Japanese, TESOL and Linguistics

Japanese, TESOL, and linguistics is a combination that prepares you for a specific and in-demand professional role: teaching English in Japan and other multilingual contexts, with the linguistic knowledge and cultural understanding to do so effectively. TESOL, meaning teaching English to speakers of other languages, is a field of applied linguistics that examines how people learn second languages and how they can be taught most effectively. Combining it with Japanese language study and linguistics gives you both the communicative tools to live and work in Japan and the theoretical foundations to become a thoughtful, informed language teacher.

At York St John this four-year full-time programme includes a year studying abroad in Japan, meaning you will develop your Japanese language skills and cultural understanding through direct immersion. You will learn communicative Japanese alongside an engagement with Japanese culture, society, and history, while the linguistics strand introduces you to theories of language acquisition, multilingualism, and the methods and approaches used to teach English in international settings. The typical entry tariff is 104 UCAS points.

The combination of language competence, cultural knowledge, and professional teaching training makes graduates of this programme distinctively prepared for work in Japan specifically and in international English language education more broadly.

Graduates pursue careers as English language teachers in Japan, across East Asia, and in English-language schools worldwide. The TESOL qualification also opens doors in the UK, where English language teaching to adult migrants, asylum seekers, and international students is a substantial and growing field. Others move into curriculum development, teacher training, educational publishing, or applied linguistics research.

For those who wish to continue studying, postgraduate programmes in applied linguistics, TESOL, or Japanese studies are natural routes.