Applied Languages MA Programmes

THEORY ~ PRACTICE ~ REFLEXIVITY - the key ingredients to developing yourself as a top language professional

Our Applied Languages Masters are designed to make you reflect and build upon your existing language and cultural skills, knowledge and personal experiences, giving you a solid theoretical and practical foundation directly applicable to both the workplace and academic research.

This emphasis on reflexivity is exactly what sets us apart from other universities - rather than studying theory to inform yourself, here at Sheffield you will turn into a true language professional able to find information to complement your existing knowledge and then apply it practically to address real-world challenges.

Venn diagram showing the interrelatedness of Theory, Reflexivity and Practice in YOU A good theoretical understanding and practice of translation, communication and/or language, though of course beneficial, will not necessarily enable you to choose the right translator for a specific job or develop an effective approach in the multicultural workplace of a company operating globally. You will also need reflexivity, which is about understanding yourself and being able to justify your choices convincingly from an informed perspective, therefore leading to the most positive result.

At Sheffield you will learn to become an informed decision-maker. Indeed, it is our emphasis on reflexivity that sets us apart from other universities. We pride ourselves in our research in reflexivity and we have won national awards for our work in developing professional linguists.

We believe that, in this information age, a good degree is not just about acquiring knowledge. It's about acquiring enough knowledge to be able to find out any missing information in order to address real-world challenges in your chosen field. Thus you will not come out of your applied languages programme knowing all there is to know about languages and culture, but you will be able to

identify what you do know and what you do not know;
figure out where to best look for what you need to know;
address real-world challenges and questions in your field of study, by using knowledge to decide the most appropriate course of action;
make proposals for alternative ways of working drawing on your knowledge and skills;
justify your decisions to others with confidence;
engage reflexively with others in order to develop the best solutions available;
work in interdisciplinary environments;
utilise technology to improve your productivity and the quality of your work.

Studying within the Applied Languages programmes opens the doors between theory and practice, enabling you to understand how theory can guide our practice, and the importance of developing theory from practice. We always encourage you to reflect on your academic work, not least by giving you additional marks for demonstrating an understanding of its implications for the professional world and further research.

Programme Content

All of our programmes focus on language and culture in a variety of ways with different aspects taking centre stage:

	MATS (Translation Studies)	MAIC (Intercultural Communication)	MIM (Multilingual Information Management)	MAST (Screen Translation)	MAICID (Intercultural Communication and International Development)
For those who wish to...	be a professional translator	work with others in positions where highly effective communication across cultural backgrounds is important	work managing multilingual websites, large amounts of multilingual data and in multilingual teams	work as translators and subtitlers linking linguistic and visual elements of translation	become highly effective intercultural communicators in international and social development, and to understand how language and culture play a part in the complexity of development
Core elements are...	theories of translation, one or more translation modules and translation technologies	theories of intercultural communication, ethnography/reflective practice and intercultural communication in practice	localisation, web design, information management and theories of intercultural communication	theory and practice of subtitling, one or more translation modules and a subtitling project	theories of intercultural communication, spatial planning in the global South and international development field class

The fact that you are part of a group of MA programmes adds to the variety and richness of your studies.

Whilst each of our Applied Languages MA Programmes has a core focus, you can develop your own pathway through your choice of optional modules. For example, if you are studying Translation Studies but have a particular interest in technologies or culture, you can take a localisation or an intercultural module within your optional module choice. If you are a student of Multilingual Information Management or Intercultural Communication with an interest in translation, you can take a translation module within your options.

Here in the School of Languages and Cultures, we pride ourselves in helping you to develop the right pathway for you on your Masters.