Specialisations
In the second year of your studies, you will take a specialisation of your choice. The programme offers four specialisations. The specialisation each consist of four related courses in which you will study a particular topic in depth. Read more about the specialisations you can choose from below.
| Specialisation (30 EC) |
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Language learning and teaching across the lifespan
This specialisation focuses on first and second language acquisition in naturalistic settings, and foreign language teaching in schools. The courses take an interdisciplinary approach, integrating psycholinguistics, pedagogy, psychology, sociolinguistics, and clinical linguistics. You will explore current debates on language teaching, multilingualism, and linguistic attitudes, and learn various research methods for application in projects.
Self, others and the literary world
This specialisation explores the relationship between self and community in literary texts from the medieval period to the present day, including poetry, drama, and novels. Students will use various critical methodologies to place these works in their historical context, understanding how contemporary concerns shaped literary explorations of self and community. The four courses focus on different periods and build on each other through intertextuality and thematic focus.
Transforming texts
This quartet of courses examines English literary works through their various genres—poetry, fiction, adaptation—and their forms—material, conceptual, stylistic. It explores how writers and artists manipulate and transform texts to challenge and engage audiences, ensuring the longevity of original sources. In period 4, you can choose either Creative Writing or English-Dutch Translation.
The social life of English
This specialisation examines how people use varieties of English and other languages in different contexts. You'll learn theory and research practices from sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, life writing, and language pedagogy. You'll study and write about the connections between language variation and identities, with applications in educational contexts.