Tag Archives: events

MFL Teachers’ Conference

August 3, 2022 Schools Liaison Leave a comment

We’re over the moon to be holding our Modern Languages Teachers’ Conference in person for the first time in two years… MFL Teachers, book your place now!

After two years of online conferences, we’re delighted to be hosting our annual Modern Languages Teachers’ Conference on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 September at St Anne’s College, Oxford.

Learn more about the Sir Robert Taylor Society here

To provide some context, our annual teachers’ conference is run by the Sir Robert Taylor Society (named after the founder of our Languages Library), which is a network of teachers of Modern Foreign Languages in secondary schools, academics from the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at the University of Oxford, and others interested in MFL.

This conference is the heart of the Society’s activity, and provides a unique forum for interaction and exchange between the University and teachers. We offer teachers the chance to spend a night in an Oxford college, to attend various taster lectures, and to ask our academics and admissions team questions about supporting students’ applications to Oxford.

2022 Programme

Alongside a drinks reception and delicious dinner at St Anne’s, highlights of our Friday evening programme this year include:

a spotlight on an exciting new outreach initiative to develop a Linguistics component in A Level Modern Languages curricula;
a lecture from Professor of Medieval French Studies and Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Professor Helen Swift;
a talk from our keynote speaker (to be announced) about the ways in which languages have positively affected their career and life more generally.

On the Saturday, we will open with a literary session on ‘The Language of the Text’, where scholars in French, German, Spanish, and Russian will discuss the ways in which an area of language teaching can be used as a starting point for textual analysis in a selection of texts on the A Level syllabus.

After a coffee break, we will hold our annual ‘Building Bridges’ session which involves a roundtable discussion with a panel of academics, students and teachers, as well as contributions from the floor. This year’s theme is ‘Schools and Universities Working Together’, which will focus on a slate of issues of current interest and concern within language learning from Key Stage 3 to degree level.

Before lunch, we will close the conference with an admissions session which will include information about our new academic programme – Opportunity Oxford – and a mock interview with a current student, and finish with a Q&A discussion about applying for and studying Modern Languages at Oxford, including picking up languages from scratch and studying languages in combination with other subjects.

Delegate rates and booking

You can view the various rates available for both state and independent school teachers, as well as book your place on our online booking webpage. You will need to create an account (or log in if you’ve used our website before) and select the right rate for your school type and length of attendance.

If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact Nicola at schools.liaison@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk.

We look forward to seeing you in September!

Events and Competitions, German, German Literature

German Classic Prize & Conference

June 1, 2022 Schools Liaison Leave a comment

The Oxford German Network (OGN) are delighted to make two exciting announcements: firstly, the 2022 German Classic Prize is now open for entries! Secondly, the OGN will also be running a new Classic Conference for Year 12 students this year – see below for further details!

‘A German Classic’ Prize 2022

1^st Prize: £500 2^nd Prize: £300 3^rd Prize: £100

Deadline: Wednesday 14 September 2022, 12 noon

2022 marks the sixth round of ‘A German Classic’ – our essay competition for sixth-form students! This year we would like to invite you to read with us Annette von Droste-Hülshoff’s captivating story Die Judenbuche published in 1842.

Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, often called Droste by friends and family, was one of the most influential German-speaking female authors of the 19^th century. Her work Die Judenbuche is sometimes considered to be the first murder mystery, containing elements of a crime thriller and gothic novel. Filled with plot twists, Doppelgänger, grisly murders, and red herrings, Die Judenbuche explores how human nature is shaped and (de)formed, confronting us with existential questions of good and evil and all the greyscales in between.

Over the coming weeks, we will release further resources and provide insights into the text and its author on our webpage (where you can find more information and resources) and via Twitter. Together we will explore the text, discussing topics ranging from uncanny Doppelgängers, deadly curses, and 18th-century slavery, showing you the enduring relevance of this 19th-century text.

For all details about eligibility, study packs, essay questions, submission, judging criteria, and more, see here.

