Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) Students and Applicants

city_chic

Can I ask all successful MML applicants this year what sort of preparation they did for interviews? I suppose I could have prepapred a little more, but I'd like to know if there was perhaps something I didn't do that I should have. Thanks.

I did a language course in germany for 6 weeks- not for cambridge, just to learn german- but im sure if you did something like that this summer youd be the only one and that would prove your dedication and linguistic interest like nothing else

I read a very long and tedious french classic in translation- dont do that. but do read a classic that interests you
& read up on loads of critical theory about the literature- lits more important than historical knowledge id say.
Practice writing short essays in response to a passage in english- i think thats a pretty common aptitude test.

its worth spending some time practicing your oral skills- some people at my school had half their interview in the language- i only had 2-3minutes so dont worry too much

Id say leave your exam results to show your aptitude by and large- concentrate on having something interesting to discuss- remember the whole interview process is very boring for the interviewers- they have to spend days on end listening to very similar answers from a lot of candidates. and languages especially- people are likely to be very limited in what theyve read/know so if you can talk to them about what interests them they'll really appreciate it and they'll want to teach you rather than the other applicants

and a gread tip- when they say 'do you have any questions'- (you dont have to- it wont count against you if you dont) but ask them what theyre working on at the moment and then listen to what they say and comment on it to show your interested and you understood them. These people are academics because they are passionate and devoted to a particular aspect of their subject so you'd be speaking their languages (as it were :p:

)

Reply 42

city_chic

Wow, you did a lot of prep :s-smilie:

Perhaps one of the reasons I was rejected was because I had only read L'étranger...

When you say 'texts on critical theory and french lit' what sort of stuff do you mean?

in translation though- i didnt read 420 pages of french!
Well i just went to the county library and asked for all the books they had on flaubert and baudelaire- not biographies though

they were really good- talked a lot about b &f's views on realism-just my luck that the two lit figures id read about had a link. bc i couldnt make head nor tail of les fleurs du mal or l'education sentimentale without critical works- but with them i could think then about what i thought- so as far as the interviewer was concerned, i had read 2 of the greatest works of french lit, and could not only talk about them, but also about critical theory.

i think you might have had bad luck- bc l'etranger is perhaps seen by interviewers as 'the obvious text' but its still good literature

Reply 43

butterfly_girl_5

I did a language course in germany for 6 weeks- not for cambridge, just to learn german- but im sure if you did something like that this summer youd be the only one and that would prove your dedication and linguistic interest like nothing else

I read a very long and tedious french classic in translation- dont do that. but do read a classic that interests you
& read up on loads of critical theory about the literature- lits more important than historical knowledge id say.
Practice writing short essays in response to a passage in english- i think thats a pretty common aptitude test.

its worth spending some time practicing your oral skills- some people at my school had half their interview in the language- i only had 2-3minutes so dont worry too much

Id say leave your exam results to show your aptitude by and large- concentrate on having something interesting to discuss- remember the whole interview process is very boring for the interviewers- they have to spend days on end listening to very similar answers from a lot of candidates. and languages especially- people are likely to be very limited in what theyve read/know so if you can talk to them about what interests them they'll really appreciate it and they'll want to teach you rather than the other applicants

and a gread tip- when they say 'do you have any questions'- (you dont have to- it wont count against you if you dont) but ask them what theyre working on at the moment and then listen to what they say and comment on it to show your interested and you understood them. These people are academics because they are passionate and devoted to a particular aspect of their subject so you'd be speaking their languages (as it were :p:

)

I'm thinking of going on a Spanish course this summer so I know that would look great on my (potential) re-application.

I'm disappointed with how my written test went really... I'm an English student and am usually great at writing responses to prose, but I know I didn't do half as well as I could have which is a shame.

I think my oral part went fairly well except for when I had to analyse a poem in French; that went BAD.

I thought I'd maybe stand out as I'm very interested in linguistics and talked about a particular topic we did relating to foreign languages, but I don't know...

