History of Languages at Salford
The first undergraduate course at Salford was started in 1963 in the Department of Liberal Studies. The Department of Modern Languages was formed in 1965. The School of Languages at the University was subsequently created in 1999 by merging all existing language teaching within the university into one central school. Since January 2001 all elements of the School have been located in the Maxwell Building where we enjoy the use of state-of-the-art digital facilities in our Language Resource Centre.
Along the way there have been a number of significant 'firsts'. Our pioneering undergraduate programmes in modern languages were the first courses at an English university to stress the importance of the applied aspects of foreign language study. We insisted that all students gain skills in interpreting and, at a time when it was far from common, preferred our students to spend their time abroad in work placements rather than at a university or as teaching assistants. We have remained a department where language learning is very much about language use.
The former Department of Modern Languages was also one of the first universities to launch a MA in Translation in 1983 and paving the way to the current wide-ranging provision in teaching, research and continuous professional development programmes in this area. In the teaching of English we were also the first university in the UK – back in 1984 - to offer a dedicated programme (the International Foundation Year) for students wishing to study here but lacking a sufficient command of English. This programme now attracts more than 350 students a year from over 50 countries worldwide.