Oxford language applicants - 2024 entry

Hi everyone!

I am setting up this thread to act as a space for students who are applying, or considering applying, to study languages at the University of Oxford.

I am an Oxford graduate – I studied Russian and Spanish at Christ Church College. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience as an Oxford student and I would like to support others in their applications to study languages at Oxford.

Feel free to post any questions or concerns that you may have surrounding the application process – I will do my best to answer them 😊

Hi, I’m applying for postgraduate study at Oxford, though not for languages. I am interested in taking languages classes outside of my degree in Russian since I’m fairly proficient (B2 on the CEFR). What kind of opportunities are there to study languages outside of your degree at Oxford?

Hey! There's a Language Centre which provides language courses at a discounted rate for Oxford students (https://www.lang.ox.ac.uk/course-fees) they teach Russian there Also, I'm not sure if all colleges have this, but Christ Church had a specific language grant which you could get to reimburse the cost of taking a course at the Language Centre - https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/admissions/financial-support

That’s great thank you. Did you do a year abroad in Russia? I’m trying to plan a trip to a suitable country to speak Russian and practice, now that Russia is off limits

Hi everyone!

I am setting up this thread to act as a space for students who are applying, or considering applying, to study languages at the University of Oxford.

I am an Oxford graduate – I studied Russian and Spanish at Christ Church College. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience as an Oxford student and I would like to support others in their applications to study languages at Oxford.

Feel free to post any questions or concerns that you may have surrounding the application process – I will do my best to answer them 😊

Hi!! I’m contemplating applying for joint history and french (as opposed to sole history) but i’m worried that my current ability level in French isn’t good enough for Oxford standards. I don’t know what the languages curriculums are like in the UK but here (Australia) while i’ve done listening, reading and writing tests i’ve never yet had to write an essay in French (although that may be something I do this year). I’m also yet to read any french literature, which even just typing this is making me feel quite an inadequate candidate. Would you be please able to give me an overview of where your abilities in Russian and Spanish were at when you applied so I can gauge where I need to be?

Hiya! I’m thinking of Classics and beginners’ Italian at Oxford — how much would you say you needed to know about the Russian language, and its history and culture before interviews? I don’t do Italian at school and am learning it from scratch. Should I focus on learning the language itself or Italian history?

Hey! That's a really great question, and there's no single answer but I'll try to provide you with insight on how you might best approach this.

1) Language.
Basically, you're applying to study Italian from scratch, so technically you're not required to know much in terms of language, but you do need to be able to explain why you want to study it. For me, one of the main reasons I wanted to study Russian was because of the language itself, so I learned the Russian alphabet, a number of conversational phrases and some basic grammar. However, some of my classmates had a surprisingly low level of Russian (they didn't even know the Cyrillic alphabet when they started attending Oxford!) - that said, they were from top private schools and probably had lots of support with their applications, so I wouldn't base your preparation on that.

I've just read the following on Oxford University's Italian page: "we do expect students wanting to study Italian from scratch to have done some preparation on their own before they start the Oxford course" - Honestly, based on this, I would say there's no harm in trying to learn Italian up to about an A2/B1 standard. If I had to put a percentage on how much time you should spend on language vs other areas of study, I'd say focus about 30% of your energy on language, and 70% on other things like literature, art, film, culture. This is based on the large emphasis that Oxford places on literature - during the final year, language comprises a very small part of the course and final examinations.

Another thing - do NOT forget about the importance of translation. Translation is a core part of the MML and Classics courses across all four years at Oxford, and tutors would like to see that you have at least thought about the importance of translation in language studies. You don't have to be an expert, but I would suggest reading up a bit on translation theories and the art of translation. Additionally, I would strongly recommend anyone applying to study languages to take part in the Anthea Bell Translation Competition held by the Queen's Translation Exchange (application window closes 3rd of April) - unfortunately this is only for UK schools currently. However, the Queen's Translation Exchange also hosts a range of both in-person and online events which I would highly recommend looking into!