We encourage all students interested in entering the competition to email their UK correspondence address to the Prize Coordinator (Natascha Domeisen: germanclassic@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk) by 12 noon on 25 June to receive a free study pack.

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German Classic Conference 2022

Tuesday 21 June 2022 | Jesus College, Oxford, Ship Street Centre

Jesus College, photo by John Cairns, taken from the Jesus College website

We are delighted to announce the launch of the first German Classic Conference for Year 12 students on the topic of Die Judenbuche by Annette von Droste-Hülshoff. This half-day conference will provide insights into the text, its key themes and translations in brief lectures and undergraduate-led discussions. There will also be a tour of Jesus College and the Fellows’ Library with the opportunity to enjoy some German treasures of the Jesus College collection. We are looking forward to exploring this German Classic with you!

Programme
11.45 – 12.25 Registration and Lunch
12.30 – 13.10    Introduction to Die Judenbuche (short lectures and Q&A)
13.15 – 14.00    Lost in Translation? Die Judenbuche in German and English
14.05 – 14.40 Tour of Jesus College and Fellows’ Library
14.45 – 15.15 Group Discussion of key themes with undergraduates
15.15 – 15.45    ‘More than a Whodunnit?’ Undergraduate Panel Discussion with Q&A
15.45 – 16.15    Tea and Departure

To download the programme as a PDF, please click here.

To register, please fill out this registration form and email it to the German Classic Prize Coordinator, Natascha Domeisen (germanclassic@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk) by noon on 10 June 2022.

Please note: Attendance at the conference is not a condition of entering the German Classic Prize competition 2022. More details about the Conference (including specifics about entry requirements, travel costs and accommodation) can be found here.

Applying to study modern languages, Events and Competitions, Open Days, Student life, Studying at Oxford

Oxford Is Open!

May 18, 2022 Schools Liaison Leave a comment

Come and visit us this summer to discover what student life at Oxford is really like.

After two years of online open days, Oxford is once again ready to welcome prospective applicants and their companions! Regardless of which universities you are interested in studying at, open days are an important opportunity for you to get a feel for the cities and/or campuses in which you might be spending three or four years. We recommend visiting lots of different universities if you can to find out which places make you feel most at home.

Here at Oxford, we have University-wide Open Days running on Wednesday 29 June, Thursday 30 June and Friday 16 September. These days offer an ideal opportunity for you to explore Oxford, find out more about our courses, tour colleges and quiz our tutors and current students.

It will be busy and you will probably leave feeling that there just wasn’t enough time, but you will also have a really good idea of Oxford and whether it might be the university for you. The secret to open days is definitely planning, so do explore all the information given here.

It is not mandatory to register for an Oxford Open Day, although we strongly recommend that you do in order to receive our university newsletters, full of top tips on how to make the most of your day.

The Taylor Institution Library (commonly known as the Taylorian)

In terms of Modern Languages, we will be running sessions across these days in the Taylor Institution Library, between 10:30am and 3:30pm. These will be a great opportunity to learn about our Modern Languages courses, talk to our tutors from our different languages, tour the Taylorian, and pick up prospectuses.

We do not take bookings for these sessions, but places are allocated on a first come, first served basis. You can take a look at the programme here for more details.

We look forward to welcoming lots of you to Oxford and the Modern Languages Faculty very soon!

Applying to study modern languages, Events and Competitions, Open Days, Studying at Oxford, Translation

We’re Back!

April 27, 2022 Schools Liaison Leave a comment

We hope you all had a restful break with family and friends over the last couple of weeks, whether you were observing religious traditions or hunting for chocolate in the garden (or both!)

Here at Oxford, Trinity term is already underway and it looks to be another busy one, albeit much sunnier than the last!

To ease us back into the new term, here are a few exciting events and opportunities to get involved in over the next couple of weeks!

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Modern Languages Subject Day – Tuesday 10th May, Exeter College

If you are a Year 11 or 12 student who is interested in exploring your options for University, then this day is perfect for you! This Subject Day will include opportunities to experience sessions in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

To register for your place, please fill out this form, which should take around 5 to 10 minutes to complete. The deadline to apply is Tuesday 3rd May at 9am.

