Modern Languages @ Magdalen, Oxford in 2022

Interview format

Modern Languages Admissions Test; 3x interviews.

Interview content

Interviews: personal statement, literature analysis, conversation in target language.

Best preparation

Mock interview, read over notes and personal statement, revised books used in personal statement.

Test preparation

Practice papers, A Level resources.

Final thoughts

My advice is make sure you understand and know what you've written in your personal statement, especially any books you have mentioned (it is likely that they will ask about them).

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: Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT)
Number of interviews: 3
Time between interviews: a day
Length of interviews: approx 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

For Modern Languages, each interview had a similar structure. It was basically divided into three: a discussion of my personal statement, a literature analysis task, conversation in the target language. For each interview, I was given about 10 minutes to analyse a poem or piece of text and I had to prepare some things to talk about. The conversation in the other language was quite brief and basic, nothing too intense. I felt extremely nervous the whole time, but the interviewers do help if you get stuck. They were also very kind and they were not trying to ask any 'trick' questions.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I spoke to my teacher and she helped me by conducting a quick mock interview. I went over my notes, re-read my personal statement and made sure I could justify anything that I had written. I mentioned books in my personal statement so I revised them so I was ready to speak about them, if asked.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I used practice papers and used my previous A Level resources.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

My advice is to make sure you understand and know what you've written in your personal statement, especially any books you have mentioned (it is likely that they will ask about them). Regarding the literature analysis portion of the interview, just try your best and make sure you say at least something, it doesn't have to be correct!