Actually I've just remembered a book which might really suit you - it's called Through the Language Glass by Guy Deutscher. There's a very interesting discussion on colour in ancient texts and how modern translators have justified their translations of colour in these texts - definitely worth a read if you're studying Classics! There's also 'Is that a fish in your ear' by David Bellos, which I personally found a bit less accessible than Deutscher, but idk, you might enjoy it!

2) Literature
It is important to at least be aware of the major authors in the target language. For Italian, this would obviously be writers like Italo Calvino, Dante, Petrarch, Machiavelli, Pirandello, etc. However, don't fall into the trap of thinking that Oxford tutors just want to hear about these - they genuinely want to see your passion and interests shine through, so if you're passionate about a slightly more niche work (should still be by a highly acclaimed author), then by all means pursue that. It would be great if you could find a particular style, genre or author which you really enjoy and then deep dive into that, because Oxford highly values the ability to thoroughly research an area of study.

Let's take an example of finding a niche and researching it: let's say you're interested in one particular historical period - first, conduct some basic research on that period (what came before, what came after?); second, read some texts written during or shortly after that period (how do they reflect the circumstances in which they were written?); third, explore the artistic context of that period - this could include watching films which were made during or shortly after that period; fourth, if possible try to attend some academic webinars/events which discuss this period. If you want to put the cherry on top, you could read some critical analyses or comparisons of the texts which you read from that period (secondary reading), as this is also a huge part of the Oxford language degree course.

3) Culture, art & film
If you are interested in Italian culture, art or film - don't be afraid to mention this in your application. Just be prepared to talk about it in depth! That goes for anything you mention on your personal statement. I mentioned 3 films I had watched which were made after the fall of Franco's dictatorship in Spain and explained why I enjoyed them, I also mentioned Gaudi's architecture as I was really into this at the time.

4) History
If you aren't particularly interested in Italian history, that's perfectly fine. To be honest, I wasn't hugely invested in Spanish or Russian history (I was more interested in language and literature) when I was applying. That said, just to be safe, I printed off about 20-30 pages from Wikipedia's 'History of Spain' and 'History of Russia' (I think I just copy and pasted the bits that looked most interesting and relevant at a glance), then I read through that and highlighted key dates/people. This came in handy because then I could point to specific dates which were relevant to the literature we discussed in my interview. You certainly don't have to be a history expert, but I just did that because I was determined to prepare as much as possible!

Now with all that said, the ONLY thing you should take away from all this is that you need to find what YOU enjoy most and explore that. Interviewers can tell immediately if you're not passionate about something. It will also make the interview way more enjoyable if you're talking about your own interests and passions! I really loved finally being able to geek out about Spanish and Russian in my interviews (because I couldn't really do that with my friends). Man, Oxford really is wonderful I wish you all the very best with your (potential) application!!

P.S. I also wrote two in-depth blog posts on how to approach wider reading as a language applicant to Oxbridge - just google 'LinguaTute Wider Reading for Oxbridge' and it should come up!

Let me know if you have any further questions

“This is based on the large emphasis that Oxford places on literature - during the final year, language comprises a very small part of the course and final examinations.”

Hi! (me again) I was wondering if you could expand on what you mean by this. I’ve heard that Oxfords language course is much more literature focused than Cambridge (for example) and was wondering where the language learning aspect came into this. Is it a process of learning through the consumption of literature or an assumption that you’d be at a level proficient enough to almost fully/fully understand and analyze it?

Hey! That's a really great question, and there's no single answer but I'll try to provide you with insight on how you might best approach this.

1) Language.
Basically, you're applying to study Italian from scratch, so technically you're not required to know much in terms of language, but you do need to be able to explain why you want to study it. For me, one of the main reasons I wanted to study Russian was because of the language itself, so I learned the Russian alphabet, a number of conversational phrases and some basic grammar. However, some of my classmates had a surprisingly low level of Russian (they didn't even know the Cyrillic alphabet when they started attending Oxford!) - that said, they were from top private schools and probably had lots of support with their applications, so I wouldn't base your preparation on that.

