Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English and Applied Linguistics
英文及應用語言學(榮譽)文學士學位


Sept 2023 Entry

Programme code: 71429-SY

Duration & Credit Requirement

Duration and Credit Requirement


Mode of Study
Full-time
Normal Duration

2 years

Credits Required for Graduation

A minimum of 60 credits plus 3 training credits.

Scheme/Programme Intake
20 senior year places
Fund Type
Government-Funded
Scheme/Programme Leader(s)

Programme Leader

Dr Max Diaz
 

Associate Programme Leader

Dr Phoenix Lam

Remarks
  • The curriculum of this programme, including the credit requirements, is subject to review.

Aims & Characteristics

Aims and Characteristics

Programme Aims and Learning Outcomes

The Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Programme in English and Applied Linguistics (BAEAL) aims to nurture graduates with the abilities/attributes needed to become competent English language professionals and responsible global citizens in the 21st century. At the professional level, the programme aims to produce graduates with: a) a high level of competence in English; b) a sound understanding of the theoretical disciplines underlying applied English language studies and the integrated use of the language; and c) the strong ability to apply their knowledge and general linguistic skills in a variety of professional communication contexts.

 

The programme will equip students with professional/academic knowledge and skills as well as attributes contributing to all-rounded development in an integrated manner. The programme aims to produce graduates with the following attributes:

 

  1. a high level of professional communicative competence in English;
  2. a firm grounding in linguistic sciences which can be critically and creatively applied in a variety of business and management contexts;
  3. an awareness and understanding of intercultural communication in multilingual settings that enhances their global outlook and cultural appreciation as socially responsible global citizens;
  4. an ability to apply strong communication skills to solve real-world problems effectively in local and global multilingual professional/business settings;
  5. the capability of exercising judgment and developing intellectual curiosity to work both independently and as part of a team;
  6. an awareness of the need for and a commitment to life-long learning; and
  7. the potential to become future ethical leaders and entrepreneurs excelling in communication for professional purposes.

 

Characteristics

The programme offers students Work-Integrated Education (WIE) placement opportunities in Hong Kong, mainland China, and overseas.

Curriculum

Curriculum

Students who directly enter Year 3 based on their previous academic results in an Associate Degree/Higher Diploma programme will in principle follow the BAEAL Year 3 study pattern.  However, due to their special status, they may be required to follow a tailor-made progression pattern specially designed to enable them to graduate within the normal time frame. In such cases, students are provided with their progression pattern upon registration.

Students admitted to an Articulation Degree or Senior Year curriculum, which is already a reduced curriculum, are normally not given credit transfer for any required GUR subjects and DSR subjects within the BAEAL curriculum. They must complete at least 60 credits to be eligible for the award.

To satisfy the English Major requirement, students are required to earn a minimum of 51 credits from subjects offered by the BAEAL. The number of credits at each level may vary slightly depending on the elective subjects studied, but all students must complete at least 21 BAEAL credits at Level 4 to complete the English Major Requirement.

 

BAEAL Credit Requirements for Graduation: Senior Year Entry Students

Component No. of Credits
General University Requirement 
[0-9 credits for the Language and Communication Requirement * ; 
3 credits for Service-Learning and 6 credits for two CAR subjects]
9-18
BAEAL DSR Core Subjects 
[including 2 DSLR subjects: ENGL2003 & CBS2904]
30
Capstone Project for Language Studies 6
 
BAEAL DSR Elective Subjects 
[Three focal areas: Language Sciences, Global Communicative Competence and English for the Professions] 
15
Total No. of Academic Credits 60-69
Work-Integrated Education 3
Total No. of Training Credits 3

 

* Decided on a case-by-case basis according to the academic results of previous AD/HD studies 

 

General University Requirement (GUR) 

The GUR for Senior Year Entry students normally includes: (1) the Language and Communication Requirement (LCR); (2) the Service-Learning Requirement; (3) the Cluster Area Requirement (CAR), which includes 3 credits from CAR (M) Chinese History and Culture, 3 credits from specially-designed CAR (A) Human Nature, Relations and Development with English-Language and English Reading and Writing Requirements, and the fulfilment of Chinese Reading and Writing​​ Requirements; and (4) the Essential Components of General Education.

 

Discipline-Specific Requirement (DSR) 

The BAEAL strives to provide students with a solid foundation in the knowledge and skills they will need to communicate effectively in English for professional, academic, and business purposes in Hong Kong and around the world, where English is the key lingua franca. Accordingly, all subjects in the BAEAL discipline-specific curriculum for Senior Year Entry students are drawn from the BAEAL four-year curriculum. Briefly, the BAEAL discipline-specific curriculum for Senior Year Entry students has the following components:

 

(1) Major Study Core Subjects 

Major Study Core Subjects are compulsory for all BAEAL students and are organized under three focal areas: Language Sciences, Global Communicative Competence, and English for the Professions. These subjects are designed to provide BAEAL students with the solid foundation of academic knowledge and communication skills they will need to become language professionals.

