Teaching and Learning
The main aim of the Honours degree programmes is to give students experience of excellence in teaching and learning, in an environment where they will benefit from the fact that all subjects of study are also a home to world-leading research.
The School aims to offer academically coherent, challenging and up-to-date study programmes in ways which encourage students to develop as independent and self-reliant learners. As well as this it is our aim to foster students' personal, intellectual and organisational skills, so that when they leave the University they will take with them a range of skills that will be readily applicable to their chosen career.
The quality of teaching and learning at The University of Manchester is unrivalled. In formal assessments of teaching Manchester's School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures is consistently highly rated.
Academic year
The academic year is divided into two semesters. Students take 120 credits made up of 10 or 20 credit rated "course units" each year. Some are taught and examined during a single semester, but some are taught throughout both semesters and examined at the end of the second semester. Examination may be by a variety of methods including: written assignments, unseen or seen formal examinations, portfolios, group tasks etc. You will also be required to submit essays, translations or other pieces of work, which may not be formally assessed towards the award yet which contribute to your development.
Teaching and learning in the School generally involves a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, language classes, and practical language or oral classes. Each of these methods fosters the acquisition of particular skills and calls for a different type of student participation.
Lectures
Lectures are the most traditional form of teaching in higher education. They allow lecturers to provide information, to place the course material in context and to focus on difficult areas.
Lecturers will also distribute handout material which is designed to supplement your textbooks and other learning materials. Additional information may also be available on the web using WebCT (Web Course Tool) which is the chosen Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) at the University of Manchester.
Seminars and Tutorials
Seminar and tutorial groups are smaller discussion groups of students, designed to enhance your understanding of the subject matter presented in the lectures. Some course units have seminars/tutorials as well as lectures.
Seminar discussion only works with an active group of participants. Having listened to a presentation and jotted down points for clarification or discussion, be prepared to respond, ask questions, and formulate ideas.
Language classes and oral practice
Here again success depends on preparation, active participation, and thorough follow-up, with independent grammar revision, vocabulary learning, and assimilation of the lessons to be learned from feedback on the quality of your work.
Other Methods
On many of the programmes students undertake group work which may also be assessed by tutors or be subject to peer assessment. Student compiled Portfolios are used in some course units, as are formally assessed group or solo presentations, research based dissertations and research projects.
In all cases the criteria for marking are known to the students and they receive feedback from the tutor on their work.
The School is also developing strong peer mentoring support schemes to enable you to consult with other students in higher years of study to ask for help or advice about the learning experience or even just about Manchester itself. For students studying Arabic, a Peer Assisted Study Scheme (PASS) exists to enable further advancement in language study. For applicants hoping to study Italian, online pre-arrival peer mentoring facilities exist so that current students can be contacted to provide support before entering Manchester University.