A Guide to Modern
Language Degrees at
University
V3.1 2016
A Guide to Modern Language Degrees at University
If you’ve got as far as opening this Guide to Modern Language Degrees at University, then presumably you’ve
enjoyed your language learning so far at school and feel that you’d like to take it further.
The aim of this brief guide is to show you what a university degree with a languages component might look like
and to present you with some advice from people who run the courses – the lecturers – and from others who
have studied modern languages at university – mostly Old Gowers.
But, before we get any further, some good news about the benefits of doing a degree in modern languages.
In November 2011, a report called The economic case for language learning and the role of employer engagement,
published by the Education and Employers Taskforce1, observed that ‘languages graduates have good
employability rates, above the average for graduates of non-vocational subjects. Indeed, they are more likely to
be in work or further study 3.5 years after graduation than those who have studied law, architecture, business or
computer science, subjects which are typically more closely linked to smooth career progression’. Many
companies look first at the language skills of a particular candidate before anything else on their CV, particularly
with the freedom of people and trade across Europe and the number of highly skilled applicants from outside
Britain. By studying one or more modern languages you will put yourself in a unique position compared to other
UK graduates and indeed the UK population. French, for example, is the language most sought after by those
employers looking for language skills (49 per cent)2.
So extending your language skills doesn’t happen at the expense of higher earnings – far from it.
A guide as short as this will not tell you everything you need to know. On the other hand, it will give you some
initial pointers about what goes into a university modern languages degree and offer you an account of the
experiences which some students have had. For more information, ask your Modern Language teachers or any
of the Sixth Form Team, led by Mr Chapman.
1
www.cfbt.com/evidenceforeducation/pdf/Language%20learning%20research%20report.pdf
2
Confederation of British Industry and Pearson (2013) Changing the Pace. CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2013.
Dr Nicola McLelland lectures in German at the University of Nottingham. Here is what she has to say about
degrees there – and elsewhere – involving German:
Beyond listing the usual combinations (all the modern languages combined with each other, as well as languages
& history, philosophy, English, politics, etc. etc. etc.) a few things spring to mind that are available at Nottingham
but that are also typical of the national picture:
- Many German Studies departments offer Dutch. This is useful because it is another way of getting two EU
languages, which is useful for applying to the EU for graduate jobs – the EU is crying out for British applicants;
there just aren’t enough qualified with the two requisite foreign languages. Only a few departments offer Dutch
as a full degree strand, but several more offer the language as an option. Nottingham is one of the few where
you can do it as one-third of your degree.
- German and Chinese is a combination that is definitely growing rapidly in popularity: the languages of two
leading economies without a doubt. Again (bang own drum) Nottingham has its own Chinese campus, which is
an advantage. (I’ll be going out there for the first time next year, actually). “Internatinonalization” is on every
university’s agenda at the moment, so students should expect to have opportunities to study abroad for some of
their time if they wish.
- Translation studies, applied language studies and comparative intercultural or comparative literature studies
are all definitely growing, and many departments nationally are increasing their provision in these areas both as
part of the undergraduate course and in Masters courses. A lot of our students go on to do an MA in translation
studies, for example: we have a Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies, as do also many other
universities: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/clas/research/centre-for-translation/ctccs.aspx One of my colleagues
there works on intercultural mediation: i.e. dealing with conflict between speakers of different languages,
something very practical!
Mark Omfalos left UCS in 1997 – so he has quite a lot to tell about his path before, during and after his
degree involving Psychology, French and German at Lancaster University:
With my A-levels behind me, I still wasn’t sure which direction to go in. Growing up in a multilingual household,
I’d always been able to pick up languages with relative ease, so simply continuing my French and German studies
at university felt a little too much like taking the easy road. My parents were pushing me to study a subject that
would lead directly to a career, so a compromise was reached, and I enrolled as a Psychology major at Lancaster,
studying French and German as minors.
First-year Psychology was actually less about observing mental behaviour and more involved with statistical
modelling. It was not what I had expected. Modern languages, on the other hand, completely surpassed my
expectations. Whilst the focus of A-levels had been on advancing fluency through literary appreciation, essay
writing, reading and listening comprehension etc., studying at university already assumes a solid grasp of
vocabulary and grammar, and is therefore more concerned with the application of that knowledge. Modules
covered such diverse topics as: journalism, slang and colloquialisms, linguistics, advertising, film, art and
photography, history. There was also the promise of a year abroad. I was sold and promptly enrolled for French
and German double major at the start of the second year.
I decided to spend the whole of my third year teaching English in Germany (as French had always been my
stronger language). Teaching oral and written English to Abitur (university entrance exam) pupils just a few
years younger than me was an incredible experience and gave me something solid to put on my CV and discuss
with future employers. I was also given the opportunity to choose the subject matter of my year abroad
dissertation - “The Americanisation of German Language and Culture” – for which I was received a first.
After graduating, I wanted to use my language skills in a journalistic capacity and got a job with a business
magazine publisher, working in their editorial team. Part of the role involved attending networking events,
where I would ask business professionals to write and commission articles for publication in the magazines on
which I was working.
I soon realised that my interpersonal and language skills could be of greater use in a business setting and left the
publishing house for a headhunting role in the city. I learned the ropes fairly quickly and enjoyed several
successful years with that company.
One of my colleagues moved to a market research consultancy and recommended the company and role to me
because of the international exposure and travel opportunities that come with the job. This is the line of work,
which I have subsequently specialised in and built a career around.
I most recently took a career break and spent a year teaching English at university in China. After Germany, that
has to qualify as one of the most exciting years of my life. Travelling, living abroad, learning foreign languages
and culture are still at the top of my priority list. If you have similar interests, I would definitely recommend a
degree in Modern Languages.
Oscar Galbinski left UCS in 1999 at the end of his A-Level courses. He studied for a BA in Medieval and
Modern Languages (French and German) at St John’s College, Oxford
The Oxford Modern Languages degree
My degree was roughly a 50/50 split between French & German. It always felt as if far greater prominence was
given to studying literature rather than language, but I'm just looking at the list of exams I sat for finals, and
there were actually more language-based papers than literature. I guess that with the number of authors studied
and the amount of preparation that went into each tutorial, a greater proportion of time was spent on these
papers even though this wasn't reflected in the final degree result.
It might be useful for you to know how the finals exams broke down for me:
French translation (French to English)
French translation (English to French)
French essay (we were given a list of quotes and had to choose one upon which to construct an essay in French)
French paper VIII (essay paper (in English)). You could choose e.g. medieval or modern literature, and within the
chosen period you would study selected movements e.g. realism/naturalism (e.g. Balzac, Zola), feminism, the
Fantastic amongst others).
French paper X Authors - essay paper (in English) on 2 authors studied in detail - mine were Moliere & Racine.
French oral - you're given a random topic to consider for about 20 minutes before having a chat in the language.
Extended essay - this was an essay (10000-12000 words) in English on any topic of your choosing (think it had to
be literature-related but not sure).
German translation (German to English)
German translation (English to German)
German linguistics
German paper VIII (e.g. Sturm und Drang, Vergangenheitsbewaltigung)
German paper X Authors (mine were Kafka & Kleist)
German oral (as per French)
How languages at university differs from languages at school
The obvious difference for me was a far greater focus on literature (and on the quality of your analytical skills) at
university. I would say that pupils thinking about a languages degree should be encouraged to read and discuss
foreign literature as early as possible to get an idea of what would be involved in a degree. To cover all the texts
at university you also need to do a lot of reading during the holidays, as there isn't really enough time to read
everything at leisure during term time. Also, the more you read, the more vocabulary you learn which is
important when it comes to translations in exam conditions, whether it means you know which word to use or
how to disguise the fact that you don't know which word to use!
One aspect of my degree which was lacking was the teaching of ‘business’ French or German. Some other
universities (e.g. Heriot-Watt) include this aspect of language learning on their courses, and this would have
been useful for me later in the world of work. My degree was definitely more ‘classical’ in nature, which also
meant very little teaching about French/German current affairs/politics/culture outside of what you were
interested enough to do on your own.
