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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.

Applying to study modern languages

THE MODERN LANGUAGES ADMISSIONS TEST (MLAT)

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Good luck to all those taking the Modern Languages Admissions Test today to become an Oxford undergraduate next October. If you’re thinking of applying to us in the future, here’s a video about how the admissions tests work:

And you’ll find all the information about how to go about applying to study with us here:

https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford

Applying to study modern languages

Admissions Checklist

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It’s that time of year when we are looking forward to receiving lots of applications from prospective students so we thought it would be useful to include an Oxford admissions checklist on this week’s blog. Year 13 students: if you are thinking of applying make sure you have prepared for all the points below. Year 12 students: it’s never too soon to start thinking about your applications for next year.

Step 1: UCAS application – remember that the deadline for Oxford is earlier than the usual UCAS deadline. Submit your application by 6pm on 15 October 2018.
You’ve probably been hard at work on your UCAS application for a little while now and will know that it consists of: your actual grades (e.g. GCSE), your predicted grades (A Level or equivalent), your personal statement, and a reference from your teacher. Here are some key things to remember about the personal statement…

  • You’ll submit the same personal statement for all the universities you apply to. Therefore, focus on the course/ subject, not the universities.
  • Show us your academic ability and potential, and your commitment to the subject. It’s not enough just to say that you have a passion for something: you need to show how you have engaged with your subject, above and beyond schoolwork.
  • Only mention your extracurricular activities if they are relevant to the subject for which you are applying. We want to see how your interests beyond school have helped to stretch you academically or motivate you to pursue your subject.
  • Be honest and be yourself – we’re interested in you as an individual. Also remember that this is not the time for false modesty – feel free to sell yourself!
  • Don’t list qualifications like your GCSE grades or anything else that’s covered elsewhere on the application.
  • Be sure to re-read your personal statement before an interview – the tutors may ask you to talk about things you’ve mentioned.

Step 2: Admissions Tests. The deadline to register for a test is also 6pm on 15 October. Your schools or test centre must register you. Ask your school or test centre for your candidate number now so that you know you have been registered.

  • You will sit the test in your school or test centre on Wednesday 31 October.
  • For Modern Languages, you must take a test in each language you apply for which you are studying at A Level or equivalent. For example, if you are applying for French and German and are sitting an A Level in both of these languages, you will take the tests in French and German. If, on the other hand, you are applying for French and Italian ‘ab initio’ (from scratch), and you will only have the A Level in French, you do not need to take the Italian test.
  • For languages for which you are applying post-A Level, the test is a grammar test, so it’s useful to start revising things like tenses, prepositions, subjunctives, adjectival agreement etc. The test is not designed to be a vocabulary test and there are likely to be words you don’t know: do not worry about this. We are not expecting a perfect score – we just want to get a sense of how solid a grammatical foundation you have in your language at the point of application.
  • If you are applying for a language from scratch you will need to take the Language Aptitude Test (LAT). This takes a made-up language and asks you to spot patterns and rules within that language, based on some sample sentences. We are interested in your instinct for language learning and your ability to spot potential grammatical structures based on the internal logic of a language. There are examples of this and other admissions tests online – have a practice in timed conditions so you get used to the exercises.
  • If you are applying for a ‘joint schools’ degree (a language in combination with another subject: English, History, Classics, Middle Eastern Languages, Linguistics, Philosophy) you may need to take additional tests in those subjects. Check here for details.

Step 3: Written Work. The college considering your application will contact you about submitting written work. The deadline for submission is 10 November. You will need to complete a written work cover sheet for each piece of work that you submit.

  • For Modern Languages, you will need to submit one piece in each language you intend to study, and in which you will have A Level standard (or equivalent) before university.
  • AND one piece in English (e.g. an essay on literature, history…)
  • If you are applying for a joint schools degree you will need to check what schoolwork is required for those subjects.
  • The work you send in should be your original school or college work, marked by a teacher, and not re-written or corrected in any way. It may be typed or handwritten – as long as it is legible – and photocopies are acceptable.
  • We would expect the piece in English to be no more than 2,000 words.
  • The piece in the Modern language can be much shorter: we would recommend around 300-500 words.

Step 4: Interviews. These take place in early December and, for many applicants, are the scariest part of the process. We’ll do another blog post in the coming weeks about interviews so stay tuned…

Step 5: Decisions! You will be told if you have an offer on 9 January 2019.

Best of luck to everyone who is applying. Remember, you can always ask us any questions you might have about admissions by emailing schools.liaison@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk