Modern And Medieval Languages @ Murray Edwards, Cambridge in 2014

Interview format

Languages aptitude test; 2x interview

Interview content

Interview 1: discussed pre-reading in French, personal statement, subject questions; Interview 2: subject questions

Best preparation

Discussing your personal statement

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Thinking about your motivations for study

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: Languages aptitute test at interview

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: no

Time between interviews: 1 hour

Length of first interview: 15-20 minutes; Length of second interview: 15-20 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I had two interviews: one for French (which I studied at A Level) and one for Spanish (which was to be my ab initio language). Before the French interview I was asked to read a short French text. During the interview I was first asked some general questions before they asked me about some different points of my personal statement. I was then asked to explain/defend my argument in one of the essays I had submitted, before the interview switched into French and I was asked to comment on the text I had been given in advance.

The Spanish interview was much more general. After some general introductory questions I was asked about my language choices for the course and was quizzed about recent Spanish political events. I mentioned my interest in Latin American literature and politics and the conversation turned towards the connections between history, politics and literature.

How did you prepare?

To prepare for the test, I revised my grammar and different idioms I could use in essays. The main way I prepared for the interview was making sure that I could talk in depth about all aspects of my personal statement and make them relevant to studying languages. It was useful to have read more broadly than the A level curriculum (although this doesn’t necessarily have to be in the target language).

The most useful thing I did was to get used to being pushed to defend my ideas and change the way I thought about things in conversation. Having prepared things to say about all aspects of my personal statement was useful too, especially if you can explain how the things you’ve written about have helped you develop academically.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

I think my interview experience was more or less what I expected. If I were to do it again, I would think much harder about why I wanted to study an ab initio language. I think the interviewers want to see you explaining your thought processes (even if you don’t necessarily get to the ‘right’ answer), and a readiness either to defend your ideas or think critically about them.