The Capstone Project in Language Studies (6 credits) under the focal area of English for the Professions is compulsory for all BAEAL students. It is conducted in the final year under the supervision of ENGL academic staff. Through the Capstone Project, the learning experience students have accumulated during the BAEAL programme is consolidated in the form of a dissertation. This capstone experience helps to prepare students for professional practice, further academic pursuits, and lifelong learning, while developing their generic competencies.

Core Subjects of BAEAL Curriculum for Senior Year Entry Students

Language Sciences

No. of Credits

ENGL2005

English Lexis and Semantics

3

ENGL3002

Research Methods for Language Studies

3

ENGL4013

Language Acquisition and Psycholinguistics

3

Global Communicative Competence

 

ENGL2003

English for Advanced Academic Writing (DSLR)

3

CBS2904

Academic and Technical Chinese Writing (DSLR)

3

ENGL3004

English for Technical and Web-based Writing

3

ENGL4002

English as a Global Lingua Franca

3

English for the Professions

 

ENGL3006

Corpus-driven Language Learning

3

ENGL3031

Language and Intercultural Communication for the Professions

3

ENGL4001

English for Management

3

ENGL4003

Capstone Project for Language Studies

6

Total

36

Practical Training

 

ENGL2007

Work-Integrated Education

3 (Training)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(2) Major Study Elective Subjects 

Elective subjects (minimum 15 credits) are likewise grouped into the above three focal areas to further broaden BAEAL students’ academic and professional vision and global outlook.

Students are reminded that credits earned from taking Global Language subjects (e.g. Spanish, German, French) cannot contribute to the fulfilment of the 15 credits requirement for BAEAL Major Study Electives.

BAEAL Elective Subjects 

Language Sciences

Credits

ENGL3014

Literature in English: An Introduction

3

ENGL3036

Solving Crime through Linguistics

3

ENGL4007

Multimodal Analysis of Advertisements

3

ENGL4009

Meaning in Professional Interaction

3

ENGL4011

Advanced English Grammar

3

ENGL4014

Literature in English: An Advanced Course

3

ENGL4017

Critical Language and Cultural Studies

3

ENGL4018

Language and Gender

3

ENGL4021

Clinical Linguistics

3

ENGL4022

Quantitative Literacy for Language Professionals

3

ENGL4026

Language and social data analytics

3

Global Communicative Competence

ENGL3011

Content Design for Social Media

3

ENGL3012

Creative Writing in New Media

3

ENGL3020

Aspects of European Public Discourse

3

ENGL3023

Introduction to European Visual Art

3

ENGL3028

Language Policy and Planning: Local and Global Perspectives

3

ENGL3030

Introduction to the History of Europe: a Trade Perspective

3

English for the Professions

ENGL3003

English Discourse in the Professions

3

ENGL3008

Fundamentals of Organizational Communication

3

ENGL3015

English for Specific Purposes: Translation

3

ENGL3018

Teaching English as a Service Learning Experience*

3

ENGL3029

The Language of Advertising

3

ENGL4004

Effective Communication for Public Relations

3

ENGL4005

English for Science and Technology

3

ENGL4015

Designing Courses for TESOL

3

Global Languages**

ENGL2008

Elementary Spanish I

3

ENGL2009

Elementary Spanish II

3

ENGL2012

Elementary French I

3

ENGL2013

Elementary French II

3

ENGL2014

Elementary German I

3

ENGL2015

Elementary German II

3

ENGL3016

Intermediate Spanish I

3

ENGL3017

Intermediate Spanish II

3

ENGL3032

Intermediate French I

3

ENGL3033

Intermediate French II

3

ENGL3034

Intermediate German I

3

ENGL3035

Intermediate German II

3

ENGL4023

Advanced Spanish I

3

ENGL4024

Advanced French I

3

ENGL4025

Advanced German I

3

* Completion of ENGL3018 can meet the GUR service-learning requirement. Students passing this subject will be regarded as having fulfilled the credit requirement of the particular type of subject concerned. Nevertheless, the subject passed will only be counted once in fulfilling the credit requirements of the award, and the students will be required to take another subject in order to meet the total credit requirement of the programme.

** Credits of subjects listed in the section of Global Languages are not eligible for satisfying the Requirement of BAEAL Major Study.

