Modern And Medieval Languages @ Queens', Cambridge in 2017

Interview format

Thinking Skills Assessment; Modern Languages Exam; 2x interviews.

Interview content

Interviews: personal statement, grammar questions, discussion of a passage.

Best preparation

Watching YouTube sample interviews, mock interviews, re-reading books mentioned on personal statement.

Final thoughts

Be prepared to think on your feet.

Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.

Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.

Interview Format

 

Test taken: Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) - section 1 only; Modern Languages Exam taken on the day of interview
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: Back-to-back.
Length of interviews: 20-30 min
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

My interviews were both conducted mainly in English but with a section in the target language (both post A-Level). I was asked a few grammar questions / conjugations, and then we discussed things from my personal statement (it's important to be able to justify / talk about every line you wrote, as in my case one of my interviewers picked up on one of my more 'abstract' opening sentences and based pretty much the entire interview around it).

I was also given passages in the language to prepare for 5-10 mins before the interview, which we then discussed. My advice would be to research what your interviewer's speciality is, because it is not unlikely that they will focus on that in the interview.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I watched examples of interviews on YouTube, my teachers tried their best to give me mock interviews, I read the books on my personal statement and revised those, and I had a few sessions with a tutor who had gone to Oxford who gave me some mock interviews.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Revised grammar & common mistakes in my writing! It was basically a language analysis exam similar to the stuff I'd done in English Literature A Level so I didn't do loads of specific prep, but I would say for anyone considering studying Languages at Cambridge (or Oxford) the course is very literature heavy, and so doing English Literature at A-Level whilst not essential is definitely a huge help.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Be prepared to be challenged and think on your feet! It's better to come up with an answer, even if you're not sure it's the right one, than not say anything at all - they want to test your ability to adapt and improvise.