Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) Students and Applicants

Crazy_emz

Ditto. I mean, my experience of it was pretty extreme but everyone I know who took it as an exam found the revision for it to be awful. If you're interested in the topics, then it might be worth doing as a portfolio (people who took that option seemed to do well).

Zoe, if you don't mind me asking, how did you do in Sp4?

I'd agree with Zoe (see what I said above). But I can send you the reading list for Sp4 if you'd find that helpful.

I took Pg3 and mostly enjoyed it - it is definitely easier than Sp4. It took me a while to get used to it as the course seemed a bit disorganised at first but I really enjoyed most of what I studied for it. Don't think that you'll be anywhere near fluent in Portuguese at the end of it, though (unless you work really hard. Unfortunately, most of my friends and I prioritised work for our other subjects and relied on our knowledge of Spanish, which isn't very good but is completely understandable).

Fr5 -I took one of the other medieval papers (Fr3) and really enjoyed that and I think a lot of the teaching is done by the same people, so I think it's a good choice. The topics definitely look interesting. Shame I don't think it will be offered in my fourth year, I'd really like to have taken it.

About Sp1, I've heard similar complaints about the teaching...and in my experience, it's pretty rare for supervisors and DoSs to warn people off taking a paper because of the teaching quality, so it might not be such a good choice. But, that said, it would be a shame not to take linguistics if you're interested in it.

Sorry, I've rambled on a bit, hope this is useful!

Thanks Crazy_emz :smile:

If you could send me your reading list for Sp4, I'd be really grateful! How did you find your second year as a whole? It does seem a bit daunting to be honest just because there seems as if there will be a lot more books to read/work to do in general. I also hoped I could get more involved in extra-curricular stuff since I did very little of it this year.

Oh and where are you headed on your year abroad? Must be really exciting!

Zoedotdot

Wouldn't recommend Sp4. At all. I can expand if you want any advice, if you're already set then I'm happy to keep mum :smile:

I'd appreciate anything you can tell me really :smile:

Reply 1042

Chubasco

toddy21

Thanks Crazy_emz :smile:

If you could send me your reading list for Sp4, I'd be really grateful! How did you find your second year as a whole? It does seem a bit daunting to be honest just because there seems as if there will be a lot more books to read/work to do in general. I also hoped I could get more involved in extra-curricular stuff since I did very little of it this year.

Oh and where are you headed on your year abroad? Must be really exciting!

I'd appreciate anything you can tell me really :smile:

If you message me your email address then I'll send you the reading list :smile:

Second year is apparently the hardest year of MML (heard this from several fourth years and my DoS). I found it ok up until the middle of Lent when I got ill and I've been ill on and off ever since, which messed up my work a fair bit - I think it would have been ok if I hadn't been ill. I think the most important thing is to keep a sense of perspective: definitely get involved with extracurriculars so that you have something to look forward to. Funnily enough, the time in Michaelmas when I was fairly regularly doing 20-35 hours a week of extracurriculars (only lasted for 3 weeks or so before things calmed down, so not as bad as it sounds) was also the time that I worked most efficiently and did reasonably well. I'd definitely recommend reading as many set texts as you can over the vacations though!

I'm hopefully going to study in Chile for my YA. Have you got any idea of what you want to do yet?

Reply 1043

toddy21

Aw Chile definitely sounds cool! I'm pretty sure that I want to work as a teaching assistant in Spain as I've always been interested in the prospect of working as an English teacher in Spain after I finish uni. Might try to get a job in France next summer though.

What are you doing your dissertation on by the way? And how on earth do you actually decide?

Reply 1044

Canned Door

Zoedotdot

I wish I knew myself. My DoS likes to send us each a personal letter containing our breakdown and comments on our results and what to think about. Unfortunately, he doesn't get round to doing this until mid-July, so I won't know for a couple of weeks. Will let you know when I know, but I don't imagine I did very well, the revision for it was just hopeless.

He knows them already. Definitely knows IA. We had a brief chat in passing the other day, he said my breakdown was 'surprising', that it might make me 'see my options for next year differently', that my literature marks were both interesting, etc. I'm convinced he's basically playing mind games with me so I will study nothing but literature. But of course, he can't just say what my breakdown is. That would be too easy. :tongue:

Reply 1045

Chubasco

toddy21

Aw Chile definitely sounds cool! I'm pretty sure that I want to work as a teaching assistant in Spain as I've always been interested in the prospect of working as an English teacher in Spain after I finish uni. Might try to get a job in France next summer though.

