Monthly Archives: July 2024

Events and Competitions, German, German Literature, Resources for language study

Reminder: ‘A German Classic’ Prize

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There is still time to enter the Oxford German Network’s essay competition for sixth formers, ‘A German Classic’, offering prizes of £500, £300, and £100!

Whilst our registration deadline to receive free copies of our set text Schiller’s Die Räuber has passed, we still welcome entrants who will receive all of the online resources we provide for the 2024 prize.

© H. P. Haack

Die Räuber is a play that revolves around the big questions of sentiment and reason, freedom and law. The plot centres on the brothers Karl and Franz Moor and their dispute over their father’s affection and inheritance. Karl is slandered by his younger brother Franz, whereupon their father disowns Karl. Karl becomes the leader of a feared band of robbers but remains both haunted by his bad conscience and true to his noble intentions. Meanwhile the greedy and calculating Franz sets out to claim his father’s inheritance for himself and win over Karl’s fiancée Amalia.   

Schiller wrote Die Räuber when he was around twenty years old and it made him immediately famous when it was first performed in 1782. Ever since its premiere, this rebellious play has triggered strong reactions from audiences and prompted social debates that have lost none of their relevance. Explore them for yourself by studying  Die Räuber in the original – one of the iconic works of world literature! 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Entrants must fulfil the following requirements as of 11 September 2024: 

  1. be beginning their final year of full-time study at a secondary school in the UK (upper-sixth form, Year 13 or S6 in Scotland); 
  2. be between the ages of 16 and 18; 
  3. hold a GCSE, IGCSE or equivalent qualification in German offered in the UK, or have at least an equivalent knowledge of German, as confirmed by their teacher; 
  4. be resident in the United Kingdom.

Entrants are not, however, expected to have prior experience of studying German literature. 

You can find further information along with study materials and essay questions here on the Oxford German Network’s website.

Events and Competitions, Spanish

SPANISH FLASH FICTION 2024: THE WINNERS

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We’re delighted to publish the winning entries for this year’s Spanish Flash Fiction competition. We’ll be publishing the runner up and highly commended entries for both languages in each age category over the coming weeks.

Thank you and huge congratulations to everyone who entered. The Spanish judging panel were extremely impressed with all the entries we received this year (over 640 of them!), and commented the following about the competition:

As always, we were captivated by the creativity of the many entries and thrilled to see a lot of very promising stories. It was a hard job choosing from so many markedly different pieces, some of which were humorous or haunting, serious or silly, but all entertaining. This year, there were quite a few that engaged intertextually with other works in English and Spanish literature as well as classical literature and myth and it was particularly good to see how your wider reading has been channelled into your own imaginative responses to the sources.

Without further ado, here are the stories! We hope you enjoy reading them as much as the judges did.

YEARS 7-9 WINNER

Photo by Joyce Hankins on Unsplash

Esperando en un estante

Soy más que páginas y tinta; soy un recipiente de posibilidades infinitas. Una vez abierto, llevo a los lectores en viajes más allá de sus sueños más salvajes. Cada palabra es una pincelada, pintando mundos vibrantes y personajes intrincados. A veces siento lágrimas manchando mis páginas y risas resonando a través de mi columna. Soy apreciado y amado por muchos, y aunque mi columna se ha doblado muchas veces, me mantengo en tacto. A medida que el sol se pone, espero pacientemente en el estante, esperando a que los dedos curiosos lleguen una vez más.

– Sayuri Bansal, Year 8

YEARS 10-11 WINNER

Photo by Bud Helisson on Unsplash

+4.25. Mi receta. No es terrible. No es buena. Podría ser peor. Moderada – me dicen. Me ofrecen gafas grandes y potentes. Pero ¿qué pasa si no quiero ver con claridad? Retrocediendo a la seguridad de mi humor vítreo, protegido por los guardias de mi esclerótica que agarran sus lanzas de músculos ciliares, prefiero imaginar un mundo 4.25 millones de veces mejor que aquel en el que vivo: donde la bondad no es borrosa por la avaricia, donde las visiones del futuro son alegres, donde mi sueño de armonía mundial no es tan hipermétrope como mi vista.

– Charlotte Jory, Year 11

YEARS 12-13 WINNER

Somos arqueólogos

Photo by Iulia Mihailov on Unsplash

Es cierto que somos arqueólogos. Nos enterramos bajo la superficie como si estuviéramos esperando a ver quién levantará las rocas para encontrarnos. Somos rompecabezas para que la persona adecuada nos resuelva. Un acertijo o quizás una ciudad perdida a alguna parte del océano hermoso. Los escritores alimentan a sus lectores con metáforas y convierten palabras en cajas relucientes. Una urraca creería que son perfectas para su colección, pero el verdadero regalo está dentro. Sólo para aquellos que cavan. Incluso si solo estás de pie bajo la lluvia, delante de ella, buscando las palabras correctas para decir. Estás buscando. Siempre buscando.