Benefits of doing a modern languages degree
The obvious one is the year abroad. Most students went away to be English-language teachers. You could apply
certain areas in French/German speaking countries, and you were then allocated to a town. I ended up in
Romorantin-Lanthenay, near Orleans and Tours (though if you're lucky you can end up in places like Martinique
or Guadeloupe). I taught English in two primary schools and lived and taught in a lycée. It was fairly daunting at
first - some of the lycée students were older than me and depending on the school the pupils can be difficult
(especially as they know you're young, inexperienced and their performance in your class probably won't count
towards their grades) but you get the hang of it after a while and teaching in primary schools in particular ended
up being quite fun. It's also a good way to meet people on your year abroad, be it other pupils or teachers,
which is important when you're settling into life in another country. You don't have to be a teacher if you fancy
something else. My brother Oliver [left UCS in 1996, also did modern languages at Oxford] worked in Schroders
in Paris on his year abroad so he had a very different, much more ‘corporate’ experience (and one which in fact
set him up for a career in investment banking). There are also many opportunities to travel on the year abroad - I
think there were only 12 hours of teaching required each week, leaving you with a fair bit of free time. I spent
around seven months in France, and then went on to a German course in Freiburg for a couple of months.
Studying languages also enables you to be creative, whether in translation or the study of literature. There is
seldom a right answer - e.g. in translation, you learn that there are multiple ways to express yourself, and writing
about literature is an opportunity to form, express and discuss original ideas, which can be very rewarding. Also,
although you may be constrained somewhat by the specialisms of your tutors, there is a wealth of different
types of literature to choose to from (e.g. poetry, theatre etc.), so you can to an extent control the direction of
your course and focus on whatever attracts you.
Looking beyond university, modern language students have much to offer employers: aside from the ability to
speak other languages (which increases your chances of working abroad), you have developed written and
analytical skills due to the reading and analysis of literature; you have (depending on the tutorial set-up)
experience of presenting your ideas on literature in tutorials, as well as thinking on your feet when your ideas are
challenged; the year abroad broadens your horizons, makes you more independent and gives you experience of
the world of work; and if you've studied two languages you will have gone through a pretty lengthy and rigorous
set of exams compared to some other degrees, which (just in case you'd forgotten what it was like at A-levels)
gives you experience of working under fairly intense pressure.
I would add that the language centre at Oxford was a very useful resource, offering language classes (I
remember going to a few Greek classes), videos of foreign films/TV programmes, cassettes, magazines etc. The
libraries were pretty awe-inspiring too, and there was the opportunity to get involved in theatre productions of
foreign plays.
Mark Rajbenbach left UCS in 1999 and did a degree in Law with German at Birmingham University
between 1999 and 2003. He works as a solicitor at SJ Berwin LLP – Corporate Real Estate
My degree lasted 4 years and comprised two years in Birmingham, followed by a year in Germany and then a final
year back in Birmingham. In the first two years, instead of the optional module choices that were available to
“straight” Law students, I undertook a compulsory modern language German module and a compulsory module
in German Law. The third year in Germany consisted of a similar course to that which first year German Law
students undertake and included a dissertation (all in German!). In my fourth year I had to write a further
compulsory dissertation comparing an aspect of English and German Law.
The degree was a fantastic experience and has assisted considerably in my working life. My job involves advising
on a number of international transactions, many of which include German real estate. For example, I have
recently acted on the acquisition of a portfolio of hotels which included two in Frankfurt and one in Cologne.
Although I am not qualified to advise on German Law, I certainly do use my German, both conversationally and
also to discuss legal and procedural issues involved in transactions in Germany. It is also particularly useful from a
marketing and business development perspective when seeking to attract clients based in continental Europe.
The legal services market increasingly requires an international presence and, in my case, studying a modern
language as part of my degree has enabled me to assist in providing that.
Graeme Macdonald read Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and went
on to do a Masters degree at the London School of Economics; he left UCS in 2007:
I would say that MML at Cambridge was about 40% language work, with the scheduled papers making up the
rest of the load. The biggest difference between school and university was the concentration on
literature/history/linguistics, which means that I was really able to branch out in my choice of papers and explore
many diverse and interesting options. It’s possible to pick and choose papers that bear absolutely no relation to
each other in terms of time period or content, or to pick a series of options that complement and feed neatly
into one another. The other advantage of this approach is that you aren’t forced to do things you don’t want to
and there’s less risk of feeling frustrated or boxed in by your papers.
Studying the languages themselves is also quite different at university. I found that a lot of emphasis was placed
on translation and oral skills rather than listening and reading comprehension (partially because reading your set
texts in the target language ticks that box).
In my own course, I chose to prioritise German and aimed for a combination of breadth and depth in my module
choices. I focused on 19th century philosophy and literature, twentieth-century history and contemporary politics.
This allowed me to build up a diverse yet complementary set of papers where the options flowed neatly into one
another and made me feel like I had a good understanding of a macro-framework with a lot of depth in particular
areas. This being said, I also did some papers, such as French literature and thought during the Enlightenment,
which didn’t fit this model but were highly enjoyable and rewarding nonetheless.
The MML degree brings a lot of unique benefits. The year abroad is an amazing experience not offered by other
courses and really contributes the most to your development as a linguist. During 14 months in Hamburg and
Düsseldorf, my German improved enormously and I had the opportunity to travel all over Germany and Europe. I
also found that my degree had taught me a huge range of useful and transferable skills – and in ways that I could
not have anticipated at the time! All the hard work and attention to detail that went into revising grammar and
vocabulary gave me a certain patience and discipline, whilst the intellectual challenges of the scheduled papers
gave me the chance to wrestle with big ideas and to construct arguments methodically. The most obvious
benefit, of course, is a high degree of proficiency in two languages and the options this provides not only for
employment but also for travel and entertainment. MML allows you to follow any path you want once you
graduate, it opens so many more doors for the future than most other subjects.
Sam Holder read Arabic Studies at Manchester University and is now pursuing a career in journalism;
he left UCS in 2008:
When applying for university places, I knew that I wanted to study something slightly out of the ordinary. Having
been interested in the Middle East, I took the risk and chose to apply to study Arabic at university. I was warned
in advance that it would be particularly difficult picking up a brand new non-European language, but I felt
confident
having
achieved
good
grades
in
my
French
and
German
A’
Levels.
The first surprise on arriving at Manchester following my gap year was how quickly I had forgotten my French
and German due to lack of practice. A word of warning to all language students - even a few months of not
speaking a language will drastically affect your fluency.
The second surprise was that only a quarter of my course units were actually dedicated to Arabic language.
University is extremely bureaucratic and whatever degree you decide to study will be governed by a specific
school, from where the rest of your course units will be chosen. As Arabic falls within the School of Middle
Eastern Studies at Manchester, my other units consisted of subjects ranging from politics to modern literature in
the region, all taught in English during the first two years. Choosing to do a straight language rather than a joint
honours degree gives one far greater freedom in choosing your other course units.
Many different dialects of Arabic are spoken in the Middle East, yet the Arabic taught at universities is Modern
Standard, which is the language used when writing or during official announcements or for news broadcasts.
While most Arabs will understand this form of Arabic, nobody speaks it as a first language.
The first two years of the language course were grammar heavy. Arabic grammar differs dramatically from
European grammar and therefore takes a long time to get to grips with. That said, at times I was extremely
grateful to have studied German (as well as French) while at UCS, as I was already aware of how grammar can
vary greatly between languages. I would strongly advise against picking up a language at university if you haven’t
studied any languages to A-level. Those who didn’t have experience in studying languages really struggled and
many dropped out after failing first year. For the Arabic language module, the only assessments were end-ofyear exams, which followed a very similar format to A-Level exams.
The third year of my course was spent in an abroad at a language institute. When you are studying a more niche
language at university, such as Arabic or Chinese, you have to be quite flexible with your year abroad choices as
they don’t have the long established links with foreign institutions that more popular language courses do. My
year abroad (in Cairo) was an amazing but an equally difficult experience. Despite having language classes in the
morning, for the rest of your time you are completely left to your own devices. I would strongly recommend
making friends with people on your course to ensure you have some sort of support network/ friendship group
while out there. Living with locals and avoiding spending time with students from your university will improve
your language no end. The year abroad is not assessed and is just a chance to vastly improve your vocabulary and
accent.
