Preparing for Interviews

Huge congratulations if you have been invited to an Oxford interview over the next couple of weeks! Our tutors from across the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages are very much looking forward to meeting you.

We know that interviews can be daunting and it can be difficult to know what to expect and how to prepare. Therefore, this week’s blog post aims to offer some information and resources that should help with your preparation and calm a few nerves!

First thing’s first…

It’s important to remember that an Oxford interview is designed to simulate a tutorial (aka Oxford’s method of teaching in small groups).

Through tutorials at Oxford, students develop powers of independent and critical thought, analytical and problem-solving abilities, and skills in both written and oral communication and argument. These are the kinds of skills and abilities that tutors are looking to see candidates display/show potential for during an interview.

The interview is also a chance for tutors to understand students’ motivations for studying their chosen subject(s) and where their specific interests lie.

For more general information about Oxford interviews, the University has a bank of FAQs and resources available on their admissions website.

What about Modern Languages?

For Modern Languages, interviews can vary depending on the academic tutor conducting them, but here are a few things to expect:

  • You may be given a short piece of text (in English or the target language) to look at and discuss during the interview. Further questions may be asked based on your responses and analysis of the text.
  • You may be asked about something you’ve mentioned in your personal statement, so be ready to discuss any wider reading or interests you’ve referenced!
  • You may be asked to speak or read a short passage of text in the target language. This part of the interview is often fairly short.

Below are some example videos that demonstrate how (aspects of) a Modern Languages interview might be conducted.

In this demonstration video, Jane Hiddleston, Tutor in French, and Joanna Neilly, Tutor in German, will take you through what to expect during the interview process.
A mock interview for French at Jesus College, Oxford. This video is representative of a typical Modern Languages interview.
Prof. Jennifer Yee, French tutor at Christ Church, discussing a poem with an undergraduate student, Chloe. This type of discussion is a typical component of a Modern Languages interview.

Advice from a former undergraduate

To round us off, here is some sage advice from Isabel, current DPhil researcher in German, and former undergraduate in German & Philosophy at Worcester College:

My biggest tip for the interview is to remember that your interviewers are not expecting you to know absolutely everything. Case in point: I had to ask – in a German interview – what an English word meant.  

Show your thought process when you’re addressing a question – maybe you don’t know the answer, but maybe the question pertains to something that you do know about, so you can take an educated guess. Maybe you’re being shown a word in your foreign language that you don’t recognise, but maybe you can tell it’s from the same root as a word you do know. Are they showing you a poem that you haven’t seen before, but from a literary period that you’re passingly familiar with? Maybe there’s something you can say about the wider culture or concerns at the time.  

If you already knew everything, you wouldn’t be applying to university. Use your interview to show that you can respond to new information, offer ideas, and think deeply and critically about what you’re being asked. 

To that end, one of the best ways to prepare for your interview is to read widely around your subject: podcasts, the news, scholarly journals, extra books by your favourite author. Show that you are far too interested in your chosen subject to be constrained by the curriculum!  

Thanks Isabel!

We hope this has been helpful in preparing you for the interview process. Best of luck to all candidates next week – you’ve got this!

Exeter Plus

Exeter College’s flagship outreach programme, Exeter Plus, is now accepting applications!

Exeter Plus is a sustained contact programme for Year 12 students from non-selective UK state schools who want to find out more about the University of Oxford.

Exeter College

The programme combines in-person visits and with online sessions that run from March to September. The sessions start off as an introduction to Oxford and Exeter College, including tours and workshops. Later sessions delve into more detail about the Oxford application process and give the students the opportunity to explore topics related to the degree subject(s) they are interested in studying, including Modern Languages.

Throughout the programme, participants have the opportunity to speak with Student Ambassadors and Tutors of Exeter College, and to take part in mock tutorials enabling them to discuss the subject they would like to study at University with experts in that field.

Exeter College covers the travel costs upfront and offers free lunch to all participants. They also run in-person visits on Saturdays and virtual sessions out of school time.