If you have any questions, please contact outreach@exeter.ox.ac.uk.

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Songs We Learn From Trees – Thursday 5th May, The Queen’s College

On Thursday 5th May, at 4:30-8pm, the Queen’s Translation Exchange are running an in-person workshop and readings based on Songs We Learn from Trees, the first anthology of Amharic poetry in English.

Sign up for free here to discuss and celebrate Ethiopian poetry in an evening of readings by Ethiopian poets and their translator, followed by a drinks reception.

The event will feature the following poets:

Misrak Terefe
Bedilu Wakjira
Kebedech Tekleab
Alemu Tebeje
Hama Tuma [virtually]
Mihret Kibede [virtually]

with translator and anthology editor, Chris Beckett.

The poets will read from their own and other poets’ work in the anthology, as well as answer any questions the audience may have about the thriving poetry scene in Addis Ababa.

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Modern Languages Open Day – Saturday 7th May, Examination Schools

There’s still a week left to sign up to attend our in-person Open Day at the Examination Schools, here in Oxford.

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 companions’ Q&A session occurring in the afternoon. Academics, current students and members of staff from the Faculty will all be in attendance to answer your questions and give invaluable insight into studying languages at Oxford. You can view the full event programme here.

Please note that booking for this event is compulsory – you can register your attendance here.

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Modern Languages Summer School – 15th-19th August, Wadham College

Wadham’s annual Summer School programme is an excellent opportunity for Year 12 state school pupils to be an Oxford languages student for a week.

*Students on Wadham’s Modern Languages Summer School, taken from* Wadham College’s website

Throughout the week, pupils will take part in an academic programme, live in College, meet student ambassadors studying at Oxford, and receive information, advice and guidance on applying to university.

The Summer School is completely free and Wadham will provide financial support to pupils to cover any travel costs.

You can find out more information and the application form here. Applications are currently open and the deadline to submit is Friday 3rd June at 5pm.

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Applying to study modern languages, Events and Competitions, German, Open Days, Portuguese, Spanish, Studying at Oxford

Opportunities Galore!

February 16, 2022 Schools Liaison Leave a comment

It’s a busy time here at Oxford, particularly for Modern Languages! As there are so many fantastic events and activities for young linguistics taking place across the University over the next few weeks, we thought we’d give you a run down of these exciting opportunities and how to get involved. All here in one place, just for you!

So, without further ado…

German Open Day – MS Teams, Saturday 19th February

It’s the last chance to sign up to our German Open Day this Saturday, 11am-3pm! This event offers a unique opportunity to gain greater insight into the German degree course here at Oxford, listen to some fascinating taster sessions on topics such as German Film and Reading a Medieval Manuscript, and speak directly to our wonderful academics and current students.

Take a look at the programme and reserve your place here!

Somerville Year 12 Study Days – MS Teams, 22nd-25th February

Somerville’s virtual Study Days will feature taster lectures or workshops run by Oxford University academics, which offer a challenging and entertaining introduction to university-level study of various subjects.

The sessions are open to all Year 12 students at a UK state school who are taking a related subject, and/or are thinking about going on to study a related subject at university. Students will also have the opportunity to hear advice from admissions and outreach staff about applying to Oxford and Cambridge, and to ask the college tutors and current undergraduates questions about their subject of interest.

The Modern Languages session is taking place on Thursday 24th February, 4-6:30pm, on the topic of ‘German Poetry Without Words – The Creative Magic of Language’.

Please note: There is no need for any knowledge of German (although helpful); the session is open for everyone interested in a degree in Modern Languages, including joint degrees and/or Modern Languages with a beginner’s language.

More information about all of the subject sessions and how to apply for a place can be found here, under the heading ‘Year 12 Study Days’.