On returning to Manchester for my fourth year it became clear that lecturers expected a lot more from the
students. While the number of hours dedicated purely to Arabic Language was halved, more of the other
optional and compulsory units had Arabic components. For example in an Arabic film module I was expected to
write a thousand word essay in Arabic, while in another I had to compile a report in Arabic on bias in the Arabic
media. My eight-thousand word dissertation however had to be written in English.
Deciding to study Arabic at university was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It is an amazing asset to be
competent in a completely new language and especially one as pertinent as Arabic. People and employers are
constantly impressed and it has done my job prospects a world of good! While universities claim that by the end
of an Arabic degree a student will be as proficient in Arabic as a student graduating in French, this is not the case.
Despite being more language intensive than a degree in French or Spanish, the fact that Arabic is linguistically so
alien from English and more importantly the fact that such a wide variety of radically different dialects are
spoken, means that a graduate in Arabic can speak Arabic well, but not nearly fluently.
Joe Lennard left UCS in 2009 at the end of his A-level courses. He has been studying for a BA in Paris at
the University of London Institute in Paris (which I bet you’ve never heard of) and this article,
originally published in the Guardian online edition, will tell you what he thinks about it. More
information on the University of London Institute in Paris is available at www.ulip.london.ac.uk.
Studying French: dead language?
Speaking Mandarin might boost your LinkedIn profile but French will feed your soul
There's more to life than thinking ahead, or at least so I assured myself when I chose to study French at
university.
It's now been two years since I fetched up in Paris and it's only now that I fully appreciate what I like most about
the French and why I so relish living here.
I love the Haussmann architecture, Marion Cotillard, George Brassens, the hip-hop, the good food, the dodgy
cars, Zinedine Zidane, parkour, Daft Punk, skiing in the Alps...you get the idea.
France is full of people famous for their arrogance, style, pride, impudence, wit and intolerance.
The French are a captivating bunch, in particular the jeunes (young people), a loud and brazen cohort,
unashamedly forthcoming with their radical political views.
Despite Britain's longstanding historical and cultural rivalry with the French, I am proud to call myself an English
Francophile.
Of course I know that student life isn't forever and I'll have to earn enough to buy my baguette in the not-toodistant future.
But while many uni applicants choose their course based on future career prospects, graduate employability and
average starting salaries, these criteria never once crossed my mind.
All I wanted was to find a course that I would find intellectually stimulating and an environment within which I
could thrive.
I'm not altogether convinced that many of my peers choose their university course the same way – if they did, I
reckon the study of modern languages would be a far more popular option.
According to UCAS, French studies applicants represent just 0.1% of the total number of university hopefuls in
2011. This statistic saddens but doesn't surprise me — I've been told on more than one occasion that French is
useless, redundant, spent.
"Mandarin, Arabic or Russian are more useful," declare the sages who can see into the future. "After all,
economic power is shifting east."
They're probably right and within a few years the Chinese will be running the NHS, the Saudis will own every
Premier League football club and the BBC will have moved to Moscow.
However, I fiercely reject the notion that learning one of these "languages of the future" rather than French,
would ultimately determine an individual's career success in business or most other spheres.
The development of English as a lingua franca in virtually all international communication is now akin to the
overwhelming predominance of the US dollar in international commerce.
As Lawrence H. Summers puts it in the New York Times: "English's emergence as the global language makes it
less clear that the substantial investment necessary to speak a foreign tongue is universally worthwhile".
As far as I'm concerned, if you want to work internationally, speak English. If you want to work exclusively with
local markets, learn the local language.
If you don't give a damn about either of the above and would rather be an interesting individual with more to
talk about than your profile on LinkedIn, keep calm and study French.
Jamie Colwell is studying English and German at the University of Birmingham; he left UCS in 2012:
The study of a language at university seems to me to offer both a continuation of the school-level work
(particularly that done at A-level) and an exciting extension, as the basics become cemented, allowing for further
exploration of the culture, literature, and history of the country, or indeed whatever inspired you to begin
learning the language in the first place! For me, my first experience of Germany as the 2006 world cup hosts, and
the warm hospitality of the locals in Cologne left me hooked, and this, I believe, still plays an important part in
my excitement at the thought of visiting and living in Germany.
As in most universities, German students at Birmingham spend their third year abroad, a great advantage and
opportunity afforded to university language students, and the department at Birmingham is large enough to
offer a broad variety of possible destinations and paths: as an English teaching assistant in a school, you can
apply to a particular region in Germany or Austria, or alternatively as part of the Erasmus programme, you can
spend a year in one of Birmingham’s many partner universities which include Berlin, Munich, and Heidelberg, to
name but a few.
The size of the department at Birmingham means that there is a wide choice of modules, and in one sense, by
studying a language, you are allowed to focus on literature, history, politics, or sociology, according to what you
most enjoy, as well as trying out subjects such as linguistics, which you may not have previously encountered.
Because language-learning is a process of accumulation, I am always making use of the work I did at school
regardless of the particular topic: the fundamental building-blocks of grammar and vocabulary, and I enjoy the
fact that any work I do for one module always helps me with my others, as my language continues to improve. A
scheme which has particularly helped and inspired me at university is Birmingham’s Buddy programme, which
pairs English and international students so that both can chat informally and actually put the language skills into
practice outside of the lesson environment. On top of what I find to be a chat, and learning without great strain,
you are able to make good friends and contacts with the foreign students, whom you could then visit in your
year abroad!
For me, this type of learning is unique to language, where travelling, making friends, and exploring a new culture,
all things I would choose to do in my free time, count towards part of my degree and a well-regarded
qualification. The breadth of opportunity offered by language for later life is, I believe, unequalled, and while
you never stop learning, the sense of achievement in being able to understand and converse with native
speakers of a foreign language as if it were interchangeable with English is very rewarding. Although the
greatest improvement in my language will undoubtedly come in my year abroad, the work I did at school and
that I am doing at university is steadily and continually improving my understanding and competence, as well as
my confidence, and I would urge anyone who is enjoying languages at school to consider choosing it for at least
part of their university degree.
Daniel Levy is studying French and Spanish at Bristol University; he left UCS in 2012:
As my first year in Bristol University has just finished, I am writing an overview of what life has been like here and
how I have found my course.
Prior to starting my first year of French and Spanish at Bristol, I was absolutely focused on only studying the
language, after all that's why I loved languages in the first place. Therefore fluency meant a lot to me. However
for me and those studying with me, the first year entailed so much more. Classes were split into language and in
addition lectures and seminars taught us specific parts of history and literary pieces, related to my chosen
subjects. I find this so relevant because I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much. This extended feature to a
language degree at times gave me a tendency to believe that I was in fact taking an English or a History degree.
The truth is, that without the other aspects to the course which made the first year so diverse, I think it would
have been much less interesting.
During the first term we covered around four or five novels (in French), some examples being 'Pierre et Jean'
and 'La Machine Infernale'. In my opinion the books were well chosen by the professors and we had to make
sure we understood the novels inside out. We were given two essay questions in the final exam on our chosen
books. They could have been based on anything from a character study to a theme or to how certain passages
relate to contemporary times.
The cultural studies involved in my Spanish degree this year stood out to me, as a part of the course that
fascinated me more than I expected. We covered a broad timeline, one that ranged from 1492 when the
Americas was discovered until the 1800s. Although this seems like a lot of history to cover in a short amount of
time, each week the lecturer would speak about something entirely new. It was our role to then home in on the
smaller details of that lecture by reading around the subject. The coursework was usually based on a specific
event or year, for example: 'Was the Spanish Civil War the first chapter of the Second World War'. This was
admittedly one of the easier titles of the year, however if you were to have difficulties, you could go and see your
teacher for a pleasant half hour talk on the topic at hand. Therefore, if you have done or are doing history AS/Alevels, you may find this side to the course easier. We were taught how to navigate JSTOR (a database of
published journals and articles) with ease. However, for me it was all the small rules and details that I learnt
about that made the essay writing worthwhile, especially when your final product is written not just in an
articulate and coherent manner but also in a foreign language.
