Test taken: Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 day
Length of interviews: 20-25 mins
Online interview: No

In my first interview, I was given 15 minutes beforehand to read a text, annotate it and check words I didn’t know in a dictionary they gave me. When I went into the room, I was asked to read the text aloud in the language. One of the tutors asked me about my pronunciation of certain words which I was then asked to correct. After that, the tutor started a discussion on the text which was about philosophy – something I knew very little about! I was worried due to my lack of knowledge in this area but the discussion ended up being really interesting. This discussion lasted around 7 mins. After that, the other tutor in the room started a discussion on a play I mentioned in my personal statement – she conducted this part of the interview in the target language. This conversation lasted around 10-15 minutes and although I was surprised by how long we spoke in the target language (as, most of the time, people say this part of the interview doesn’t tend to surpass 3-5 minutes), she was very nice and helped me out with any words I didn’t know. In my interview for my other language, I was given 15 minutes beforehand to read an English poem and annotate it. I was then taken into the tutor’s room – he was very kind and we started the interview with a very casual conversation on the trains I take to school! After that, we went into a discussion on the poem for around 15 minutes where he asked me questions on the text’s techniques and ideas. I didn’t do English Lit A-Level so I was worried that I didn’t know all the fancy terminology but he didn't mind at all. We then spent 5 mins or so discussing which English books I had been reading recently and then a woman in the room told me the next part of the interview would now be in the target language. She asked me two fun, brief questions about magic powers and travelling and the atmosphere felt very relaxed. Overall, both interviews had quite different vibes but I felt that I eased into them both quite quickly as the tutors are there to support you!

I looked at parts of my personal statement that they might ask me about and annotated them with ideas so that I wouldn’t feel taken aback if they asked me any questions on them. The Oxford website also has a page with common questions that candidates get asked in interviews for different subjects (https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/applying-to-oxford/guide/interviews?wssl=1#content-tab--3) so I wrote rough answers down for each question and one or two of these did actually come up! I looked at some of the work I had been doing in my A-Level language classes and made notes so that I could feel a little bit more confident in my ability to express myself in the language. I asked two of my language teachers in my sixth form to do practice interviews with me as well – although these weren’t much like the actual interviews, I found it boosted my confidence a bit.

I found it really helpful to practice using past papers from Oxford’s website (https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/site/:humdiv:modlang:mlat-tests) and by writing down the key grammar points that repeatedly come up in them. I also did grammar exercises on free online sites and used A-Level grammar booklets. The night before the exam, I made a grammar chart for each language on A4 pieces of paper just with the main grammar points or things that I tend to forget so that I could look at it before the exam the next morning without feeling overwhelmed with information. I began preparing around 3-4 weeks before the exam.

My advice for interviews would be to spend time thinking about each question you are asked and be really honest if you’re unsure or don’t know. You are being pushed intellectually in these interviews and so you are not meant to find every question easy – you are far more likely to do better if you really understand what you are being asked and give yourself the time to think about it. Also, remember that the tutors know this is a very nerve-wracking time – I didn't sleep very well during the interview period in particular and was worried that I would do worse because of this. Be kind to yourself during the whole process of revision and interviews and remember you can’t prepare for everything – just stay true to yourself and try your best!