Participants on the 2023 Exeter Plus programme

Previous participants in the programme have said:

Thank you for running such an insightful programme, the in person visits really do make a very good experience.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime and allow me to meet some brilliant people who I intend to cherish for life.

If this programme is of interest to you or to any of your students, the application form can be found and completed here. The deadline for applications is Monday 8th January 2024 at 11am. 

If you have any questions, please get in touch: outreach@exeter.ox.ac.uk.

Africa Oxford Initiative

The Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) is a cross-university platform with the aim of facilitating equitable and sustainable collaborations between researchers based at the University of Oxford and African universities, as well as increasing the number of African students pursuing postgraduate degrees in Oxford.

AfOx’s flagship project is its Visiting Fellowship Programme. The programme provides exceptional African researchers with an opportunity to spend up to eight weeks at the University of Oxford to focus on a research project of their choice. The fellowship also provides the opportunity to build international networks and collaborate with Oxford-based scholars.

This year, the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages is delighted to be welcoming a visiting researcher, Dr Gibson Ncube, who will be working on a project with an MML Research Fellow, Dr Dorothée Boulanger.

Gibson Ncube holds a PhD from Stellenbosch University and has received several research fellowships.

During his time in Oxford, Dr Ncube will be working on a project about Queer Ecologies in Contemporary African Literature and Cinema. This study explores how literary and filmic texts creatively challenge normative frameworks that thrive on hierarchization and exclusion. Instead, they celebrate new forms of human and inter-species alliances and solidarities.

We look forward to welcoming you to Oxford, Dr Ncube!

Save the Date! Modern Languages Open Day

We’re delighted to announce that our annual Modern Languages Open Day will be taking place on Saturday 11th May, once again in the Examination Schools in Oxford city centre. Save the date! Mark it in your calendars!

The Examination Schools, Oxford
Modern Languages Open Day 2022
photo (c) John Cairns

Bookings are not yet open but you will be able to reserve your place soon via our open days webpage.

This event, which runs from 10.30am-4pm, is a fantastic opportunity for students who are interested in learning more about our language courses, or who are still considering their options, as this Open Day will cover ALL of our languages: French, German*, Spanish, Italian*, Russian*, Portuguese*, Modern Greek*, Czech*, and Polish*. Most of our Joint School degree subjects will also be represented at the event.

*All of these languages can be studied here at Oxford from beginners’ level. 

Modern Languages Open Day 2022
photo (c) John Cairns

Our Modern Languages Open Day is aimed primarily at Year 12 students and their parents/ guardians/ teachers, but Year 11 students who are starting to think about university study are equally welcome to attend. The Open Day will offer an overview of our Modern Languages courses and a general Q&A for prospective students in the morning, with individual language sessions and a parents’/guardians’/teachers’ Q&A session occurring in the afternoon.

You can view the provisional event programme here.

OXFORD GERMAN OLYMPIAD 2024

The Oxford German Network have launched the 12th edition of its annual Olympiad Competition! The competition will run between now and March 2024 with winners being announced in June.

2024 theme: Kafkaesque Kreatures

This year’s competition is all about animals – but from perspectives with a difference. The tasks take inspiration from the animal stories by Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who gave the German and English languages the word kafkaesk / Kafkaesque to describe a weird, disturbing experience. Imagine waking up one morning and finding you’ve turned into a beetle. Or that you’re an animal living in a burrow, worrying about your animal enemies up above. But the animal perspectives aren’t all about weirdness – Kafka was a vegetarian. And his story about the ape Rotpeter shows deep concerns about how humans treat animals.

The Competition Tasks

There are a variety of different challenges aimed at pupils in Years 5 and 6 all the way to Years 12 and 13. Some are for individuals to enter, others are aimed at groups. There is even a taster competition for pupils who have never studied German before! From drawing and painting to writing stories and planning conferences, there’s something for everyone! Take a look at the Olympiad website for more details.

