Language Awareness has often been discussed in relation to primary and secondary education, but rarely in relation to higher education. The BA in Applied Language at the University of Brighton is an undergraduate course which combines second language learning with linguistics. In trying to integrate these two strands the course team have developed an innovative approach to linguistics which shares many of the aims that advocates of Language Awareness have put forward. Course objectives, content and teaching methods have all changed as a result of this new thinking. The new approach to linguistics has its drawbacks, but it also has many things in its favour.