I've just read the following on Oxford University's Italian page: "we do expect students wanting to study Italian from scratch to have done some preparation on their own before they start the Oxford course" - Honestly, based on this, I would say there's no harm in trying to learn Italian up to about an A2/B1 standard. If I had to put a percentage on how much time you should spend on language vs other areas of study, I'd say focus about 30% of your energy on language, and 70% on other things like literature, art, film, culture. This is based on the large emphasis that Oxford places on literature - during the final year, language comprises a very small part of the course and final examinations.

Another thing - do NOT forget about the importance of translation. Translation is a core part of the MML and Classics courses across all four years at Oxford, and tutors would like to see that you have at least thought about the importance of translation in language studies. You don't have to be an expert, but I would suggest reading up a bit on translation theories and the art of translation. Additionally, I would strongly recommend anyone applying to study languages to take part in the Anthea Bell Translation Competition held by the Queen's Translation Exchange (application window closes 3rd of April) - unfortunately this is only for UK schools currently. However, the Queen's Translation Exchange also hosts a range of both in-person and online events which I would highly recommend looking into!

Actually I've just remembered a book which might really suit you - it's called Through the Language Glass by Guy Deutscher. There's a very interesting discussion on colour in ancient texts and how modern translators have justified their translations of colour in these texts - definitely worth a read if you're studying Classics! There's also 'Is that a fish in your ear' by David Bellos, which I personally found a bit less accessible than Deutscher, but idk, you might enjoy it!

2) Literature
It is important to at least be aware of the major authors in the target language. For Italian, this would obviously be writers like Italo Calvino, Dante, Petrarch, Machiavelli, Pirandello, etc. However, don't fall into the trap of thinking that Oxford tutors just want to hear about these - they genuinely want to see your passion and interests shine through, so if you're passionate about a slightly more niche work (should still be by a highly acclaimed author), then by all means pursue that. It would be great if you could find a particular style, genre or author which you really enjoy and then deep dive into that, because Oxford highly values the ability to thoroughly research an area of study.

Let's take an example of finding a niche and researching it: let's say you're interested in one particular historical period - first, conduct some basic research on that period (what came before, what came after?); second, read some texts written during or shortly after that period (how do they reflect the circumstances in which they were written?); third, explore the artistic context of that period - this could include watching films which were made during or shortly after that period; fourth, if possible try to attend some academic webinars/events which discuss this period. If you want to put the cherry on top, you could read some critical analyses or comparisons of the texts which you read from that period (secondary reading), as this is also a huge part of the Oxford language degree course.

3) Culture, art & film
If you are interested in Italian culture, art or film - don't be afraid to mention this in your application. Just be prepared to talk about it in depth! That goes for anything you mention on your personal statement. I mentioned 3 films I had watched which were made after the fall of Franco's dictatorship in Spain and explained why I enjoyed them, I also mentioned Gaudi's architecture as I was really into this at the time.

4) History
If you aren't particularly interested in Italian history, that's perfectly fine. To be honest, I wasn't hugely invested in Spanish or Russian history (I was more interested in language and literature) when I was applying. That said, just to be safe, I printed off about 20-30 pages from Wikipedia's 'History of Spain' and 'History of Russia' (I think I just copy and pasted the bits that looked most interesting and relevant at a glance), then I read through that and highlighted key dates/people. This came in handy because then I could point to specific dates which were relevant to the literature we discussed in my interview. You certainly don't have to be a history expert, but I just did that because I was determined to prepare as much as possible!

Now with all that said, the ONLY thing you should take away from all this is that you need to find what YOU enjoy most and explore that. Interviewers can tell immediately if you're not passionate about something. It will also make the interview way more enjoyable if you're talking about your own interests and passions! I really loved finally being able to geek out about Spanish and Russian in my interviews (because I couldn't really do that with my friends). Man, Oxford really is wonderful I wish you all the very best with your (potential) application!!

P.S. I also wrote two in-depth blog posts on how to approach wider reading as a language applicant to Oxbridge - just google 'LinguaTute Wider Reading for Oxbridge' and it should come up!

Let me know if you have any further questions

Thanks soo much!! This is super useful

I was slightly worried because I don't take Classical Civilisation (only Latin) and so I don't know an awful lot about Roman history and thought I should focus on that more than the Italian Renaissance (which is what I prefer to learn about.) I'll start reading translations of works written at the time and think about the cultural context!