You should:

Please note:

  • All entries must be submitted via the online entry form
  • Each participant may only enter for one task within their age group as an individual entrant. We will only accept group entries (2-4 participants) for the “Open Competition for Groups” category. 
  • We require a consent form for under-13 participants. Click here to download the form.

Note to teachers: Teachers will be able to submit their students´ entries in bulk. Please contact olympiad@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk for instructions.

Further resources & information

Click here for some thoughts and ideas about this year’s tasks. You can also find the Kafka texts and creatures mentioned in the tasks here.

The closing date for all entries is Thursday, 7 March 2024 at 12 noon.

Results will be announced on the Oxford German Network website in June 2024. Winners will be contacted by e-mail.

Any questions? Please email the OGN Coordinator.

French A-level texts

During our Teachers’ Conference at the end of September, Professor Simon Kemp delivered a wonderful presentation about a common French A-level text, Joseph Joffo’s 1973 novel, Un sac de billes.

Prof. Simon Kemp presenting on Un sac de billes for our A-level Literature Circus session at our Teachers’ Conference in September 2023.

As well as looking at the symbolic imagery that the marbles provide in within the first few pages, and touching on themes of brotherly love and the cyclical nature of history, Simon highlighted a series of old blog posts about French A-level texts which we thought we would resurface and draw your attention to this week.

The series of articles all address a pertinent but perhaps unexpected question about common texts on the French A-level curricula.

If you have just started or are part way through your French A-level course, or if you just enjoy dabbling in French literature, then these articles will be perfect for you!

Have a read via the links below:

No et moi

Candide

L’étranger

Un sac de billes

If you’re hoping to apply to study French at university, reading these kinds of articles is a perfect way to kick-start your super-curricular exploration of the French language and culture! Why not read more about the themes addressed in the blog posts, or dip into one of the other texts that sound intriguing to you…

Report on our 2023 Teachers’ Conference

On Friday 29th September, the MML Schools Liaison team welcomed 53 MFL teachers from across the independent (33) and state (20) sectors to St Anne’s College for the Faculty’s annual two-day Language Teachers’ Conference. Although numbers were slightly lower than last year, our geographical reach was just as wide, with teachers joining us from all the way from Maidstone to Belfast! The event was also just as lively thanks to a newly re-jigged conference programme and some very enthusiastic delegates, who included academics and staff from across the Faculty.

Building Bridges Roundtable: Schools and Universities Working Together

After a welcome lunch, the main event kicked off with an impassioned and wide-ranging round-table discussion about the challenges and opportunities that currently exist in the world of language learning and teaching. This set the scene well, allowing us to focus the rest of the afternoon on the more positive developments and accounts surrounding language study at Oxford. Through various sessions, we highlighted the success of our beginners’ languages courses, heard from Lindsay Johns – successful writer and broadcaster – about how his French and Italian degree at Oxford had bolstered his personal and professional life, and indulged in a taster lecture on Spanish Golden Age theatre from Prof. Jonathan Thacker, Chair of the Faculty. This was all followed by a drinks reception and formal dinner, offering delegates the chance to network informally and socialise together.

Keynote speaker, writer and broadcaster Lindsay Johns, discussing his experiences of studying Modern Languages at Oxford and how his degree and language learning have shaped his personal and professional life.

Saturday’s programme focused on the practical with our annual A-level Literature Circus and Admissions sessions, both designed to support MFL teaching practices and enhance teachers’ specialist knowledge. The former invites academics in French, German, and Spanish to discuss the ways in which an area of language teaching can be used as a starting point for literary analysis in a selection of texts on the A Level syllabus. The latter provides an introduction to the Oxford application process as well as a mock interview with a current undergraduate.

A mock interview between Prof. Helen Swift and current French & Linguistics student, Amelie, for our Admissions 101 session.
Led by Dr Charlotte Ryland, our closing session “In the spotlight: Oxford outreach for Key Stage 3 learners” provided an insight into outreach projects occurring across the university which are supporting KS3 MFL
pupils.