What are you doing your dissertation on by the way? And how on earth do you actually decide?

Yes, I know loads of people who've done British Council and had a ball, so it's definitely something to think about. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do this time last year, it took a month of working in Paris to make me realise that I was much more comfortable with speaking Spanish.

Dissertations....ah, fun times :p:

I'm doing mine on religious relations in medieval Spain, which is either completely fascinating or incredibly boring depending on your POV (somewhat weirdly, two of my close friends are doing very similar topics to me :s-smilie:

). Basically, you just need to find a topic that interests you enough to study it for a year and that you'll be able to find enough material on/work on in the place you're going for your YA. It can literally be anything though (unlike the Optional dissertation, which has to fit into the scope of a specific Part II paper). And you might want to do a translation project or even a linguistics project instead.

Reply 1046

Zoedotdot

I wish I knew myself. My DoS likes to send us each a personal letter containing our breakdown and comments on our results and what to think about. Unfortunately, he doesn't get round to doing this until mid-July, so I won't know for a couple of weeks. Will let you know when I know, but I don't imagine I did very well, the revision for it was just hopeless.

Hi! I quoted you as you appear to have been a leading participant in this thread for the last couple of years.. :p:

I intend to apply to study MML at Cambridge - French (post A-level) and Russian (ab initio). Do you have any advice regarding these two languages, or boosting my MML application in general? I think that during this 10-week summer break I should at least try to make headway into a (hopefully) successful application.

Thanks for your help! :biggrin:

Reply 1047

Zoedotdot

18

byham2010

Hi! I quoted you as you appear to have been a leading participant in this thread for the last couple of years.. :p:

I intend to apply to study MML at Cambridge - French (post A-level) and Russian (ab initio). Do you have any advice regarding these two languages, or boosting my MML application in general? I think that during this 10-week summer break I should at least try to make headway into a (hopefully) successful application.

Thanks for your help! :biggrin:

Yeah, I am probably the most regular poster :o:

I don't know as much about post A level French as others may, so perhaps someone else could field that.

However, I've just finished my second year of ab initio Russian. Do you have any previous experience with Russian? You have to be prepared for it to be very difficult and for you to spend many many evenings with frustrated headaches poring over your books trying to understand it. It's very very grammar-heavy, which makes it difficult at the beginning and much easier later on. But it's SUCH a worthwhile language to learn. Because it's so hard, the rewards when it finally clicks are huge. And it's very satisfying :smile:

I personally love it :biggrin:

I don't know what you want to know, I can give you more specifics if you ask!

In terms of strengthening your application, I would advise reading some Russian books in translation and learning the alphabet if you haven't already. You don't need to go overboard, but an awareness of the culture and history will help, just to get a general sense of why you want to do it. I'm very much an advocate of chilling out in terms of your application - I personally knew the application process inside out but did very little preparation for the interviews themselves and felt that it actually gave me an advantage, because I turned up with an open mind and an ability to answer the questions they fired at me without overthinking.

Have a strong PS, but fill it with things that you will want to talk about in an interview. Something that particularly draws you to French/Russian, books that you've read, trips over there... Also, I'd recommend having a look at the papers and what the Cambridge course iis like so that you know what you're going into! Other than that I don't really know what to tell you. I know a lot of people go overboard and do tonnes of reading and things but I avoided most of that. I was at a comprehensive though, so maybe they expected less of me? Either way, the best thing you can do is to relax and do things that you enjoy with your summer. That's what I did, with all my summers, and thankfully it seemed to demonstrate a real passion for what I'd chosen to study :smile:

If you want to know anything more specific, ask away.

Reply 1048

Thank you so much! :biggrin:

I'm sure that I'll be able to mention some Russian history, as we will study 'Russia in Revolution' at History A-level, so there should be no problems there :smile:

As for the language side of things, could you recommend any grammars, and any particular Russian books in translation?

Thanks again :cool:

Reply 1049

Zoedotdot

18

byham2010

Thank you so much! :biggrin:

I'm sure that I'll be able to mention some Russian history, as we will study 'Russia in Revolution' at History A-level, so there should be no problems there :smile:

As for the language side of things, could you recommend any grammars, and any particular Russian books in translation?

Thanks again :cool:

You could get hold of the book that we use in first year if you wanted to. I don't think that any grammars will be especially useful at this point, but if you were super keen have a look at Wade's Comprehensive Russian Grammar, that's the standard grammar reference but I didn't start using it thoroughly until second year and relied on Colloquial Russian for the large part of first year so that would be the best place to start :smile:

Most people do come with literally no knowledge though, so I wouldn't go crazy on the language side.