One of my favourite aspects of my first year studying languages was a ritual that took place in my oral classes. At
UCS, oral classes were very enjoyable and this continued at Bristol. Every week Martine Collette (my French
oral/aural teacher) asked combo bring in some French news from two different forms of media to bring in to
class. She'd only picked a couple of us every week to give a small presentation, and then we had to explain to the
others in the class our new words and phrases that we had attained that week. This weekly obligation to study
French news was interactive and really brought the class together. Furthermore, I felt submersed in the culture,
to the point that for my end of term assessment I gave my twenty minute presentation to the class on Hollande's
proposition of a super tax on the rich! Sure, this topic may not draw you in but when you have the liberty to
choose whatever you like, you are bound to find stories 'à la une' that intrigue you.
Something key to point out are the type of classes that you have when studying as a linguist. Most of the classes
are seminars, just like those at school with a few lectures a week. You might like the sound of having lectures but
when it comes to learning languages it's so useful to get the attention, in smaller units, when you need it. Along
with these tight knit groups, there is the advantage of also getting to know your professors/teachers better. By
the end of the first term, I knew my teachers and all ten of them knew me quite well. That might seem normal to
you, but most other courses may have lectures as a majority. For me, this set-up on a language course gave me a
more at ease mood and it was very easy to meet people.
In my last few words for any linguists at UCS, I would recommend languages and even more strongly at Bristol! It
is genuinely an enjoyable course to embark on.
Daniel Levy - Year abroad Guide – UPDATE November 2014
I´m currently living in Madrid, whilst undertaking a six month internship at the property consultancy firm named
CBRE. Afterwards, I have plans to move to Paris and continue work at the same company for a further five
months. Although Universities are extremely helpful in finding all forms of placements abroad, I found these
ones myself.
Now, the last time I wrote for the Modern Languages Guide, I was reflecting upon the final moments, of my First
Year at Bristol University (studying French and Spanish). So soon have I found myself on my Year Abroad, and
although I have only been in Madrid for a month and a half, there is a lot that I can document about so far. When
it comes to planning advice for the Year Abroad, your University will be able to help you there. I´m writing rather
to directly address the advantages of studying/working/teaching in a foreign environment and how my life (need
I say) has already been altered, perhaps permanently.
The first aspect that must be underlined is that this year provides a form of linguistic and cultural immersion that
doesn’t come round often in a lifetime, if at all. I write ´immersion´ because of the fact that I am currently living
with three boys and one girl, of whom are all Spanish-speaking; as a result we spend the majority of our time
conversing in the native language. I feel confident that this has been a successful factor behind my improvement
in spoken Spanish, which includes a firm grasp on the colloquialisms (maybe too many for my own good).
In addition to this, there is my work environment which is more or less Spanish speaking. I say more or less
because in my case there are other English interns and we have naturally gravitated towards each other.
Nevertheless, with respect to these two styles of life, there is no reason to suggest why no one can flourish in all
aptitudes of language within a short period of time. Furthermore, only as a result of a Year Abroad does this
unique cultural immersion allow one to fully comprehend the mentality of the country. To understand the
mentality you find yourself watching the local TV shows, reading the local news, speaking to the local people and
most importantly jeering on your local football team, alongside a mass of energetic fans, a favourite being: “¡Así
así, así gana Madrid!”.
The second aspect of the Year Abroad that deserves mention, deals with the extensive quantity of free time
available on a daily basis. Mainly concerning those working, but would be relatable for anyone on their Year
Abroad. For the first time in my life during term time, I have absolutely no work to do in the evenings and better,
on the weekends. Can life get any better than this? Well the answer to that may well be no. I cannot underline
enough how enjoyable it is to be so free with time. For example, last weekend a mate of mine from work and I
took the local train line to a suburb of Madrid called Alcalá de
Henares, in
order to wander the streets of a medieval fair. There were
tens
of
thousands of people there and the spectacles organised were
bountiful,
among a real life jousting tournament, make shift dragons,
assassins and
food. Any boy or girl with an appetite for the T.V series Game
of
Thrones
would have been in their element. I know I was…
In terms of looking ahead for the future, I now believe that a
year out of
University will make me take advantage of Bristol to the
fullest, when
I return for my 4th Year. After all, it´s not just a year aimed at
experiencing
a different culture at first hand, but also a year for personal
development
and maturing. A greater respect is gained for other cultures of
the
world,
which in turn brings to the surface ones undiscovered
identity. An
identity which is more deeply connected to the local paradigms. It´s simply a refreshing sensation.
To conclude, a language Year Abroad degree isn´t just an aid for academic development, but also personal
development. Further independence in life. Within limits, you will have the opportunity to go wherever you
want! May it be France, Columbia, Spain or Reunion, the range is so dynamic, something which is incomparably
offered by any another degree involving a Year out. If you’re naturally an adventurous person and want more
out of a University degree, get ready. It´s already feeling quite unforgettable. I leave you on this final note. As we
approach November, it may start to feel a little chilly for you. This weekend it reached highs of 37 degrees in
Spain. I played golf all day and in the evening enjoyed the atmosphere that the well-known ´el clásico´ had to
offer. An endless summer with endless opportunity. My only complaint will be that I have to revert back to life in
England.
Olivia Taylor is studying Spanish and ab initio Italian at Edinburgh University and in 2013 was the first
ever first recipient of the Meredith Kercher Scholarship set up by the Italian city of Perugia.
I have found that the possibilities are endless when you study a language. The need for languages has not
diminished and they are an even more essential skill given the current economic climate. Many international
employers seek graduates with a language degree and learning a language enables you to adapt to different
business environments and to work with greater cultural agility and insight. Studying languages at University
takes you a huge step further from studying them at school- your cultural understanding of the country is
broadened through studying literature, film and current affairs. That deeper cultural understanding of a foreign
language can be a great asset in industries such as export, trade, and international marketing. One on one time
becomes more readily available, allowing you to progress much faster with your chosen language/s, at a
noticeable rate.
At university you have the opportunity to let your love for language and culture to flourish freely. You may
wonder what you can do once you complete a degree in languages (as most people do after finishing any
degree) but languages do not limit you in the slightest. You can work abroad, play a fundamental role in
international relations or become an interpreter, and these are only some examples. Furthermore, many
government jobs require language skills, particularly in the sectors of immigration and diplomacy. The study of
language opens many doors and the great thing is that you don’t have to begin your studies knowing exactly
what you want to do once you finish. As with Mathematics, I feel that languages are satisfying to learn – the
memorizing, the meticulous learning of rules and exceptions and the gratification of translating a famous piece
of literature (for example).
You could pose the question that studying languages at university is not worth the high tuition costs when it is a
discipline that one can nowadays self-study. However, unless you are content with reaching conversational level,
university curriculums are designed with fluency as a goal not just in conversation, but also in reading, writing,
and cultural awareness. These skills are essential if you intend to take a job in which communication and work
projects are conducted in a foreign language.
Studying in Italy.
I was very fortunate this year to win a scholarship in memory of Meredith Kercher. This included a two-month
stay in Perugia and the opportunity to study intensively at the renowned University for Foreigners of Perugia.
Naturally, I was slightly apprehensive about going as Perugia was a city unfamiliar to me and I was going
unaccompanied by friends. However, the trip proved to be fantastic and hugely beneficial to my Italian speaking
and writing skills. I was barely able to maintain a conversation in Italian before going, and now I can. It was
satisfying to actually feel the progress I was making. Of course it is essential to learn the rules and grammar of a
language at school or university before embarking on a long trip, however I truly believe that living abroad is the
best way to really absorb the language.
Daniel Amir is studying Persian with Hindi & Urdu at the University of Oxford (Wadham); he left UCS
in 2013:
As I came towards my last years of UCS, it was clear to me that I wanted to pursue a degree in languages.
Looking through course handbooks, particularly when there’s so much on offer, can make you feel a little like a
child in a sweet shop, but there’s a particular discipline that’s often left out when the options are laid in front of
you as you come into A-Level: Oriental/Middle-Eastern Studies. With the foundations that school gives you in a
European language (or even a few), it can seem like quite a daunting task to take on, but I am a firm believer in
language learning being a transferrable skill so there’s nothing really to be afraid of. In the summer before my AS
levels began I had a glance at my options, and, taking into account some of my own private interests, decided to
think about Persian/Arabic as a possibility. Some five years later, here I am, knee deep into a degree in Persian
with Hindi & Urdu.