The conference closed, very appropriately, with a presentation from Dr Charlotte Ryland which highlighted the exciting MFL outreach work that is currently occurring across Oxford for Key Stage 3 language learners; from the Queen’s Translation Exchange, to the Oxford German Network, to our very own schools liaison work here in the Faculty.

The feedback we have received about the conference organisation and content has been overwhelmingly positive. So far, 100% of respondents to our feedback form would recommend the conference to a colleague. One teacher from a non-selective state school in Hounslow commented:

I really enjoyed the conference – the programme was excellent and will provide invaluable material and ideas for lesson planning and promoting languages at school.

We are looking forward to acquiring more feedback over the coming weeks and collating any suggestions for next year’s event.

If you’re an MFL teacher who would be interested in attending next year’s conference, please send Nicola an email at schools.liaison@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk to be added to our mailing list.

SUPER-curricular resources

The Oxford application process can look very complicated at first. Unlike other universities, we collect a lot of different information about applicants so that our admissions tutors can make informed decisions about who will be best suited to our courses. We recommend that prospective applicants familiarise themselves with the Oxford admissions timeline and what each step entails – the earlier the better!

As our degrees are so competitive, one of the things that we get asked most often is how can I stand out against other applicants? The simple and honest answer is that in your personal statement and during your interview, our modern languages admissions tutors are most interested in reading/hearing about:

  • why prospective students love the subject(s) for which they are applying;
  • what it is that they find particularly engaging and exciting about the subject(s); and,
  • how they have furthered these interests through super-curricular activities.
What does ‘super-curricular’ mean?

‘Super-curricular’ activities are educational activities which go above and beyond the school curriculum to expand your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. This can be anything from podcasts, documentaries, trips to a museum, books, magazines, online programmes and more. 

If you’re not sure where to start, don’t panic! We recommend talking to your teachers or your school librarian about finding additional reading, but we’ve also included some resources below that might also be useful for furthering your interest in language and cultural studies.

Podcasts

  • Linguamania podcast
    Produced by researchers from Oxford University-led Creative Multilingualism, the series explores some fascinating perspectives on languages and language learning, asking: Do we really need human translators? Why do we use metaphors and what do they teach us about other languages and cultures? Can languages help protect the natural environment? And so much more… So stop what you’re doing and start exploring the wonderful world of multilingualism!
  • Les Liaisons dangereuses podcast
    Choderlos de Laclos’s eighteenth-century epistolary novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses, has been intriguing audiences since 1782, and has been adapted into different media many times. It is also one of the core texts studied by students of French in their first year of an Oxford degree. In this podcast series, Prof. Catriona Seth, Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at All Souls College, and Catriona Oliphant, founder of Chrome Radio, delve into the text, covering a variety of topics.
  • Oxford Spanish Literature Podcast
    Listen in on our conversations with Spanish tutors at Oxford to find out what’s so fascinating about the literature they teach, why they love teaching it, and why they think you might love it too.

In Our Time
Radio 4’s flagship series, In Our Time, hosted since the beginning by author, TV presenter and critic Melvyn Bragg, has become the BBC’s most downloaded weekly podcast globally, as well as one of the most popular for people under the age of 35.

The winning formula is a recorded conversation, over 45 minutes, in which Bragg quizzes academic specialists about almost any subject of interest in human life, including history, science, philosophy, religion and the arts. 

In terms of modern languages and cultures, here are some episodes (featuring our very own academics) that we would recommend (not that we’re biased!):

  • This episode on Olympe de Gouges, advocate for women’s rights during the French Revolution, featuring Professor Catriona Seth;
  • This episode on the great Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, featuring Professor Cláudia Pazos-Alonso;
  • This episode on eclectic German philosopher and cultural critic, Walter Benjamin, featuring Professor Carolin Duttlinger.