Spanish & Portuguese Open Day – St Anne’s College, Friday 25th February

Our Spanish & Portuguese Open Day is taking place in person at St Anne’s College this year, between 10am and 3pm. Just as for German, this event is a great opportunity to learn more about our Spanish and Portuguese degree courses, experience taster sessions, and talk to academics and undergraduates from those subject areas.

Take a look at the programme and reserve your place here!

Modern Languages Study Day – St John’s College, Wednesday 9th March

The Modern Languages Study Day at St John’s is open to all pupils currently studying at non-selective state schools and sixth-form colleges in the UK, in Year 12 (Lower Sixth) or equivalent, studying a Modern Language at A-level (or equivalent) as well as pupils studying History and English who are interested in starting German from scratch.

This day-long event offers pupils the opportunity to find out about studying Modern Languages at the University of Oxford. Pupils will attend academic taster sessions, receive a tour of St John’s College, and find out about the Modern Languages undergraduate degree and application process from tutors and current students.

Further information about eligibility and how to apply can be found here.
The deadline for applications is Monday 21st February at 4pm.

Oxford German Olympiad – Round 2 is now open for entries!

For those who don’t know, the Olympiad is a large competition for learners of German from Year 5 upwards. Not only does 2022 mark our 10th Oxford German Olympiad, but this year, the Oxford German Network is also celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Oxford-Bonn Town Twinning and the 80th anniversary of the first four White Rose resistance leaflets.

Therefore, we have two Round 2 tasks to choose from this year: Celebrating 75 Years of British-German Town Twinnings and The White Rose Project: Resistance Leaflets.

Thanks to our generous sponsors White Rose Project, Oxford-Bonn Link and British German Association, there are exciting cash prizes for the winners of each task.

Further details about the tasks can be found here. The deadline for all entries is 10th March 2022.

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Hopefully that’s enough to keep everyone busy for a while! Do check out the links we’ve highlighted in this post for more information. See you next week!

Applying to study modern languages, Events and Competitions, Studying at Oxford

BAME Humanities Study Day 2022 – Apply now!

February 9, 2022 Schools Liaison Leave a comment

Following a successful two-year run, University College, Magdalen College and the Faculties of History and Modern Languages are delighted to announce that the virtual BAME Humanities Study Day will return on Tuesday 12th April 2022!

This event offers UK state school students with Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) heritage an exciting opportunity to engage with academic taster sessions from across the Humanities subjects, and also to access support with the Oxford admissions process.

Last year, students chose to attend two academic taster lectures on fascinating topics such as:

Is a robot a human? Ancient dreams of a technological future (Classics)
Representing the First World War (History)
Sixteenth-century French Women’s Writing: Challenging Gender Expectations in selected works of the Dames des Roches (Medieval & Modern Languages)
Islam and Politics in the Middle East (Oriental Studies)
Decolonise Art History? (Art History)
Medieval English and Arabic Devotional Texts (English)

These talks offer students the opportunity to engage with topics which lie outside of their school curriculum and introduce them to studying subjects they love at university level. Like last year, these taster sessions will be supplemented by interactive admissions workshop delivered by outreach colleagues from across the collegiate university with assistance from our fantastic student ambassadors.

Screenshot from BAME Humanities Study Day 2021

There will also be an opportunity for participants to ask lecturers and current students questions about studying the courses they are interested in. Last year, this opportunity to engage with academics of BAME heritage was a highlight for several of the participants with one commenting that their favourite part of the event was:

“Seeing people of colour in academia! All the professors were such wonderful people and so down to earth and their talks were so engaging.”

Another participant commented:

“Originally, I wasn’t sure about applying to Oxford at all, but this study day gave me more confidence in my ability and made my voice feel more important and valued, something which often does not happen at school.”

If you are interested in attending this year’s BAME Humanities Study Day, you can apply here until 20th February when applications close. Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!

Thank you to the Faculty of History for the information about last year’s BAME Humanities Study Day. The full event report is available here.

Events and Competitions, Studying at Oxford

Last Chance to Apply for a UNIQ Experience!

