English Studies: British and American Studies Minor Subject (Advanced Secondary and Comprehensive Schools ('Gymnasium' and 'Gesamtschule'))

If you are enthusiastic about the world of English-language literature, culture and media and would like to pass this enthusiasm on to pupils, then "English Studies: British and American Studies" is the right programme for you: here, you will take a closer look at and discuss a variety of English-language works from literature and popular culture.

The "Minor Subject (Advanced Secondary and Comprehensive Schools ('Gymnasium' and 'Gesamtschule')" version of the degree programme is designed to enable students to educate their pupils as future teachers up to (German) 'Abitur' level. Students in the minor subject therefore acquire a sound knowledge of the language, literatures and cultures of the English-speaking world in the past and present as well as the didactic teaching of these areas for secondary levels I and II. The academic perspective of Bielefeld English Studies is not limited to Great Britain and the USA, but also includes the language, culture and literature of cultural communities in Africa, the Caribbean or India and of countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or Scotland, as well as the role of English as a lingua franca in a globalised world.

Courses in specialised didactics play a particularly important role in the Bielefeld Bachelor's degree porgramme. This orientation towards the teaching profession takes place in three didactic courses in which students acquire knowledge about the central content and concepts of English teaching, are sensitised to working in heterogeneous learning groups and develop didactically sound media and methodological skills.

Future English teachers are expected to have excellent English language skills in order to be able to work flexibly in English with different age groups. First-year students should therefore have a level of English that corresponds to at least level B2/C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. These skills are further developed through practical language courses and internationalisation experiences.

The minor subject, especially in the Bachelor's phase with 60 credit points compared to the major subject (90 credit points), takes up a noticeably smaller space. Despite a reversed weighting in the Master's phase, this difference is not fully compensated for. The minor subject is therefore suitable for all those who are interested in the English language and Anglophone literatures and cultures, but who would like to see themselves primarily as teachers of another subject in the future.