In terms of Russian literature, have you read any Tolstoi? Read Anna Karenina if you haven't already :smile:

I'd also give Crime and Punishment a try, although I personally hated it and many other things written by Dostoevskii. And 'Dead Souls' and 'The Nose' by Gogol are great too, they're quite funny. In terms of more twentieth century stuff, I would definitely read 'We' by Zamiatin, 'The Master and Margarita' by Bulgakov, 'Death and the Penguin' by someone I can't remember and there are some really great detective stories about a nun called Sister Pelagia by Boris Akunin, you should check those at as well.

Don't feel like you have to read all of those, I'm just pulling out a few of my very favourite books, some from reading lists and some that I just stumbled upon. I think they give you quite a good initial overview of the culture. I would start maybe with the Pelagia and Death and the Penguin, and then give the heavier stuff a go. I think that pretty much anything you read about Russia will help though, this is more for your own enjoyment than anything else!

Reply 1050

Thanks, I will check out some of those titles :smile:

I will most probably do Russian ab initio but I'm also considering Spanish a.i. as I've heard that it's much easier.. Depends whether I want to spend many evenings trawling through Russian grammar :p:

Other than being rewarding, any other reasons to study Russian which I may not have thought of?

I presume that if it is harder, then the Russian exams will be at an easier stage than Spanish ones? Otherwise I guess the workload for Spanish would be far less?

Ty :biggrin:

Reply 1051

byham2010

Hi! I quoted you as you appear to have been a leading participant in this thread for the last couple of years.. :p:

I intend to apply to study MML at Cambridge - French (post A-level) and Russian (ab initio). Do you have any advice regarding these two languages, or boosting my MML application in general? I think that during this 10-week summer break I should at least try to make headway into a (hopefully) successful application.

Thanks for your help! :biggrin:

Hiya, if you've got any questions about French then fire away! Always happy to help.

Reply 1052

Melz0r

Hiya, if you've got any questions about French then fire away! Always happy to help.

YAY!

Basically, I plan to take French post A-level as part of MML course, and I have a few questions... Firstly, what GCSE/AS/A-level results did you get? Knowing this might give me an indication of required grades :smile:

As for French, can you recommend any good French texts which I could read and mention on a Personal Statement and would possibly make me stand out as a good candidate ('dual' French-English would probably be best, although English translated copies are fine). Also, do you know of any good French grammars which are simple enough for AS students but also go right up to degree level?

Thanks for your help; any other advice which you feel important would also be appreciated :biggrin:

Reply 1053

byham2010

YAY!

Basically, I plan to take French post A-level as part of MML course, and I have a few questions... Firstly, what GCSE/AS/A-level results did you get? Knowing this might give me an indication of required grades :smile:

As for French, can you recommend any good French texts which I could read and mention on a Personal Statement and would possibly make me stand out as a good candidate ('dual' French-English would probably be best, although English translated copies are fine). Also, do you know of any good French grammars which are simple enough for AS students but also go right up to degree level?

Thanks for your help; any other advice which you feel important would also be appreciated :biggrin:

1. Grades as follows:

GCSE = 11A*, 1 A (damn ICT...!)

AS (French, German, History, English Language): AAAA (+ A Gen. Studies)

A2 (same subjects): AAAA

However, these aren't a benchmark/prerequisite/standard: they're just what I got. I know a guy doing Maths who got 1A* and it wasn't even in Maths. So don't panic too much about that.

2. Reading
It's probably best to read in French as far as possible, even if you don't understand everything (or even very much at all). I'd only read two things, La Peste by Camus and Bonjour Tristesse by Francois Sagan. I didn't plan these very much, but they turned out to be good choices. La Peste was hard work and I didn't understand large chunks of it, but it differentiated me from other people who, if they'd read Camus, had read L'Etranger (I didn't plan this. It was just the only thing in the library). Bonjour Tristesse was great because it's nice and easy to read, but has interesting themes that you can talk about.

3. Grammar
Argh. French grammar. Bane of my life. I think the best thing is just to be sure of all the AS and A2 grammar, so that you'll have a solid basis to take in everything Cam teaches. Also, if you get here, bear in mind it's necessary to work on grammar by yourself under your own initiative, otherwise the exam will come as a rather scary surprise...