Reply 44

butterfly_girl_5

in translation though- i didnt read 420 pages of french!
Well i just went to the county library and asked for all the books they had on flaubert and baudelaire- not biographies though

they were really good- talked a lot about b &f's views on realism-just my luck that the two lit figures id read about had a link. bc i couldnt make head nor tail of les fleurs du mal or l'education sentimentale without critical works- but with them i could think then about what i thought- so as far as the interviewer was concerned, i had read 2 of the greatest works of french lit, and could not only talk about them, but also about critical theory.

i think you might have had bad luck- bc l'etranger is perhaps seen by interviewers as 'the obvious text' but its still good literature

Ah right lol. Well I read L'étranger in French. Did you read any novels in French and not in translation?

Can you give me the titles of the critical works books? Just so I know exactly what sort of books you mean. I think I may have seen one on Baudelaire on Amazon... You say you talked about critical theory; by this do you mean you talked about the authors' particular views and stances etc and how they were portrayed in their novels?

Sorry if I'm asking a lot of Qs; I just want to be sure I know how to prepare fully if I re-apply and get interviews.

Reply 45

NickEM

butterfly_girl_5

its worth spending some time practicing your oral skills- some people at my school had half their interview in the language- i only had 2-3minutes so dont worry too much

In my interview, I think that the German-spoken part lasted for half of the interview (5-10 minutes.) I personally think that the quality of your spoken language is exceedingly important. It's a very simple way to test somebody's language aptitude.

butterfly_girl_5

and a gread tip- when they say 'do you have any questions'- (you dont have to- it wont count against you if you dont) but ask them what theyre working on at the moment and then listen to what they say and comment on it to show your interested and you understood them. These people are academics because they are passionate and devoted to a particular aspect of their subject so you'd be speaking their languages (as it were :p:

)

Personally, I wouldn't do this. It could work out very nicely, but I think it's a bit of a risky strategy, because it could seem that you were just trying to suck up. I always think it's better to take any opportunity to argue against your interviewer. (Within reason, of course.)

The "asking questions" bit can also be quite contrived. I didn't really have anything to ask; there wasn't really very much of value that could have been asked. In one of the interviews I didn't even have this opportunity.

One piece of guideance which I think is extremely important is to be genuine. I was, for example, asked what I had read on a certain topic. The answer was nothing, but instead of just saying this, I mentioned various films I had seen relating, and this proved to be an interesting point of discussion. Don't be afraid to say things like this, because the interviewer really isn't going to think "likes films = media studies student = illiterate and unintelligent."

I even had a brief discussion about the faux lesbian Russian pop-duo "t.A.T.u." (All The Things She Said, ring any bells?) Hardly intellectual, but completely genuine!

Reply 46

Pantoufles

Can anyone tell me what would a typical week be like for a 1st year re lectures supervisions essays etc etc ( doing French and ab initio Italian) ? Thanks

Reply 47

Duck and Cover

OP

15

For French, you'll have:

Weekly: Use of French classes + homework most weeks
Scheduled paper lectures twice a week
Oral supervision (maybe hwk depending on supervisor!!)
Fortnightly: Scheduled paper supervision + essay
Grammar Lectures
Translation + homework

Plus any special random lectures or classes they wanna put on!!

Reply 48

NickEM

I felt that this preparation really helped me and woulda advise anyone (re-)applying to Cambridge to prepare thoroughly.

I second that

Remember its a competition- and while you could still get in without reading a load of literature- everything you do to show dedication/passion for the subject and academic potential- all the things cambridge say they look for in the various letters they send you- will make you stand out and will increase your chances

Reply 49

Duck and Cover

For French, you'll have:

Weekly: Use of French classes + homework most weeks
Scheduled paper lectures twice a week
Oral supervision (maybe hwk depending on supervisor!!)
Fortnightly: Scheduled paper supervision + essay
Grammar Lectures
Translation + homework

Plus any special random lectures or classes they wanna put on!!

yey!

Reply 50

city_chic

I'm thinking of going on a Spanish course this summer so I know that would look great on my (potential) re-application.