February 2, 2022 Schools Liaison Leave a comment

Applications to Oxford’s flagship outreach programme close on Monday 7th February at 11pm – don’t miss out!

You’ve probably read our previous blog posts about the benefits of the UNIQ programme – if you haven’t, you can check them out here – so we won’t repeat ourselves! However, if you’re debating whether or not to apply, these quotes from previous UNIQ participants might help!

‘Applying to UNIQ was the best decision I’ve ever taken.’

‘UNIQ made me a lot more confident in applying to university.’
‘I learnt so much that couldn’t be found simply from open days and prospectuses.’

‘I felt so motivated, supported and felt for the first time that Oxford could be for me.’
‘The uni also does not seem as ‘study study study’ as I thought, there are loads of activities going on, even cheerleading and musical theatre, which I really did not expect.’
‘UNIQ has especially dispelled the myths of Oxford being for a certain type of person.’
‘UNIQ has made me realise just how much I enjoy studying my subject. It has made me more excited for university and more confident that I can make a competitive application to Oxford.’

Applications only take 10 mins – apply now!

Applying to study modern languages, Events and Competitions, French, German, Spanish, Studying at Oxford

UNIQ 2022 – Applications now open!

January 12, 2022 Schools Liaison 1 Comment

After two years of online delivery, UNIQ 2022 is delighted to be able to welcome Year 12 students back to Oxford! UNIQ 2022 will combine the best aspects of our residential summer school and sustained online programme to offer a hybrid UNIQ programme to 1600 students across the UK.

What is UNIQ?

UNIQ is Oxford University’s flagship outreach programme for Year 12 students at UK state schools/colleges. It is completely free and prioritises places for students with good grades from backgrounds that are under-represented at Oxford and other universities. The UNIQ programme offers a fantastic opportunity for these students to immerse themselves in the Oxford environment, sample some of our teaching, and try out life as an Oxford student.

What does the programme entail?

UNIQ 2022 offers both an in-person residential in Oxford and an online support programme. Taking place over several months, UNIQ starts in April, with academic courses in the summer, followed by university admissions support.

During the summer residential, students have the opportunity to experience life as an Oxford undergraduate by staying in an Oxford college and exploring the city for themselves. They will also get to know some of our Oxford undergraduates and work with our academics in face to face lectures, labs and tutorials.

What does this look like for Modern Languages?

For Modern Languages, there will be courses available for Spanish, French, and German. All three courses enable students to explore the language, literature, theatre, film, and linguistics of each discipline, while also providing the opportunity to have a taster of four other European languages at a beginners’ level.

Our aim is to give students a taste of what it is really like to study Modern Languages at Oxford, and to provide a sense of the breadth of our courses – including several of the languages you can study here as a beginner.

What are the benefits?

Throughout the UNIQ programme, students will explore subjects they love and gain a real insight into Oxford life, helping them to prepare for university, and decide what is right for them. UNIQ also enables students with similar interests in local regions and across the UK to connect with each other through social and academic activities.

Most UNIQ students go on to apply to the University of Oxford and they also get help to prepare for our admissions tests and interviews. In general, UNIQ students who apply to Oxford have a higher rate of success than other applicants.

How do I apply?

We welcome applications from:

Year 12 students from England and Wales, in the first year of A level studies or equivalent
Year 13 students from Northern Ireland, in the first year of A level studies or equivalent
S5 students from Scotland, studying Highers or equivalent

The online application process is quick and easy – it only takes 15 minutes! – and can be completed via the UNIQ website. Applications close on Monday 7th February at 11pm.

You will need:

the name of the school where you did your GCSEs (or equivalent) or your Nationals if you are a Scottish student.
the name of your current school.
your first and second choice UNIQ courses.
your teacher’s surname and email address.
a list of your qualifications.

As UNIQ is an access programme, admission to UNIQ 2022 will be based on a range of criteria that relate to students’ academic potential and socio-economic background. You can read more about this here.

Good luck to all applicants!

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!