4. Other advice
Don't panic about the interview, it's not too scary. For an account of mine, go to my blog (http://createnewtab.blogspot.com) and one of the very first posts describes it in detail.

Best of luck - if there's anything else, feel free to ask!

Reply 1054

Daniel4389

byham2010

Thanks, I will check out some of those titles :smile:

I will most probably do Russian ab initio but I'm also considering Spanish a.i. as I've heard that it's much easier.. Depends whether I want to spend many evenings trawling through Russian grammar :p:

Other than being rewarding, any other reasons to study Russian which I may not have thought of?

I presume that if it is harder, then the Russian exams will be at an easier stage than Spanish ones? Otherwise I guess the workload for Spanish would be far less?

Ty :biggrin:

I did Spanish ab initio if you have any questions about that...know nothing about Russian though so not sure how they compare!

Reply 1055

Melz0r

1. Grades as follows:

GCSE = 11A*, 1 A (damn ICT...!)

AS (French, German, History, English Language): AAAA (+ A Gen. Studies)

A2 (same subjects): AAAA

However, these aren't a benchmark/prerequisite/standard: they're just what I got. I know a guy doing Maths who got 1A* and it wasn't even in Maths. So don't panic too much about that.

2. Reading
It's probably best to read in French as far as possible, even if you don't understand everything (or even very much at all). I'd only read two things, La Peste by Camus and Bonjour Tristesse by Francois Sagan. I didn't plan these very much, but they turned out to be good choices. La Peste was hard work and I didn't understand large chunks of it, but it differentiated me from other people who, if they'd read Camus, had read L'Etranger (I didn't plan this. It was just the only thing in the library). Bonjour Tristesse was great because it's nice and easy to read, but has interesting themes that you can talk about.

3. Grammar
Argh. French grammar. Bane of my life. I think the best thing is just to be sure of all the AS and A2 grammar, so that you'll have a solid basis to take in everything Cam teaches. Also, if you get here, bear in mind it's necessary to work on grammar by yourself under your own initiative, otherwise the exam will come as a rather scary surprise...

4. Other advice
Don't panic about the interview, it's not too scary. For an account of mine, go to my blog (http://createnewtab.blogspot.com) and one of the very first posts describes it in detail.

Best of luck - if there's anything else, feel free to ask!

Thanks, once again :biggrin:

Is it not a good idea to mention L'Etranger, then? I might check out Bonjour Tristesse :smile:

On the grammar point, can you recommend any particular grammar books which are useful even at degree level?

Cheers :wink:

Reply 1056

Daniel4389

I did Spanish ab initio if you have any questions about that...know nothing about Russian though so not sure how they compare!

That would be most useful indeed :smile:

Basically, I've barely even heard any Spanish words in my life, and I would like to know the names of a few books which good an introduction to Spanish grammar right up to about A-level standard... do you remember the name of any books which you used in the ab initio course?

Thanks :biggrin:

Reply 1057

byham2010

Thanks, once again :biggrin:

Is it not a good idea to mention L'Etranger, then? I might check out Bonjour Tristesse :smile:

On the grammar point, can you recommend any particular grammar books which are useful even at degree level?

Cheers :wink:

Oh, no, it's fine to mention L'Etranger - it's just, it's the standard thing that most people seem to read (I believe it's on the A-level syllabus for those people who did literature as part of their French A-level, which doesn't include me). Definitely mention it if you've read it, though!

Grammar-wise, I've never found anything that's really satisfied my grammatical yearnings. The grammar I use for reference is "A comprehensive French grammar" by Glanville Price. But it's difficult to find anything that strikes the right balance between basic and advanced; I've never yet found it!

Reply 1058

Melz0r

Oh, no, it's fine to mention L'Etranger - it's just, it's the standard thing that most people seem to read (I believe it's on the A-level syllabus for those people who did literature as part of their French A-level, which doesn't include me). Definitely mention it if you've read it, though!

Grammar-wise, I've never found anything that's really satisfied my grammatical yearnings. The grammar I use for reference is "A comprehensive French grammar" by Glanville Price. But it's difficult to find anything that strikes the right balance between basic and advanced; I've never yet found it!

Ah, ok. I'll check out the Glanville Price :smile:

Recently I saw 'Advanced French Grammar' by Monique L'Huillier on amazon, which looked pretty good. I hope to learn a lot of vocabulary this summer, possibly using a program called Byki. Do you have any vocabulary sheets which you would be able to email to me? If not, the methods by which you learn vocab would be most useful to know...

Thanks for advice :beard:

Reply 1059