Obviously much of the preparation I had to do for interviews was spurred on by my own interests. In my case this
was particularly Persian medieval and mystical poetry, which I had stumbled across some years earlier. I took the
Crusades options for my History A-Level course and looked a little at portrayals of religious minorities in English,
too, but much of the onus is on you to do the work. This is, however, what makes basically anyone a decent
candidate for a top university – the fact that you have enough passion to take the subject further yourself, and
develop an interest (be it broad or specific) outside of the limitations of the classroom. With Oriental Studies,
this is also what they’re looking for. Whilst you’re expected to demonstrate an awareness of your chosen field
(Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Persian, Turkish etc.), an interviewer or admissions officer will be looking above all
for ways in which you can apply what you’ve already learned to new situations.
With this in mind, I sat Oxford’s OLAT (Oriental Language’s Aptitude Test) in November of 2012, where I had to
translate sentences into and out of a made up language – a little like the linguistics Olympiad. Then I was invited
for interview up at Oxford, and had two half hour sessions at my college of choice and the department. We
discussed a great range of topics from contemporary politics to historiography, and I was at one point asked to
discuss and analyse a translated poem in Spanish.
The degree itself reflects this sense of versatility, which is why often Oriental Studies or Middle Eastern Studies
degrees are perfect for people who are not able to pin down a particular discipline to follow through with. In my
first year alone I wrote essays on Religion, Literature, History and Anthropology, and had I not chosen to take a
language option this year, I would have been able to focus more on a particular field for other papers and my
thesis.
The second year of my course was spent abroad, but as I am not able to get into Iran for political reasons, I lived
in Istanbul for five months and the in Israel, studying at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Usually this is an
opportunity for people to build on skills they lay the foundations of in their first year, but I was thrown in at the
deep end and had the opportunity to learn Turkish alongside Persian while in Istanbul. In Jerusalem, in addition
to my Persian literature and language work, I worked in translation and editing for a couple of NGOs. This was a
valuable time to start building a CV and gaining some experience for the world beyond university, and above all
figuring out a play for the second half of my degree.
This year I chose Hindi and Urdu for my subsidiary option and have had a blast in so doing. Much of the
responsibility is on you for taking the time to consolidate concepts and vocabulary outside of the classroom, but
there is an immense reward to this. In addition to a weekly essay, I have to produce anywhere between 3-5
translations and a composition for my Persian classes. It sounds like a lot when written down, but it’s extremely
manageable. Most recently my tasks have included writing an explanation about the Brexit debate and
translating a couple of pages of my favourite novel into Persian. It seems unimaginable to have reached this
point when you think of the amount of time spent doing the groundwork in the early period of language study,
and yet it is all the more gratifying now to see it is worth it.
As for next year, and the future in general… I’ll be spending my summer working on migration and radicalization
at think-tank in London, whilst doing the preliminary reading for my dissertation, which is about the way in which
Jewish poets are presented in modern Iran. In many ways Oriental Studies leaves you with many open pathways
after your degree, be these into academia, politics, journalism, law etc., and in many ways you will be as much in
demand as another person with a European modern languages degree. Obviously these can also be combined
together, too. This is all to say that I have had a fantastic time of my degree and hope that when you come to
weigh up your options in advance of applications for university, you don’t rule out the possibility of taking up a
non-European language. It is challenging and stimulating in equal measure and I cannot recommend it enough!
Pippa Ebel left UCS in 2014 and has spent time in China learning Mandarin Chinese, having previously
studied the language at UCS and in the Friday afternoon activity sessions:
This summer in order to embark on my long term plan of gaining fluency in Mandarin, I decided to try a new
approach to learning the language: a six week intensive program in Shanghai with two weeks travelling at the
end. Previously, I had tried part-time courses over a few months or one on one tuition but noted that due to the
complexity of the language, progress was far too slow.
The course was organised to have three hours of speaking and listening practise in the morning in a class of
around 6, with an afternoon class focusing on writing. Following each day there was an expectation of 1-2hrs
independent study. The course was absolutely brilliant and in terms of getting to grips with the language was
absolutely the best method. There were lots of people there studying Chinese full time at university or some
adults who had been learning part time for 3-5 years and all of them could barely string a sentence together in
Chinese.
By the end of the six weeks embarking on my travels to Guilin and the remote areas of Guangxi province I was
amazed at the fact that I could sustain a conversation over an entire meal with a Beijing family (Chinese meals
can be rather lengthy due to multiple rice refills and plum wine toasts), sort out my maps in Chinese and banter
with the locals whilst splashing around in the hot springs.
The formula for Chinese is from my experience a pretty logical but not necessarily an easy one - it requires total
immersion. It is not about the time you study it for but the intensity at which you practise it. That means if you
learn vocabulary to do with food and you go straight to a restaurant to put it into practise. Because there are so
many dialects and vastly different accents it's essential to get as much listening in as possible and that can't be
achieved by staring at vocab sheets, but instead surrounding yourself with only Chinese friends (at the expense
of maybe getting to know the westerners on your course) and also tuning in to Chinese radio or TV programmes.
Many people suggest it's best to just focus on the speaking if you want to learn Chinese for a practical purpose
but I would urge anyone to learn the written and spoken language simultaneously. The written language gives
you the confidence boost everyone needs when learning a language as it's around you everywhere you look in
China. Pinyin can't help you when you need to read a map, and with the different dialects lots of Chinese people
will write instead of speak if there's a misunderstanding. Most of all the written language helps explain and
clarify much of the more complex vocabulary and helps you to remember words in a much more visual way...
Both seriously interesting and important for learning a language!
The most important thing to take from this is that learning Chinese is not just a linguistic education but a cultural
one too. The cultural differences affect the way you use and understand the language and a greater
understanding of the culture and people enables a better chance at improving linguistically.
On a more factual note Chinese proficiency is measured on a simple scale of HSK examination. Level 5 is very
conversational and will enable anyone to get a job more easily in Asia, however I would say that once you've got
to Level 4 you can improve by yourself. However, level 1-4 is best spent in intensive study to prevent getting bad
habits and secure a solid foundation to build on independently.
Linus Smith is studying German and Spanish at Bristol University; he left UCS in 2014:
I have just finished my first year studying German and Spanish at Bristol University. All in all it has been a great
year. The first year is designed to give students a very broad overview of what is to come in later years. The
German department did this the best – they had a very structured course and made the progression of the year
clear to you from the outset. There were chances to study literature, poetry, historical linguistics and history.
By far the most interesting module for me was represented by the literature seminars in German. The group was
mixed between ab initio students (studying an English version of the German text) and post-A-level students
(studying the original). This dynamic was very intriguing since we not only studied the narrative, but also debates
were brought up about the philosophy behind words and how the two texts differed in regard to translation.
This led to a 1500-word, coursework-style essay which constituted 25% of the unit. Furthermore, we were given a
lot of freedom over the title of the essay. For people like me who had done an A level in English and had
experienced the freedom of coursework in A2, the opportunity to pursue your own interests and pick your own
title was excellent. Others who were perhaps not used to writing literature essays were given great support and
offered a wide range of titles which were all linked to the seminars. I found that the department had struck the
delicate balance between support and freedom in regard to learning, which is a hard thing to achieve.
Language departments have a tendency to echo cultural stereotypes, whether intentionally or not. Bristol is no
exception. The German department played up to the ‘practical, reliable and efficient’ Teutonic stereotype, with
lessons always starting on time and all homework being marked promptly. In Spanish, there is only one exam for
the unit named ‘An Introduction to Hispanic and Latin American Studies’, in which you must write four essays in
two hours. The topics were very broad, and many students felt that they were too sporadic and lacking in detail –
there were over 20 topics, differing hugely. You could argue that they give a huge overview of the culture,
history, literature and social studies of the Spanish-speaking world, but the lectures only lasted an hour and
much of the learning was left to us to do at home. I understand that university is the next step up, where you are
encouraged to follow your own interests, but for first-year students who have either come from a non-academic
year out or straight from school, this outdated teaching style is daunting and can leave students feeling
extremely helpless.
Despite my qualms in regards over the set-up of the Spanish course, the tutorials and seminars, where you do
history and literature essays, are very interesting and the small teaching groups allow you to really interact with
one another. Furthermore the department listens to the students in regard to aspects they can change and I
believe in the coming year that they will be changing the layout of the course in order to make it more
sympathetic and engaging for the students, which is promising.
