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Oxford Beginner's Italian PS help

Heyy, I'm in year 12 & am applying for 2022 entry to Oxford to study History and Beginner's Italian. I study history at A Level, but not a language, so I'm really struggling to figure out how to write a personal statement based around Italian, as my school doesn't offer Italian A Level so I'm sort of navigating this process by myself. I self-study Italian, but I'm only intermediate-ish level, and I'm not really sure where to start in terms of wider reading and supercurricular stuff. My course option also seems to be more unusual than other language options like French, so I haven't been able to find a lot of info/PS examples. If anyone does have any resources or advice I'd be so grateful!! Also if you're applying to Ox this year too message me or reply to this thread so we can stress about it together :smile:)
Original post by niamhsrevision
Heyy, I'm in year 12 & am applying for 2022 entry to Oxford to study History and Beginner's Italian. I study history at A Level, but not a language, so I'm really struggling to figure out how to write a personal statement based around Italian, as my school doesn't offer Italian A Level so I'm sort of navigating this process by myself. I self-study Italian, but I'm only intermediate-ish level, and I'm not really sure where to start in terms of wider reading and supercurricular stuff. My course option also seems to be more unusual than other language options like French, so I haven't been able to find a lot of info/PS examples. If anyone does have any resources or advice I'd be so grateful!! Also if you're applying to Ox this year too message me or reply to this thread so we can stress about it together :smile:)

hey i’m also in year 12 applying for modern languages at either oxford or cambridge :smile: i’ve done quite a bit of research on what other people have done on their PS for a beginner’s language but I think it’s very varied. You could read a book, some poetry or a play in translation. You could also talk about films you’ve watched in Italian or documentaries. Or maybe an online course. I’m wanting to apply for beginner’s German and so far I’ve just found some books I’m going to read in translation.
Studying Italian at Oxford means studying lots of literature. Find some Italian literature (translated into English is fine) and write about that. A good place to start may be a writer such as Petrarch (seeing as he's easily available in English translation and wrote short poems which are easily digestible) or you could consider a modern novel.

Remember that the personal statement is almost entirely unimportant for Oxford applications (although it may be discussed at interview). On that note, remember to read attentively.
Original post by liverninthered
Studying Italian at Oxford means studying lots of literature. Find some Italian literature (translated into English is fine) and write about that. A good place to start may be a writer such as Petrarch (seeing as he's easily available in English translation and wrote short poems which are easily digestible) or you could consider a modern novel.

Remember that the personal statement is almost entirely unimportant for Oxford applications (although it may be discussed at interview). On that note, remember to read attentively.

Petrarch is really difficult to read also in english. I'm italian so i studied all of them in high school and for sure is one of the most difficult. If you need some help choosing which one to read fell free to PM me
Hi, could you please give me some suggestions too? I want to apply to study Spanish and Italian abinitio.Thanks!
Original post by Tania23456
Hi, could you please give me some suggestions too? I want to apply to study Spanish and Italian abinitio.Thanks!

Hi, what would you like to read? Novels or poems? And something new or old?
Original post by niamhsrevision
Heyy, I'm in year 12 & am applying for 2022 entry to Oxford to study History and Beginner's Italian. I study history at A Level, but not a language, so I'm really struggling to figure out how to write a personal statement based around Italian, as my school doesn't offer Italian A Level so I'm sort of navigating this process by myself. I self-study Italian, but I'm only intermediate-ish level, and I'm not really sure where to start in terms of wider reading and supercurricular stuff. My course option also seems to be more unusual than other language options like French, so I haven't been able to find a lot of info/PS examples. If anyone does have any resources or advice I'd be so grateful!! Also if you're applying to Ox this year too message me or reply to this thread so we can stress about it together :smile:)

Hiya! Do you mind if I ask how you prepared for your beginners’ language interview? I’ve got mine next week but idk what they’re going to ask me about.

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