– Isobel Gurnett, Year 12

¡Felicidades a todos los ganadores!

Events and Competitions, Portuguese, Translation

Reminder – Stephen Spender Prize

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Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation 2024 | 2 weeks left to submit!

Calling budding poetry translators of all ages! Just 2 weeks left to submit to the 2024 Stephen Spender Prize for poetry in translation. Translate ANY published poem from ANY language into English, and win publication and cash prizes!

The Prize welcomes entries from young people aged 18 and under from across the UK and Ireland, with categories for individual young people and teachers submitting on behalf of pupils, plus a special Portuguese Spotlight celebrating poetry from across the Lusophone world. Teachers from participating schools are also warmly invited to try their hand at poetry translation with the free-to-enter Teacher Laureate Prize, for the chance to win a subscription to Modern Poetry in Translation magazine and a creative translation workshop for their school.

This year, the Stephen Spender Trust is also delighted to extend the Open category to adults aged 18+ from all over the world, welcoming submissions from higher education students, academics and poetry and language lovers of all stripes. 

The winning translations will be chosen by Taher Adel, Jennifer Wong and Keith Jarrett, with publication and cash prizes for the winners, plus special certificates for up to 30 Commendees in each age category. Outstanding Teacher Commendations will also be awarded to three individual teachers and/or language departments who show exceptional engagement with the prize.

For full details and a wealth of poetry translation resources, including the Stephen Spender Trust’s Guide to the Prize for Teachers, head to the Stephen Spender Prize homepage: www.stephen-spender.org/stephen-spender-prize/.

You can also follow the latest Prize news on social media, using the hashtags #SSTPoetryPrize2024 and #PortugueseSpotlight. (X: @StephenSpender | Facebook: @StephenSpenderTrust | Instagram: @stephenspendertrust)

Events and Competitions, French

FRENCH FLASH FICTION 2024: THE WINNERS

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We’re delighted to publish the winning entries for this year’s French Flash Fiction competition. We’ll be publishing the winning entries for Spanish, as well as the runner up and highly commended entries for both languages in each age category over the coming weeks.

Thank you and huge congratulations to everyone who entered. The French judging panel were extremely impressed with all the entries we received this year (over 580 of them!), and commented the following about the competition:

We are thrilled to share our excitement about the entries for the 2024 Flash Fiction competition. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the competition!

We were impressed by the variety in your stories and by how much emotion and detail could be packed into just 100 words. Your stories made us laugh, gasp, reflect, and sometimes even tear up. We read tales that spanned from light-hearted daily occurrences to epic medieval duels and forbidden werewolf romances, from futuristic visions of 2050 to unexpected encounters with demon snowmen and talking ants. We encountered characters from all walks of life and visited settings that ranged from the familiar to the extraordinary. Along the way, we met a crocodile in the Thames, a sentient piece of bread, and many other memorable figures that made your stories so engaging.

We truly enjoyed reading your stories and want to commend each of you for your creativity and effort. Thank you for making this competition such a wonderful experience, and congratulations to all of you.

Without further ado, here are the stories! We hope you enjoy reading them as much as the judges did.

YEARS 7-9 WINNER

La Cuisine Française

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

J’avais fait une grasse mat. Je n’avais pas fait mes corvées. Ma mère allait vraiment me rentrer dans le chou quand elle reviendrait ! Je pourrais toujours lui raconter des salades. En vrai, je n’étais pas dans mon assiette. Tant que ma sœur s’occupe de ses oignons tout ira bien. Il n’y avait pas besoin d’en faire tout un fromage. Peut-être la moutarde ne lui monterait pas au nez. À partir de demain, j’enverrai la sauce. La porte d’entrée s’ouvrit. Purée ! Mes carottes sont cuites !

– James Best, Year 8

YEARS 10-11 WINNER

La Tulipe

Photo by Kwang Mathurosemontri on Unsplash

La pluie ne peut me blesser. Le soleil ne peut me brûler. Je ne meurs jamais. Quand les doigts doux de printemps glissent avec les vents parfumés, je me réveille. Je m’épanouis aux mélodies de l’été. Bien que tout le monde puisse cueillir mes cheveux, personne ne peut me détruire. Autrefois aux Pays-Bas, mon corps valait son pesant d’or. Maintenant, je pousse sur le bas-côté de la route, abandonnée. Quand le filet d’automne m’enchevêtre dans le froid, je me flétris. Mais j’attends toujours le réveil de printemps : ma beauté s’évapore dans l’air, mais ma vie perdure sous terre…

– Tony Shi, Year 11

YEARS 12-13 WINNER

Les Couleurs Cachées de Lily : Un Monde Autistique

Dans une ville pittoresque entre collines, Lily vivait. Son monde, aux couleurs qu’elle seule comprenait, la faisait danser à chaque pas, ses yeux contant des histoires dans un langage unique. L’autisme révélait un univers où les couleurs scintillaient et sons jouaient des symphonies. Au milieu de la « normalité », Lily trouvait réconfort dans son propre rythme, son esprit s’élevant au-delà des limites terrestres. Dans son monde, l’autisme n’était pas un obstacle mais un kaléidoscope de possibilités infinies, peignant sa vie d’une brillance incomparable.

Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash

– Hannah Gleeson, Year 12

Félicitations à tous nos gagnants!

Applying to study modern languages

MODERN LANGUAGES ADMISSIONS TEST 2024

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Following our recent update about the new arrangements for Oxford’s 2024 tests, we now have more details on the Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT) to share with prospective students and their teachers and guardians.

This year’s tests are being delivered by Pearson VUE and the MLAT will take place on 22 October 2024. We’re working on a principle of maximum continuity with previous years, but there are some changes in what the test contains and how you take it.

WHAT IS THE MLAT AND WHICH PARTS OF IT DO I NEED TO DO?

The Modern Languages Admissions Test is used as part of the admissions process for all courses involving modern languages, i.e.:

The Modern Languages Admissions Test is a computer-based test which consists of 10 sections. Which sections you take depends on the course you are applying for.

There are eight individual sections for each of the following languages:

  • Czech, French, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

The other sections are:

  • the Language Aptitude Test (LAT), for those applying for Russian on its own, courses with Beginners’ Russian, or courses with Polish. NB. This is a change from previous years. Other beginners’ languages besides Russian and Polish NO LONGER ask you to take the Language Aptitude Test.
  • the Philosophy Admissions Test, for those applying for Philosophy and Modern Languages.

On the modern languages admissions pages you’ll find a table telling you exactly which sections of the test you need to take for the course you’re applying for.

  • Some courses require you to take two sections of the test, for instance if you’re applying for a degree in two languages that you’re already studying in the sixth form, such as French and Spanish. You’ll sit both tests over the course of an hour, one after the other.
  • Some courses require you to sit only one section, for instance if you’re applying to study a language on its own (French single honours), a language with another subject (French and History), or a language with a beginners’ language (French and Beginners’ Italian). In all these cases you’d sit the French test only. (NB: you may need to sit an admissions test for degrees with another subject such as the History Admissions Test for degrees combining a modern language and History).
  • Some courses involving a beginners’ language and another subject, like English and Beginners’ Portuguese, don’t require you to sit the MLAT at all.

WHAT DOES THE TEST LOOK LIKE?

Each language test is 30 minutes long. (NB: the Philosophy Admissions Test is 60 mins).

The first exercise consists of 20 multiple choice questions. In each question, you need to pick the correct word or phrase out of four options to fill a gap in a target-language sentence. They’re the same kinds of gap-fill questions as in previous versions of the MLAT that you’ll find archived on our pages. The only difference is that you’re now choosing the answer from multiple choice rather than writing it in the gap yourself.

The second exercise consists of 10 target-language sentences which you are asked to translate into English. Again, this exercise is based on the translation-into-English exercise from previous MLATs, and the sentences will be of a similar type and complexity to those you’ll find on archived MLATs.

There is no longer a translate-into-the-target-language exercise on the language tests. All your answers will either be multiple-choice or written in English.

The Language Aptitude Test (now only for Russian Single Honours and courses with Beginners’ Russian or Polish) has the same format as on the archived tests: decoding, translating and creating sentences in a made-up language from examples of sentences and their English translation. The LAT does ask candidates to write answers in the made-up language as well as in English.

All applicants taking this test are invited to practise by taking a sample test online in advance of their test day. While the content and structure of this test has changed slightly, all existing online resources and past papers are still valuable preparation for you and we strongly recommend you exploring these.

HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR AND TAKE THE TEST?

All tests will be online and delivered via Pearson VUE’s established network of test centres, rather than in schools as was previously the case. There will be no charge for candidates to register for Oxford’s own tests this year. This year’s MLAT, as mentioned will take place on 22 October; tests for other subjects at Oxford are all taking place between 21-31 October.

Candidates for all Oxford tests will be able to register with Pearson VUE between 15 August and 4 October. When registering, candidates will be able to request the access arrangements which are normally available to them for public examinations taken in their school or college. Detailed candidate guidance on test preparation will be available shortly via ox.ac.uk/tests and there will be a sample test provided, which will also allow you to explore the test platform. Answers and mark schemes will be supplied for you to check your performance.

Huge thanks go to Prof. Simon Kemp for putting these helpful notes together.