I am aware that I have not concentrated that much on the specifically linguistic side of modern languages at
Bristol. There is one main reason for this. I believe that coming from UCS your understanding and fluency of
language will be better than you thought. Therefore you will be very well equipped to rise to the challenges that
are presented to you. The German language work was great fun – there is an emphasis put on translation and
writing skills (in the form of writing newspaper-style articles), even as throughout you develop, or cement, your
grammatical skills. The language classes are really interactive, with marked presentations and debates. This is the
same in Spanish, however I did feel we were not pushed as hard as we were in German. The German language
work was also more hands-on, while the Spanish language was more up to you. However the Spanish teachers
are always at your disposal to answer any queries about work.
I would implore anybody who is seriously considering doing modern languages at university to have a look at
Bristol. The content you are presented with is extremely interesting and both the Spanish and German
departments have very strong lecturers, some of whom are leading researchers in their fields. .
Work Placement in Munich
During the summer, having just finished my first year, I have spent six weeks in Munich working for an IT
company. I wanted to do this not only to improve my German, but to also get some invaluable experience, which
would probably give me an advantage when I go on my year abroad – during which I also want to work. In terms
of workplace there is not much difference. I think the main thing I have noticed is that the small, colloquialisms
of everyday life are probably harder to pick up than expected. But after a while these become more of a kneejerk reaction and they give you great confidence when you can quickly and effectively respond to people in an
authentic way. One thing I have tried to do is immerse myself completely and avoid opportunities to speak
English; this means having to bear the dubbed version of films which are excruciatingly out of sync, but this is a
small price to pay because subconsciously you pick up words and phrases. Also I am having to put a lot of work
in: it is not as simple as sitting around and learning things as they are said, I am still having to note down words,
look them up and constantly build my vocabulary. Being immersed in German is one thing, but actually being able
to understand not just the gist but the bulk of information which is presented to you is the real challenge – this
obviously only comes with time but I have found I am able to learn words which will stick in my head much
quicker here, because you hear others using them and also have the opportunity to use them yourself as well
(NB: I read it takes seven uses of a word by a person before it can be truly integrated into one’s vocabulary). All
in all though, I would recommend it – it has been a great experience and it gives you a taste of what Germany is
really like. Furthermore you would be able to rule that out of your year abroad if you don’t enjoy it – better to
spend a month or so working during a Summer than to sign up for a six- or twelve-month contract working for a
company abroad, only to find out you hate it.
Here are some further pointers for pupils interested in studying Russian, Arabic, Italian and
Portuguese. Excerpts taken from the ISMLA newsletter, Autumn Term 2014.
Preparing to apply for ab initio Russian
The more links that students can make between Russian culture and language the better. Since Russian is
arguably one of the toughest European languages to learn, students must demonstrate that they are ready for
the various challenges posed by a Slavic language. Do they relish unravelling complex grammar? Do they enjoy
pronouncing difficult words? Are they adept at identifying similarities between words to guess meaning?
Perhaps their enthusiasm has already led them to decipher the alphabet. A logical next step is to read parallel
texts to get under the skin of Russian culture. The edition Russian Stories: A Dual Language Book (ed. Gleb
Struve) is an ideal place to start, and will demonstrate familiarity with some of the most well-known short stories
by writers such as Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy and Bunin. Nikolai Gogol’s The Nose is a surreal and much-loved classic
that perpetually confounds the read- er with its unexplained events and oblique references. Ivan Bunin’s
Sunstroke covers similar thematic ground to Chekhov’s The Lady with the Little Dog, featur- ing a couple who
meet whilst on holiday and embark on a torrid affair. Bunin won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1933 for his
achievements in prose writing.
For contextualisation of these writers, A History of Russian Literature by Victor Terras comes highly
recommended. The later chapters (6-9) on the Romantic Period, the Age of the Novel, the Silver Age and the
Soviet Period give an excel lent overview of the key literary movements and their exponents from the
nineteenth century through to the collapse of the USSR.
For a flavour of contemporary Russian literature, much of which deals with the chaos and uncertainty of life in
post-Soviet Russia, students could read Ludmila Ulitskaya (Sonechka: A Novella and Stories) Viktor Pelevin
(Omon Ra, Babylon, The Blue Lantern), Dmitry Bykov (Living Souls) and Olga Slavnikova (2017). These stories
deal with such diverse themes as poverty, love and loss, the arrival in Rus- sia of ‘wild capitalism’, nostalgia and
apocalyptic visions of the future. Such sto- ries, set as they are against the backdrop of a country still searching
for an identi- ty after seventy years of communism, will almost certainly kindle an enthusiasm for contemporary
Russian culture, not to mention a desire to read them one day in the original!
Without doubt, the best collection of Russian films online is the website of film company Mosfilm (mosfilm.ru).
The company recently made a huge number of Soviet and post-Soviet films available for free online. Pleasingly,
there is even a collection of films with English subtitles (http://cinema.mosfilm.ru/films/ comp/Podborki/Filmy-ssubtitrami), some of which are undisputed classics. Students would do well to watch the classic 1967 adaptation
of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, the socialist realist musical comedy Volga, Volga, Karen Shakhnazarov’s nostalgic
2007 look back at Soviet youth culture of the 1970s, Disappeared Empire or the 1979 Oscar-winning classic
Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears, which deals with the everyday trials and tribulations of a group of female
friends who come to the capital to study.
Many universities offering ab initio Russian will expect students to have mastered the Cyrillic alphabet before
starting the course. Some beginners’ grammar books take students swiftly through the alphabet in the early
chapters. However, most students benefit from a more comprehensive study of the alphabet, and for this I
recommend Daphne West’s Beginner’s Russian Script from the Teach Yourself se- ries. This book provides a
series of logical, focused exercises to ensure that the letters of the alphabet are learned thoroughly as they are
introduced.
Once familiar with the alphabet, reading practice is the next step, and this can be gained whilst getting to grips
with the basics of Russian grammar. A popular book with universities is Svetlana le Fleming and Susan E. Kay’s
Colloquial Russian: The Complete Course for Beginners, which uses texts and dialogues to present new language
and grammar in a clear and systematic way.
Students may also want a separate grammar book to refer to in the early stages, and Daphne West’s Essential
Russian Grammar – also from the Teach Yourself series – is an excellent place to start. As students’ knowledge of
grammar becomes more sophisticated, they need look no further than Terence Wade’s A Comprehensive
Russian Grammar – the definitive guide to Russian usage. This can be bought with the accompanying Russian
Grammar Workbook which contains exercises designed to test the grammar learned.
The internet is also an excellent source of learning materials for beginners. There are several websites which
provide comprehensive introductory courses, including russianforeveryone.com, russianlessons.net and
masterrussian.com. The most attractive and user-friendly of these websites is russianforeveryone.com, designed
by Dr Julia Rochtchina at the University of Victoria, Canada. Rochtchina has also helped construct the fun and
engaging site languagemetropolis.com, a ‘virtual city’ which enables students to learn Russian through scenarios
that unfold in different areas of Moscow and St Petersburg. For online grammar drills, the best resource I have
found is Sergey Fadeev’s rus-on-line.ru, which offers clear, comprehensive explanations for grammatical
concepts at elementary and basic levels.
Students are advised to keep up to date with current affairs in Russia, and there are some excellent Englishlanguage websites devoted to the political and cultural life of the country. Russia Beyond The Headlines
(www.rbth.com) and Russia Profile (www.russiaprofile.org) provide a wealth of interesting articles on poli- tics,
business, science, art and culture.
If students have the opportunity to go to Russia before their course starts, they may want to combine their
sightseeing with a language course in either Moscow and St Petersburg. In Moscow, recommended courses are
offered at the Moscow State University Russian Language Centre (mgu-russian.com), whilst in St Peters- burg,
the Derzhavin Institute (www.derzhavin.com) runs courses designed specifically for beginners.
Nick Massey, North London Collegiate School
Preparing to apply for ab initio Arabic
The first thing to do if you are interested in studying Arabic at university is to take a substantial bite from one of
the rich array of dishes that Arab culture has to offer. This will help you decide if you fancy more. Try any of the
following:
Learn the alphabet. You can use the first six chapters of Mastering Arabic by Wightwick and Gaafar or work
through The Arabic Alphabet by Nicholas Awde and Putros Samano. There are also sets on Quizlet and tutorials
on YouTube.
