English Department

The IPA's English Department offers a 3-year Bachelor's degree in English. This degree prepares future teachers and teaching specialists of English for the Burundian and African context. The programme combines three inseparable pillars: linguistic expertise in contemporary English (phonetics, grammar, discourse analysis), in-depth knowledge of English-language literature (British, American, African, Caribbean), and the teaching skills to turn this expertise into effective learning for pupils.

This is not a programme in abstract "English studies". It is practical preparation for helping generations of African learners understand, speak and write English. Students leave the Department not only as English specialists, but as reflective educators able to adapt language teaching to the specific context of Burundi.

The Department brings together an active intellectual community that debates, analyses and experiments together. Graduates work as secondary school teachers, teacher trainers and researchers in English language didactics in Burundi.

• Master contemporary English: phonetics, grammar, discourse analysis;
• Know English-language literature: British, American, African, Caribbean;
• Acquire the teaching and didactic skills to teach English;
• Adapt language teaching to the Burundian context.

Three principles shape the English Department and reflect the IPA's teaching approach.

Principle 1: Cumulative progression from theory to practice

The six semesters are not a series of isolated courses. They form a structured progression. The first two semesters lay the foundations: general linguistics, English phonetics and phonology, English grammar, classic English literature, and an introduction to learner psychology. In the third semester, students go deeper: morphology, advanced syntax, semantics, Anglo-American literature. In the fourth semester, the teaching focus becomes explicit: students take "Pedagogy and Didactics" — theory of teaching, setting objectives, teaching strategies, assessment. In the fifth semester: "Special Didactics of English" — how to apply this theory specifically to English teaching. In the sixth semester: teaching placements in real schools, supported by IPA supervisors.

This progression ensures that every student first masters the content, then learns how to teach it, and then practises it in a real context.

Principle 2: Integrating African and global English

The curriculum does not limit literature to Britain or the United States. Alongside Shakespeare and Austen, students study African literature in English (Achebe, Adichie, Ngũgĩ), Caribbean literature and other global varieties of English. They explore how to teach English not as a fixed colonial language, but as a living language of international communication. This grounding in global diversity makes teaching relevant and motivating.

Principle 3: Balancing theory and practice at every stage

Each course combines lectures (theory), tutorials (discussion and analysis), practical work (experimentation in a simulated classroom), independent study (individual reflection) and group work (collaborative learning). It is not "theory first, then practice". It is a constant alternation, so that every theoretical concept is immediately applied and discussed.

The Bachelor's degree in English is organised over 3 years (six semesters) according to the ECTS system. Each semester is worth 30 credits, i.e. 60 credits per year. The teaching load amounts to 450 hours per semester, i.e. 2,700 hours over the three years, divided between lectures (CM), tutorials (TD), practical work (TP), independent student work (TPE) and group work (TGE). At the end of the six semesters, students receive the official Bachelor's degree in English recognised by the University of Burundi.

To be admitted to the first year of the Bachelor's (BAC 1), applicants must meet the general admission conditions set by the University of Burundi:

1. Hold the Burundian State Diploma (State Examination) or a qualification recognised as equivalent;
2. Be placed in or admitted to an IPA department through the official admission procedure held each year;
3. Submit an application file within the deadlines set by the Directorate of Academic Services.

For the procedure and the programme choice platform, see the Bachelor's Admissions page.