 

(3) Work-Integrated Education (WIE)

WIE (3 training credits) provides a framework for students to integrate what they have learned in the classroom with real-world practice, supporting their development into well-rounded individuals with professional competence. Students typically meet the WIE requirement by completing an internship in an organizational or a corporate context, where they apply classroom knowledge and skills in the working world. WIE assessment is based on three grades: Pass with Merit (M), Pass (P), and Failure (F). However, the subject does not contribute to students' final GPA. The WIE placement can be completed at any time during the third year of study, but must be completed no later than the Summer Term of Year Three. Students can apply to waive the WIE requirement if they can demonstrate that they have fulfilled the requirement through other relevant work experience. Students undertaking non-local WIE placements may receive partial financial subsidies from the Careers and Placement Section (CPS) of the Student Affairs Office (SAO) in the form of Offshore WIE Sponsorship (OWS).

 

More information on the subjects offered can be obtained here.

Recognition & Prospects

Recognition and Prospects

Professional Recognition

The BA (Hons) in English and Applied Linguistics (BAEAL) is recognised by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong and its Standing Committee on Language Education and Research as an English Language Major Degree Programme that meets the Hong Kong government’s Language Proficiency Requirement. Registered students are eligible to apply for the Scholarship for Prospective English Teachers offered by the Education Bureau.

 

Career Prospects

Graduates of the Department of English and Communication are successful in their careers and excel in various industries and professions in Hong Kong. Fresh graduates of the BAEAL* find employment in media and journalism, retail, human resources, public relations, marketing and advertising, publishing, education, and the civil service, where a high level of competence in English and professional communication is needed.

 

Further Studies

Some BAEAL* graduates proceed to further studies in Hong Kong and overseas in the fields of linguistics, applied linguistics, translation and interpreting, communication, and public and environmental policy studies.

 

* BA (Hons) in English and Applied Linguistics was previously titled BA (Hons) in English Studies for the Professions prior to the 2020-21 cohort

Entrance Requirements

Entrance Requirements

  • An Associate Degree or a Higher Diploma in a language-related discipline.
     
  • Only shortlisted applicants are invited to interviews, if necessary.

Enquiries

Enquiries

For further programme information, please contact:

The General Office (tel.: 3400 3497; email: egdept@polyu.edu.hk).

Student Message

Student Message


Decision-making is not where my strength lies —— nevertheless, pursuing English and Applied Linguistics at PolyU is certainly one of the best choices I have ever made. Minoring in European Studies, our department offers an excellent curriculum that enables me to experience not just the culture behind European art, history, and discourse but also foreign language courses, such as Spanish, French, and German. Moreover, they provide internship opportunities and extracurricular activities in Europe and Hong Kong which is where I got my first tickets for the Spanish Film Festival. You don't want to miss out if you love to explore something exotic! This degree also allowed me to do a summer exchange to Turkey; it expanded my area of interest in Political Science. Most importantly, the professors and instructors in my major are super supportive and amicable. Through various professional training in TESOL preparation, Discourse Analysis, Technical Content Marketing, Psycholinguistics, and Corpus Linguistics, the Department of English and Communication gives me so many pragmatic opportunities to work on my critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and communication skills —— crucial characteristics for a linguistics student.

 

* BA (Hons) in English Studies for the Professions was renamed BA (Hons) in English and Applied Linguistics in 2020/21.


CHANG Yun-hua (Graduate of 2021/22, BA (Hons) in English Studies for the Professions*)



When applying to universities, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study. I got many different kinds of advice: to focus on career prospects, on my passions, or even choose something broad and open-ended so I would have room to experiment. Although I didn’t know it at the time, BAESP has allowed me to do all this and more. The loving community at our Department fosters the growth of all its students, helping us develop essential skills like academic writing, intercultural communicative competence, and a strong foundation in linguistics to ensure we are ready for all diverse career opportunities. With the extracurricular student clubs, Residential Education activities, INSPIRE mentorship programme, and the invaluable experience of going to Simon Fraser University on Exchange, I have also been given a chance to freely follow my passions and find out who I want to be. Lastly, BAESP allows students to find their own path through varied electives and internship opportunities. This is why I could explore marketing and PR, work on corporate communication, and even hone my grammar, semantics, and research skills for further studies. I am so grateful to the professors at ENGL, who have supported me in every step of this journey and have worked hard to make our classes engaging and insightful. With this foundation, I feel ready to bring my dreams to life.

 

* BA (Hons) in English Studies for the Professions was renamed BA (Hons) in English and Applied Linguistics in 2020/21.


SHUKLA Ashima (Current Student from the 2019-20 cohort, BA (Hons) in English Studies for the Professions*)





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