On this programme, you explore two great literary traditions with a long history of cultural connections. You will develop a high level of expertise in the French language and the cultures in which it is central. Through this course you will become confident and highly skilled in written and spoken French. You will master the fundamental elements of the language, to the point where you will graduate with a near-native command of it. An integral part of the course is the opportunity for you to spend up to a year in a French-speaking country, either studying at a partner institution through the Erasmus+ programme, undertaking a work placement or working as a British Council language teaching assistant. It enables you to directly immerse yourself in the culture and develop your language to a near-native level. In both subjects you will spend a considerable amount of your teaching time in small seminar groups. This enables you to interact directly with our experts and other students, and add your own voice to discussions. It especially benefits you in French, where regularly practising your spoken language is vital in order to achieve fluency. By the time you graduate, you will be able to write and speak fluently in French – an immensely useful skill to have given that there is currently a great shortage of well-qualified linguists in the UK. The experience of studying or working abroad also distinguishes you from non-language graduates, providing evidence of self-reliance, adaptability and enterprise. You will also develop strong transferable skills in oral communication, research and writing, together with a high level of cultural literacy and critical sophistication. Past graduates have gone on to work for employers such the BBC, The Telegraph, Vogue, Oxford University Press, Water stones, Cisco Systems and the Royal Mint, as well as local authorities and schools.