I'm disappointed with how my written test went really... I'm an English student and am usually great at writing responses to prose, but I know I didn't do half as well as I could have which is a shame.

I think my oral part went fairly well except for when I had to analyse a poem in French; that went BAD.

I thought I'd maybe stand out as I'm very interested in linguistics and talked about a particular topic we did relating to foreign languages, but I don't know...

absolutely. may i recommend lanacos? they landed me in one of the best (and cheapest) schools in germany- i heard some bad stories fromt my fellow students about other schools and awful homestay experiences- safer to have a company to go to if things go wrong.

I wouldnt worry so much about the written test- i think most people are pretty unprepared. I did abosolutely ***** on mine.

Yeah- def worth reading loads of poetry- one girl in my class got a poem we'd actually read in class and she said she wouldnt have been able to understand it otherwise. Obviously not woth a gamble- but the more you read (from different periods & styles) the better prepared you'll be- also- criticism gets you used to ways of looking at poetry

one of the linguistics professors at cambridge actually told me the professors dont like linguists so much- he said- because people generally tend to be good and either ling. or the lit- so if you show youre good at both that would be good- but you need to show the lit side- with the ling there a bit of a danger that they might think thats an excuse (everyone studies the language so it would be easier to just talk about that than read a lot of books) also its a very literary based course (at least in the first year)

Reply 51

city_chic

Ah right lol. Well I read L'étranger in French. Did you read any novels in French and not in translation?

Can you give me the titles of the critical works books? Just so I know exactly what sort of books you mean. I think I may have seen one on Baudelaire on Amazon... You say you talked about critical theory; by this do you mean you talked about the authors' particular views and stances etc and how they were portrayed in their novels?

Sorry if I'm asking a lot of Qs; I just want to be sure I know how to prepare fully if I re-apply and get interviews.

no i didnt read anything in french. I prefer reading newspapers in french rather than books. my logic is that I would rather read the great works of fr lit (not that camus doesnt count) and i know that even if I could understand the book i wouldnt be able to respond to it as a piece of literature as well as in english. I did pick out extracts of flaubert and read them in french to get a gist.

Dont worry about asking me questions! Im more than happy- just as long as you bear in mind im just one student whose not even met the offer yet! But ill certainly share my experience/ opinion with you!

well um- i cant really remember all the books :s-smilie:

- i just went to my local library and asked. I think one was called 'Baudelaire, a man of his time.' one- maybe that one, had a whole chapter on baudelaire in relation to other literary figures including flaubert and a lot of the great romantics
-also- i swear by 'the cambridge companion' theres about 40 on various writers and literary movements. They a culmination of 10-15page essays on the main aspects
-Also- I flicked through a book written (translation) by Satre on baudelaire and my dads age old copy of les fleurs du mal had an intro by satre.
-and blackwells do 'a very short introduction' series- i bought the ones on the french revolution, existentialism and rousseau
- my teacher leant me the twaynes world author series which is also good.

- about critical theory- I thought about my reading of l'education sentimentale and lfdmal- and phrases i read in the books mentioned about that struck me- like in the intro by satre 'baudelaire est un homme qui ne s'oublie jamais' 'il se regarde regarder, et il regarde pour se regarder regarder'- that baudelaire is concerned with the process of observation eg and the idea shared by B & F that reality is ugly and that the only way to escape it is through literary contemplation and composition- i found that generally and interesting idea
it might be worth flicking through any books in your local book shop on critical theory itself (theirs a difference between criticism and literary theory- not sure I understand completely what)

the more you read, the more at home you'll be with reading and discussing literature. It just gets your mind going- this is what i found helpful anyway

Reply 52

NickEM

Personally, I wouldn't do this. It could work out very nicely, but I think it's a bit of a risky strategy, because it could seem that you were just trying to suck up. I always think it's better to take any opportunity to argue against your interviewer. (Within reason, of course.)

The "asking questions" bit can also be quite contrived. I didn't really have anything to ask; there wasn't really very much of value that could have been asked. In one of the interviews I didn't even have this opportunity.

One piece of guideance which I think is extremely important is to be genuine.

