module is offered on your course. If you are a PhD student, you can take the module while you undertake your research, gaining extra skills while at Birmingham, and supporting the development of your research. It is free for PhD students at the University of Birmingham.
This is a unique suite of one-year Graduate Language module which is tailored to your needs as a postgraduate.
Reading for Researchers module: Arabic
Students are taught by a mixture of tutor-led and workshop sessions, typically alternating between the two. Tutor-led sessions give instruction on the grammatical and lexical features of the language, based on a progressive reading of the prescribed coursebook. In the workshop sessions, students do exercises, including translation of texts into English, under the guidance of the tutor.
There is no formal written assessment of this course: students will successfully complete the course through a 70% attendance record (the standard attendance level required in University regulations) and the module will generate a Pass or Fail result only. The module will be listed on the student’s transcript.
Spaces are limited to 16 the course and details of how to register are shared annually for students.
Further information
Further information
- LM Reading Modern Standard Arabic for Researchers
Please contact matranslation@contacts.bham.ac.uk for more information on the above module.
Enrolment
Enrolment
Masters students who have the option to take this module as part of their programme will register on the relevant module at the beginning of the academic year. PhD students should contact Stella Hart by emailing s.hart@bham.ac.uk or calling +44 (0)121 414 7411.
Delivery and assessment
Delivery and assessment
This module is taught in two halves, A and B. You will be taught by a mixture of tutor-led and workshop sessions, typically alternating between the two. Tutor-led sessions give instruction on the grammatical and lexical features of the language, based on a progressive reading of the prescribed coursebook. In the workshop sessions, you will do exercises, including translation of texts into English, under the guidance of the tutor.
If you are taking the module for credit, you will be assessed by a one-hour reading task.
Languages for All
Languages for All offers free extracurricular language courses in a wide range of modern languages as part of its Institution Wide Language Programme (IWLP). The scheme has been set up to extend the learning opportunities available to undergraduate students, who are given priority for places. However, we are currently extending this opportunity to all campus-based postgraduate students where availability permits.
For more information about the free language courses and application process, please visit the Languages for All website.