Institution University of Salford, School of Languages - Salford - Greater Manchester

History
The School of Languages at Salford University was created in 1999 by merging all existing language teaching within the university into one central department. 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 new Language Resource Centre.
Language teaching at Salford traces its history back to the founding of the university in 1967. 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.
In the teaching of English we were also one of the first universities in the UK to offer a dedicated programme  (the International Foundation Year) for students wishing to study here but lacking a sufficient command of English.

What we do
The School is responsible for all language teaching at the University of Salford.
This ranges from  undergraduate programmes involving French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese (shortly to include Chinese) to our highly-respected MAs in Translation and Interpreting and Translating.
Other languages taught within the School include Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Modern Greek, Turkish and Japanese.
The School is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English as a foreign language and teaches English as a Foreign Language to students from abroad who may be studying full-time at Salford or visiting the university on short courses. We are also involved in the training of English teachers from around the world on our MA TEFL and MA Applied Linguistics for English Language Teaching.
The School is home to SEL - Services for Export and Languages, our own language service company, which provides language and translation services to business in the North West region. In collaboration with the Languages National Training Organisation and with the support of the North West Regional Development Agency, the School also houses the Regional Language Network North West.
The School offers a stimulating home for its large body of postgraduate students (approximately 80 taught masters students and 30 PhD students).  Many of its staff are members of the 5A rated European Studies Research Unit (belonging to its Linguistics Research Centre).  They are also members of the School’s Centre for Translation and Interpreting.
In addition to its extensive teaching and research activities, the School is involved in a wide range of complementary activities, such as the running of specialised professional events and the delivery of  tailor-made programmes for specific groups.