Thats true- I was worried it was a very transparent technique. and you should only do it if you feel confident you could then respond to their answer by showing you really understood them and had something to say. I wouldnt entirely agree with what I put in bold. A man i talked to who has been involved in oxford admissions interviews said some people argue their point blindly in the face of better arguments put to them by their interviewers. so yes- absolutely do this to show you can defend your point of view- but at the same time its vital to listen carefully to what they say and demonstrate that you understand their argument and are taking it into account and are interested in it- so if you disagree your counter-argument will be stronger

def- if you have nothing to ask, def dont ask anything- they really stress this. All I can say is my interviewers did light up when they got to talk about themselves a bit and what interests them and it worked for me.

yes- genuineness is so so important

Reply 53

lingolicious

butterfly_girl_5

one of the linguistics professors at cambridge actually told me the professors dont like linguists so much- he said- because people generally tend to be good and either ling. or the lit- so if you show youre good at both that would be good- but you need to show the lit side- with the ling there a bit of a danger that they might think thats an excuse (everyone studies the language so it would be easier to just talk about that than read a lot of books) also its a very literary based course (at least in the first year)

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but it doesn't have to be a literary based course in first year (or any other year). The Structures and Varieties option is available in most languages, granted it seems a lot of DoSs will advise you against it, but it is there!
It does seem to be a sad fact that many fellows don't like linguistics *sigh* :rolleyes:

Reply 54

Thanks so much butterfly_girl_5; you've really helped me :smile:

(it does slightly scare me though about how deep you seemed to prepare! :p:

)

What was the duration of the language course you went on? Good experience etc?

Reply 55

lingolicious

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but it doesn't have to be a literary based course in first year (or any other year). The Structures and Varieties option is available in most languages, granted it seems a lot of DoSs will advise you against it, but it is there!
It does seem to be a sad fact that many fellows don't like linguistics *sigh* :rolleyes:

I think he was just talking about the professors' preferences (probably because their area is generally literary/historical and might have been talking about particular professors. I would think maybe professors' preferences will inevitably come into it a little- but youre right I dont think its to do with the course

but I didnt actually know that- I assumed all 1A papers were compulsory- are they not? Do you know if people can choose to do both literary and linguistic all the way through their mml course? :smile:

Reply 56

city_chic

Thanks so much butterfly_girl_5; you've really helped me :smile:

(it does slightly scare me though about how deep you seemed to prepare! :p:

)

What was the duration of the language course you went on? Good experience etc?

6 weeks- but it was a school were you could pretty much turn up on the day and arrange on the spot- on a weekly basis
it was amazing, i got to learn german the way i always wanted to learn it- im convince now thats the only way to learn a language- i actually hate language a-levels- i find them so dull and uninspiring and worst of all- I dont learn any french/german!- my fluency gets worse when i go (normal) school!
The only good thing is essay writing practice and my german teachers (interesting) waffling about berlin's history

Well I was pretty terrified since Ive wanted to go to cambridge to do mml since I was 13 and i wa wondering about november/dec time why id managed not to do any prep before. I just figure no amount is too much when your applying for oxbridge and your serious about it

Reply 57

butterfly_girl_5

6 weeks- but it was a school were you could pretty much turn up on the day and arrange on the spot- on a weekly basis
it was amazing, i got to learn german the way i always wanted to learn it- im convince now thats the only way to learn a language- i actually hate language a-levels- i find them so dull and uninspiring and worst of all- I dont learn any french/german!- my fluency gets worse when i go (normal) school!
The only good thing is essay writing practice and my german teachers (interesting) waffling about berlin's history

Well I was pretty terrified since Ive wanted to go to cambridge to do mml since I was 13 and i wa wondering about november/dec time why id managed not to do any prep before. I just figure no amount is too much when your applying for oxbridge and your serious about it

I agree. Most of the time I'm bored in French lessons. I'd much prefer a language course abroad.

Wow, since you were 13?! I only thought about doing languages at uni in Year 12 and only thought about Cambridge towards the end of Year 12.

Reply 58