Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) Students and Applicants

Medieval lit? You know that's the one that mr supervises?

Hello MML people! I only ever seem to come in here when I have a dilemma... I will come back for a proper chat one day I promise!

My dilemma is whether or not to go on a language course in France at Easter. I went to Germany at Christmas and found it a really good experience because I stayed with a host family and spoke plenty German. I think it would be a very good idea to go to France and do pretty much the same thing before oral exams next term and try and get some grammar revision out of the way too.

HOWEVER I am very short of money and I am really lacking the energy at the moment needed to organise such a trip properly. My DoS suggests maybe looking at Alliance Francaise courses in London where I live BUT I am concerned that this would not be as good as actually going to France. Also what do I do about applying for a Vacation study grant, I believe the deadline is like tomorrow?

What do you lot think?

Hello Melisto! C'est moi!

Right thanks for your help, I have spoken to another fellow first year who shall be known only as The Language Course Guru and I think I may want to go to Rouen. The crucial thing is to see whether my DoS will get out of her hermit residence i.e. her office. But isn't it breaking the rules if we apply for a grant when we haven't organised the trip yet?!

Just get a ballpark idea of how much you'll need, add a couple of hundred to everything

No. I haven't finalised my trip to Siberia yet but I'm still applying for a grant. Just get a ballpark idea of how much you'll need, add a couple of hundred to everything, write down a school that you might want to go to and make it up a little bit and it will be fine Definitely do though - you're entitled to two during your degree but the VSGs will exist only in a 'severly reduced form' next year so do it nowwww!

Apologies if this is too early to be thinking about such things but I was wondering if any of you could give me some tips with revising for/doing the lit exams, as last year I did much worse in the lit exams than I did in my supervision essays.

Generally, what's the standard aptitude level that MMLers arrive with in their ab initio language? I've got an offer for 2011 entry French & ab initio Spanish and I was wondering how much Spanish I'll need to learn to not be bottom on the first day.

READING LISTS.

People who're there now, when did you get your first year reading lists?

Last year I found that what really helped was writing a really really broad essay for each topic and trying to incorporate all the arguments that could possibly come up. It really helps you get to grips with the key themes of the literature that you're studying, which will give you more of a focus in the exam.

Most, if not all, of them are on the faculty website. I don't remember which languages you're doing, but I know French and Spanish are definitely up there. I wasn't sent a reading list, just a bit of paper telling me to go and look it up. I think I was given a list of dictionaries and grammar books and textbooky things in August.

EDIT: Voila. You'll be doing ITA1, 2 and 3 and FRB1, 2 and FR1 or 2 I'm asuming

OK so I have a question about Fr2. Sorry if it's been asked before...

Anyways, I'm a gap year student right now and last summer I was sent the reading list for Fr2; they'll probably send it again this year I guess. I didn't really look at it till now and have decided to buy/read them now since I have time. Thing is, I noticed it's the 2009/2010 year (Le Conte de Floire et Blanchefleur, L'Heptaméron, Phèdre, Lettres persanes, Thérèse Raquin and Cléo de 5 à 7). I was wondering if this reading list is likely to change for the 2010/2011 year? How often to they change the set texts? I don't want to buy/read them all to find that there are different set texts for the year I start the course!