Also, LinguaTute resources are AMAZING! Will follow on Linkedin and spread the word!

Hi everyone!

I am setting up this thread to act as a space for students who are applying, or considering applying, to study languages at the University of Oxford.

I am an Oxford graduate – I studied Russian and Spanish at Christ Church College. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience as an Oxford student and I would like to support others in their applications to study languages at Oxford.

Feel free to post any questions or concerns that you may have surrounding the application process – I will do my best to answer them 😊

I'm a French and Beginner's Russian offer holder and wondered if being away in your second year hindered your university experience at all?

Hi! I'm Ollie🍾🌈

I'm a current student reading French at chch! Let me know if you have any questions about the course! I was so worried myself, but it's actually super chill! Here's the link to the chch Whatsapp group for Fresher's if you'd like to join: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FBK66VUVIIW6n9XVcZPifw

Hi!

First, congratulations on getting accepted!! Superb achievement

Second, yes - the nature of the Russian YA did affect my university experience, but in both positive and negative ways. The only thing is, I'm not sure what the YA will look like by the time it comes around for you - i.e. whether it will go back to the normal 8-month trip to Yaroslavl', or whether travel to Russia will still be hindered by all that's going on with the war. I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Yaroslavl', and the benefits were that I could really bond with some of the people in my year (you go with the other ab initio Russianists), and I highly doubt that I would have become as close to them if we hadn't been thrown together in Yaroslavl'.

Nonetheless, it does affect the third and fourth year. Most friendship groups really solidify in the second year, while you'll be away. When you come back, your friends on other language courses will then be on their year abroad and you'll only see them again in the fourth year, which can be a bit of a strain on the friendship. For me, it did feel like I was a bit of a ghost when I returned to college. You also have to join the second-year students in their language classes, which can be a bit awkward because they will probably all know each other already.

If I could go back and give myself advice, it would be to SOCIALISE in the first year. It may feel like you have to be constantly studying, especially if you get Mrs Keys as a teacher, but that's not the case. Honestly for Russian the first year isn't actually that important because it's almost all language classes, and your language skills will improve on the year abroad anyway. In my first year I used to study from 7:00am to 01:00am every day, only taking time off to go to the gym and to eat lunch and dinner, but it's so much more important to spend time making friends and enjoying your experience at Oxford! If you can, I would also recommend trying to be a bit strategic in your friendships - see if you get along with anybody on a 4+ year course (like Maths or Medicine), or other people with a YA in second year (like students on the ab initio Arabic or Japanese courses), because this will mean they will be there when you are in your third and fourth year.

I'm sure you'll be fine though, just try to enjoy it as much as possible! If during your time at Oxford you ever need to talk to someone about the course, or you feel overwhelmed/pressured at all, please don't hesitate to reach out! I'm always here for fellow ab initio Russianists

Thank you so much for this. It is quite intimidating, especially being away so much earlier. This year, and likely next year, they're in Talin, Estonia, I think it's the same course too, just changed slightly.

In hindsight, was you working 7am to 1am necessary? (Trying to gauge how much I'll need to be doing myself)
Also, were you a complete beginner, like did you know anything before you went? Was there asumed/prequiste knowledge at all?

Thanks!

No problem!

I would definitely say that it was not necessary to spend that much time studying, and it only meant that I got burnt out and depressed quite early on in my degree unfortunately. Some other people on my course didn't do nearly as much in their first year, and on the year abroad we all improved our language skills at pretty much the same rate. You do have Prelims (exams) at the end of first year though, for which you'll have listening comprehension + written tests for Russian, but as long as you pass those you'll be fine!

In terms of how much Russian you should know, obviously you can go in knowing very little as it is an ab initio course, but personally I wanted to get ahead of the game and know at least the basics, so by the time I went to Oxford I could already read in the Cyrillic alphabet and say a few greetings/basic phrases. There were some people who knew absolutely nothing, and I think they were a bit surprised how little time we were given to learn the Cyrillic alphabet (about a week), so I'd say it's definitely worth learning the alphabet beforehand - but I wouldn't say you need to know much more beyond that, as they'll be teaching you!

Hope that helps!!