Videos

Each year, the Faculty runs a Literary Masterclass for local state sixth formers studying French, Spanish and German, designed to support them with reading and critically analysing literature in the target language. During the pandemic, this event was delivered online, and the pre-recorded videos are still available to view on our YouTube channel here.

The Oxford German Network runs an annual essay prize for sixth formers on a classic work of German literature. In the past, they have often created and collected a series of videos connected to the work in question. Click here for a playlist about Goethe’s Fausthere for a playlist about Schiller’s Maria Stuart, and here for a playlist about Hoffmann’s ‘Der Sandmann’.

*****

We hope these resources are helpful and provide a good starting point for you to develop your academic interests – don’t forget the importance of super-curricular activities for your UCAS application!

Please note: If you’re in Year 13 or equivalent, there’s still time to apply for Oxford! You need to make sure you have registered for your admissions test by 29th September (this Friday!) and have submitted your UCAS application (which includes your personal statement) by 6pm on 16th October.

If you’re in Year 12 or equivalent, the resources above will hopefully complement and develop your A-level/IB/Advanced Highers MFL studies and provide some excellent for your future personal statement.

Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators

The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators is a creative translation competition for students aged 11-18 studying French, German, Italian, Mandarin and Spanish. The competition also runs from French into Welsh. The Prize is free to enter and open to all schools across the UK. 

The 2023-24 prize launches today (20 September), when creative translation teaching packs will be shared with teachers in time for European Day of Languages on 26 September and International Translation Day on 30 September. These teaching packs are designed to help teachers bring creative translation into the MFL classroom as well as to help students prepare for the competition task.

Don’t worry if you have not yet registered! There is still plenty of time for teachers to do so as the competition itself will run over several weeks from 5 February to 28 March 2024. Area and national winners will be announced in May or June 2023. They will receive certificates and national winners will receive book prizes.

Over 15,000 students participated in the competition in 2023: see the list of winners and commendations in 2023.  For those registered, teaching packs for poetry translation will be circulated today, fiction will follow after October half term, and non-fiction will be released in early January.  Register to receive these resources and for updates about the competition task, click here

There are a number of related activities run by the Queen’s Translation Exchange that teachers and pupils can participate in, details of which can be found here.

If you have any queries regarding the competition, please contact the Translation Exchange team at translation.exchange@queens.ox.ac.uk.

GCHQ’s National Language Competition

GCHQ, one of the UK’s intelligence agencies, is running a National Language Competition in November aimed at pupils in Year 9 in England and Wales, Year 10 in Northern Ireland, and S3 in Scotland. After the success of the first NLC in 2022, GCHQ is running a second iteration of the competition this year, with the aim of promoting language learning in schools and encouraging the uptake of languages at GCSE/N5.

The competition will be a week-long event from 6th-10th November 2023. Schools will be able to sign up to the event beforehand and enter teams of up to four Year 9 (and equivalents) pupils to take part. A school will be able to submit as many teams of four as they wish. Teams will then be able to log in to the platform during that week (at lunchtimes under teacher supervision or in their own time in the evening) to have a go at the puzzles on the platform.

Pupils will tackle a range of language-related puzzles, ranging from easy to difficult, including European languages and others from around the world, and even made-up languages. Over a period of five days, they will capture flags to earn points on their language journey which will total up at the end of the week and affect their ranking on a national leaderboard. The team with the most points at the end of the week wins!

All pupils will be able to take part, no prior knowledge is required, only a keenness for languages. The winning team with the most points at the end of the competition will be invited to GCHQ’s Headquarters in Cheltenham and will be presented with their trophy!

To take part, schools can email nlc@gchq.gov.uk. We will add you to our mailing list and bring you more news of the competition over the coming months, including information on how to sign up in September!

A blog for students and teachers of Years 11 to 13, and anyone else with an interest in Modern Foreign Languages and Cultures, written by the staff and students of Oxford University. Updated every Wednesday!