Pick up some conversational Arabic. There are two books I highly recommend: Routledge’s Colloquial Arabic of
Egypt by Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar; and BBC Active’s Talk Arabic by Jonathan Featherstone. Either
will do. Each is well designed, and gives you a great sense of progress after completing each unit. Everything is
transliterated, so you don’t need to know the alphabet. Be sure to make full use of the audio (on CD or MP3) –
one of the main challenges (and joys!) of Arabic is learning to make some new sounds.
Read some Arabic literature in translation. Egypt’s Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988
and, since then, his novels have been widely available in English. Many candidates read Palace Walk (1956),
which is the first part of his Cairo trilogy. However, I would strongly advise venturing further afield. I have spent
ten years working with pupils, from all sorts of schools, applying for Arabic at university. The first thing I do is ask
them to send me their personal statement, and almost every one mentions having read some Naguib Mah- fouz.
Nothing wrong in that, but there needs to be some- thing else which helps you stand out from all the other
candidates saying the same thing. Alaa al-Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building (2004) is a more recent depiction of
Cairene life. You can compare this with Rajaa Al-Sanea’s Girls of Riyadh (2007), written in the form of e-mails
between four friends, which portrays life in a very different city. And then the great translator Denys JohnsonDavies has produced a couple of daz- zling anthologies of modern Arabic literature: Under the Naked Sky, which
con- tains short stories by authors from Morocco to Iraq; and the longer Anchor Book of Arabic Fiction, which
contains short stories and extracts from major novels. If you are more classically minded, there is nowhere better
than Professor Geert Jan van Gelder’s Classical Arabic Literature, which contains clearly explained and readable
translations of some of the best offerings of medieval and early modern Arabic prose and verse (and rhymed
prose, which is a genre in itself!), going right back to the sixth century.
Read one work of non-fiction that analyses an aspect of the Arab world. Galal Amin’s Whatever Happened to the
Egyptians? (2001) is accessible, with short chapters and helpful insights which will set you on the road to a better
understanding of social trends in the Arab world. Joumana Haddad’s I Killed Scheherazade (2010) and Superman
is an Arab (2012) are vivid, stimulating essays on gender in the Arab world, dealing with femininity and
masculinity respectively. If history is more your thing, read Amira Bennison’s The Great Caliphs or anything by
Hugh Kenne- dy. His The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates is a great introduction to the medie- val Arab
world, and then Eugene Rogan’s The Arabs: A History will bring you up to the present. You might also like to
tackle Amin Maalouf’s The Crusades Through Arab Eyes or Edward Said’s Orientalism, which are challenging but
ground- breaking.
Travel to the Arab world. This would work especially well if you attended a language course, as that would put
you into direct and daily contact with people (your teachers and other language centre staff) who could guide
you through the local culture. At the moment, the best places to go to are: the Qasid Arabic Insti- tute near
Amman, Jordan (www.qasid.com); the Ali Baba International Centre in Amman, Jordan (http://www.alibaba.jo);
the Arabic Language Institute in Fez, Morrocco (http://www.alif-fes.com/); and the Gulf Arabic Programme,
which is Oman, but right near the border with the UAE (http://gapschool.net/).
Haroon Shirwani (Eton College)
Preparing to apply for Italian (ab initio) at university
Once the student has decided to apply for ab initio Italian, the first call is almost inevitably “What should I read
for my personal statement and/or interview?” Of course, applicants may have an interest which has led him or
her to choose the course in the first place. So what should he or she read in general terms? Some literary work
may appeal, in which case I go through a list, discussing the student’s interests and making recommendations on
that basis. Self-evidently, the works are in translation. You will get some keen to read Dante, but otherwise some
classics to suggest might include Il gattopardo, Il giardino dei Finzi-contini, La coscienza di Zeno, Il giorno della
civetta, or Fontamara, nothing perhaps very original, but the main point is that the suggestion should fit the
candidate. I have also found that short stories are appealing and one could suggest one of the several dual
language publications available, which would expose the student to the Italian as well. Maybe he or she would
enjoy some Boccaccio or has expressed an interest in poetry? There are available dual language poetry editions if
the student is that way inclined.
Whilst it is important to get the students reading something, the problem is that launching into a novel, for
instance, may require some context. Therefore, I al- ways recommend some background reading such as
Professor Robert Gordon’s Introduction to Twentieth-Century Italian Literature, especially the first chapter
which outlines the importance of language and geography when trying to understand the literature (Svevo or
Sciascia, the north-east versus Sicily for instance). Some historical reading is not a bad idea either, so Christopher
Duggan’s Concise History of Italy is fine for the generalist (or his Force of Destiny which covers the period since
1796 would be perfect for the serious historian).
Watching some films is often an appealing idea and is a good start for those who might be more daunted by
launching straight into a novel. Apart from the obvi- ous more recent successes like Il postino (especially if they
are also studying or are applying for Spanish), Cinema paradiso or La vita è bella, I also suggest films which are
based on classic novels (such as Il gattopardo or Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini) or others which deal with more
recent social issues (La meglio gioventù). Then again, they always appreciate a classic neo-realist film such as
Ladri di bicicletta. Televi- sion can also provide opportunities in the form of imports such as Montalbano.
Even if the university does not expect any prior knowledge of the language, any ab initio course will be made a
lot easier by some prior study. Naturally, a course in Italy over the summer or during a gap year would be
beneficial, though not always affordable. Italy is full of excellent language schools which cater for all levels,
including the Leonardo da Vinci group in all the major cities, The British Institute in Florence (though closed in
August) or Torre di Babele in Rome.
For some absolute conversational basics, the BBC Italian pages (despite a banner at the top proclaiming “this
page has not been updated for a while”) offer a course called “La Mappa Misteriosa” and another called “Talk
Italian” as well as some useful links, some of which still work. Some might like to have a go at Teach Yourself
Complete Italian.
Lastly, some advice about dictionaries and grammar reference books may be provided by universities, but I
thoroughly recommend Soluzioni, A Practical Grammar of Contemporary Italian to anyone studying Italian
seriously; it could certainly be studied individually by the most motivated. Indeed, several universities (including
Cambridge and Southampton) suggest acquiring it before arriving.
Peter Langdale, North London Collegiate School
Preparing to apply for Portuguese (ab initio) at university
Based on my experience over the last seven years, Portuguese is becoming an increasingly popular ab initio
choice for students choosing to study Languages at university. I have had almost one applicant per year (all for
Cambridge and all successful) and I imagine that this growing interest in the sixth most commonly spoken
language in the world is reflected in other schools also.
So, what do you advise your students to do in order to prepare? My first step has always been to ask them if they
have read ‘The Alchemist’, to which the answer has always been a proud ‘yes’. I have then told my pupils to stop
immediately. This is regularly greeted with scepticism, but largely the book is not re- garded in high esteem by
Portuguese academics; I can vouch for this, having made this mistake in my second year at university. Instead,
my advice is that they read the English translation of ‘The Crime of Father Amaro’ by Eça de Queiros. This
excellent, controversial send-up of the Catholic Church will give pupils plenty to consider. They can also compare
the original work to the Mexican film version of the same name, starring García Bernal, and to the artist Paula
Rego’s series of unique and, at times, startling paintings inspired by the novel.
There are many other literary works worthy of attention, and I can especially recommend Fernando Pessoa’s
poetry collection ‘Mensagem’ which students should attempt to read in Portuguese (especially if they already
have Spanish) and any short stories by the renowned Brazilian writer, Machado de Assis.
To best prepare and develop their linguistic and cultural knowledge without spending vast amounts of money on
chunky textbooks, I recommend students visit the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/portuguese/.
This gives them an overview of basic, transactional language and provides them with much
needed access to hearing spoken Portuguese. Many an astounded student has com- mented to me during one of
my Portuguese enrichment lessons that ‘it sounds like Russian! I thought it would be just like Spanish!’ For those
who are keen to extend their language beyond the basics, there are textbooks available in the Grant and Cutler
section of Foyles and I can vouch for ‘Vamos lá Começar’ if students are keen to start independent study.
