About the Degree

The BA degree in English Language and Literature for Teacher Education is offered jointly by the Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures and the Department of the English Language and ELT Methodology.

We welcome applicants with a strong command of written and spoken English who have a keen interest in the fields of literature in English, cultures of the English-speaking world, and English language/linguistics, and wish to pursue these in relation to teacher training.
The programme trains students in the basics of teaching English as a second language, with a thorough grounding in English-language linguistics and the literatures and cultures of the English-speaking world. The programme aims to equip students with a broad foundation in each of these fields, as well as providing them with opportunities to develop their interests in specific areas, in relation to teacher-training. In the Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures core courses are designed to guide students through the main periods of English and American Literature, significant issues in British and American culture and history, and to develop foundational skills in literary interpretation, academic writing, research and presentations.

Instruction is mixed format, ranging from large lectures to small group seminars that facilitate discussion, close reading of specific texts and individual attention from the instructor if needed.

Forms of Study

Joint-Subject Study:
Joint-Subject students are enrolled in English Language and Literature for Teacher Education AND another Teacher Education Programme within the Faculty of Arts (e.g., History, Czech, Spanish, etc; see the list of programmes available for combination at the Faculty webpage). They must pass entrance exams in both subjects. At the conclusion of their studies they must choose a thesis topic in one of their two subjects of study.

General Structure

The programme combines three main components:

1. General Teaching Skills
   The component is designed to provide students with competences that allow them, in the follow-up MA programme, to develop knowledge and skills that are indispensable for a teaching career, including practical competences to organise lessons.

2. Subject-specific Teaching Skills
   The component contributes to the formation of subject-specific teaching competences. In the follow-up MA programme, graduates can build on these and develop knowledge and skills necessary for a teaching career in the given subject and in other related subjects, primarily philological.

3. Subject-specific Component
   This is structured around three main areas:

   1. Literatures on the British Isles; British, Irish and Commonwealth Cultural Studies
   2. American and Canadian Literature and Cultural Studies
   3. English Language and Linguistics run by the Department of the English Language and ELT Methodology.

Literatures on the British Isles; British, Irish and Commonwealth Cultural Studies
The curriculum consists of a three-semester lecture with seminars which provide an introduction to the development of the literature and relevant cultural background to the following principal topics: English Drama to the Restoration, the Rise of the Novel, the Period of Romanticism, the Victorian Novel, Modernism and Contemporary Literature. The course is complemented by one-semester lecture on medieval literature and culture on the British Isles.

American and Canadian Literature and Cultural Studies
The curriculum consists of a three-semester lecture and seminar devoted to American literature from the colonial period to the present. The central topics are Colonial Literature, American Romanticism and Transcendentalism, Main Trends in Later Nineteenth-century Poetry, Humour and Satire in Later Nineteenth-century Fiction, Realism, Naturalism and Other Developments in Late Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-century Fiction, Modernism, The Writing of the Expatriates, Southern Literature, The War Novel, The Development of Twentieth-century Drama, African American and Contemporary Literature, including Postmodern Tendencies and Literary Activities of Varied Ethnic Groups. Seminars focus on historical traditions and cultural trends, literary techniques, and artistic expression.

English Language and Linguistics
The curriculum combines courses enhancing the students’ command of the English language (level C1-C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) with a focus on linguistic description and analysis of the English language (phonetics/phonology, morphology and syntax, lexical semantics, history of the English language). For full information please refer to UAJD WEBSITE

In addition, in the first year of study students must take mandatory courses in:

• English Skills in Cultural Communication (two-semester seminar)
• Introduction to Literary Studies (two-semester seminar)

These courses function as prerequisites for courses in the second and third years of study. Without the appropriate credits for these courses students will be unable to continue with their studies at the Department.

Students have the opportunity to take optional seminars offered within the Department as well as within the University.

All students in the programme must fulfil credit requirements in Academic Skills and a Foreign Language.

For detailed information on credit requirements and the recommended sequence in which to take courses students should consult the study plan.

Duration

The BA programme is normally three years (i.e. six semesters of instruction) in duration for full time students. Students may also apply to study abroad for a semester or two as part of the Erasmus programme. However, as courses and credits are not exactly equivalent, this may result in necessary prolongation of the BA programme by one or two terms.

Graduate Profile

• Graduates of our teacher-training degree are equipped with requisite academic and pedagogical skills for starting a career in education, and ready to resume further training in our Master’s degree in Teaching of English Language and Literature, or in related MA-level subjects.
• Our teacher-training programme equips the graduate with the pedagogical as well as psychological basics of teaching methodology and practice, and further grounding in the specifics of the subject area, i.e. the teaching of English language and literature.
• Apart from a career in education, our graduates are also highly qualified for a wide range of professional positions which require a Bachelor’s degree in the humanities (e.g. media, publishing, advertising, etc.). Our graduates’ transferrable skills (superior command of spoken and written English, critical thinking, research expertise, IT and media literacy, creative problem-solving) are highly sought after on today’s job market.