British universities will lose out by axing English language and linguistics courses | Letters

While it is shocking and regrettable that the English literature degree at Sheffield Hallam University no longer exists, very little attention has been paid to the suspension of the English language degree (Letters, 4 July).

This course successfully recruited bright, working-class students who were interested in how both spoken and written language works in society. Students acquired vital transferable skills in communication, as well as in critical and analytical thinking. Graduates went on to careers in speech therapy, marketing, teaching and publishing, to name a few.

Lately, recruitment has been affected by the same factors as other humanities subjects but also by the changes to the curriculum at GCSE. This has become so regressive and boring that school students do not consider taking it further.

The demise of English language and linguistics at Sheffield Hallam (and other universities such as Huddersfield) is not only a shame for the education of young people, but also for linguistics research. Currently, English language lecturers contribute to a hub of cutting-edge and world-leading research at Hallam – but this will no longer be the case if there are no jobs for these experts.
Karen Grainger
Associate professor in English language and linguistics, Sheffield Hallam University