The End is Nigh

Actually, the end came and went on Saturday when I finished up my final assignment for the Open University course I've been studying: E301 - The Art of English.

This has been my first Level 3 OU course. My original plan had been to complete the two compulsory Level 2 courses and then move on up to do the two Level 3s, thus making sure I was in the right frame of mind for tackling the higher level.

But my last course was, the now defunct, U211 - Exploring the English Language and so I came to discover Linguistics. I've always been interested in languages and the way that people use words, so that was right up my street. Even now you don't want to get me talking about dialects and accents and how the English we speak today came to be what it is, seriously, I'll never shut up!

So it seemed logical to carry on to the next level of that subject, while I still had the momentum behind me. And now it's pretty much over (definitely not counting it as complete until I've got my final score in, so long as I pass, I'll be happy).

Next up are the two Literature courses that I'm required to complete, the first will be along the lines of Introduction to Literature and then I'm hoping to do the Children's Literature course as my 3rd Level course. I've already done Introduction to the Arts (Level 1) and my optional Level 2 course (Creative Writing) so it's just these last two to get out of the way before I get my B.A. (Hons.) in English Language and Literature.

In a way, I kind of wish that I'd done these linguistic courses before I did the Creative Writing one, I feel much better equipped to write now (though when I'm reading or listening to someone speak I can't help but pick out elements of literariness or creativity). I'm hoping that the types of textual analysis I've been doing during this course will stand me in good stead for the next couple of courses to come.

I'm now well over the halfway mark of the degree now, so I suppose it's time to start thinking about what to do next. Ideally I'd like to get a Masters, though I'm not sure I can study what I want through the Open University, if not, I'm thinking that I might see if I can cash in some of my units from my original (and frankly worthless) degree that I did at university and specialise a little more in language... I'm liking the idea of studying a bit of Latin and maybe seeing if I can build up another degree to keep things ticking over until I work out exactly where I'm going next.

At least I've got another year and a bit to get that all worked out!