Daniella Mardell, St. Paul’s Girls’ School
University guide 2016: league table for modern languages and linguistics
Includes French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, south Asian, African,
Australasian, modern Middle Eastern languages, literature and linguistics
Recommended Reading Lists
University College School
Modern Languages Department
UCS Oxbridge Reading Lists
Oxbridge French preparation
Reading list:
Ionesco: La Cantatrice chauve
Beckett: En attendant Godot
Camus: L'étranger
Molière: Le Misanthrope
Molière: Le Tartuffe
Molière: L'Avare
Queneau: Exercices de style
Sarte: Les jeux sont faits
Ionesco: La Leçon
Ionesco: Les Chaises
Duras: Moderato Cantabile
Beckett: Fin de partie
Flaubert: Trois Contes
Flaubert: Madame Bovary
Tournier: Le Roi des Aulnes
Voltaire: Candide
Racine: Phèdre
La Fontaine: Les Fables de La Fontaine
Baudelaire : Les Fleurs du Mal
Hugo: Les Contemplations
Perec: les Choses
Oxbridge German preparation
Böll: 'Nicht nur zur Weihnachtszeit'
Böll : 'Anekdote zur Senkung der Arbeitsmoral'
Mann : Tonio Kröger
Heine : Buch der Lieder
Frisch : Andorra
Frisch : Biedermann und die Brandstifter
Keller : Kleider machen Leute
Brecht : Der gute Mensch von Sezuan
Hesse : Unterm Rad
Hesse : Steppenwolf
Walser : Ein fliehendes Pferd
Wenders / Handke: Der Himmel über Berlin [film]
Fassbinder : Angst essen Seele auf [film]
Fassbinder : Die Ehe der Maria Braun [film]
Oxbridge Spanish preparation
Pennisular Spanish Literature and Film
Un chien andalou 1929
Rafael Alberti, Sobre los ángeles 1929
The Surrealist Art of Maruja Mallo
García Lorca, Romancero gitano 1927-8
M. de Unamuno: San Manuel Bueno, Mártir' 1930
The Cinema of Victor Erice (El espíritu de la colmena & El sur) 1973/1982
Latin American Literature
Gabriel García Márquez: "El amor en los tiempo del cólera" 1989, "El otoño del patriarca" 1975
Pablo Neruda: "Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada" (poema n. 20) 1974
Julio Cortazar: "No se culpe a nadie", "Continuidad en los parques".
Mario Benedetti: "Acaso irreparable" 1960
Eduardo Galeano: "Celebración de la voz humana"
University College School
Modern Languages Department
Arabic Oxbridge Reading List
•Albert Hourani, A history of the Arab peoples (Faber)
•Malise Ruthven, Islam in the world (Pelican)
•Ignaz Goldziher, Introduction to Islamic theology and law (Princeton University Press paperback)
•Michael Cook, Muhammad (Oxford University Press, Past Masters paperback)
•Hugh Kennedy, The Prophet and the age of the caliphates (Longman)
•Roger Owen, State, power and politics in the making of the modern Middle East (Routledge)
•H.A.R. Gibb, Arabic literature (Oxford University Press paperback)
•M.M. Badawi, A critical introduction to modern Arabic poetry (Cambridge University Press paperback)
•Margo Badran and Miriam Cooke (eds.),Opening the gates: a century of Arab feminist writing (Virago paperback)
•Xavier de Planhol, The world of Islam (Cornell University Press paperback)
•Dale Eickelman, The Middle East: an anthropological approach (2nd ed., Prentice-Hall paperback)
•Richard Ettinghausen and Oleg Grabar, The art and architecture of Islam (Pelican History of Art).
•T.F. Mitchell, Writing Arabic (Oxford University Press paperback) [for learning the script].
(Oxford)
General
You may find the following books interesting:
•D. Brown, A New Introduction to Islam, second edition, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell (2009.)
•F. Robinson (ed.), The Islamic World, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1996).
•T. Sonn, Islam: A brief History, second edition, Chichester: Wiley (2010).
Language
You are expected to learn the Arabic script before you start your course. Books we can recommend are:
•J. Wrightwick and M. Gaafar, Mastering Arabic, second edition, Palgrave Macmillan (2007).
•Brustad et al., Alif Baa’ second edition, Hopkins Fulfillment Services (2004)
You can also download a worksheet which covers what we expect students to know before they start the course.
You will need a copy of the course book which is:
•K. Brustad et al., Al-Kitaab fii Ta’allum al-’Arabiyya: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic Part 1, Second Edition, Georgetown
University Press, 2004.
NB: Second Edition, not Third Edition!
A useful grammar book for the first year is:
•Wightwick, J. and Gaafar, M., Arabic Verbs and Essentials of Grammar, 2007.
Literature
•R. Allen, An Introduction to Arabic Literature, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2000).
•A. J. Arberry, The Koran Interpreted, Oxford (1964).
Anthropology
•Wynn, Lisa L. Pyramids and Nightclubs: A Travel Ethnography of Arab and Western Imaginations of Egypt, from King Tut
and a Colony of Atlantis to Rumors of Sex Orgies, Urban Legends about a Marauding Prince, and Blonde Belly Dancers.
Austin: University of Texas Press (December 2007).
History
•A. K. Bennison, The Great Caliphs: the Golden Age of the ‘Abbasid Empire, London (2009).
•Jonathan Berkey, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800, Cambridge (2003).
•William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East, third edition, Boulder, Colorado (2004).
•A. Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, Cambridge MA (1991).
•H. Kennedy, The Great Arab Conquests, How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live in, De Capo Press (2007).
•M. R. Menocal, Ornament of the World, New York (2002).
•Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Boston, Bedford/St. Martins, Palgrave, Macmillan; 6th Rev Ed (13
April 2007).
(Cambridge)
http://arablit.wordpress.com/2010/05/26/take-the-arabic-summer-reading-challenge-and-win/
University College School
Modern Languages Department
Persian Oxbridge Reading List
For a general survey of the language H.W. Bailey's article 'The Persian Language' in the Legacy of Persia, ed. A.J. Arberry (Oxford 1963) is
of value. The best introduction to classical literature is still E.G. Browne, A Literary History of Persia (Cambridge 1902-24) 4 vols.; it is
discursive, idiosyncratic, but written with great panache and affection. Volumes 2 and 3 cover the period of great medieval poetry, and the
translations there can be supplemented by Gertrude Bell, Poems from the Divan of Hafiz (London 1897). A more selective treatment of
medieval poetry is J.S. Meisami, Medieval Persian Court Poetry (Princeton, 1987); also of interest are Chapters 4-6 and 12-15 of J.T.P. de
Bruijn, Of Piety and Poetry: The Interaction of Religion and Literature in the Life and Works of Hakim Sana'i of Ghaznah (Leiden 1983). (A
more comprehensive Bibliography is available from the Oriental Institute).
A useful guide to more recent literature is H. Kamshad, Modern Persian Prose Literature (Cambridge 1966); Critical Perspectives on
Modern Persian Literature, ed. by Thomas M. Ricks (Washington, D.C., 1984) is an anthology of essays on both general and specific
aspects of modern literature. The Literary Review, vol. 18, Autumn 1974, contains a selection of translations of short stories and poetry. A
good, short history is A. Bausani, The Persians (London, 1971), written with more emphasis on social and economic aspects than is usual in
general surveys.
N. Keddie, Roots of Revolution (Yale 1981) provides a good introduction to the recent revolution, and Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the
Prophet (London 1986) is an excellent, stimulating study of different aspects of Persian culture (both classical and modern) as explored
through the life and experience of one man. E.G. Browne's A Year amongst the Persians (Cambridge 1927) is a classic of travel literature,
both entertaining, and instructive, and an amusing, highly readable modern travelogue is T. O'Donnell's The Gardens of the Brave in War
(Chicago 1980). Dick Davis's Epic and Sedition (Fayetteville 1992) provides a valuable and very readable introduction to the great Persian
national epic, the Shahnama; Davis's translations of the Legend of Siyavash, a section of the former work, and Attar's mystical allegory
The Conference of the Birds (both in Penguin editions) are also recommended and also his translation of Iraj Pizishkzad's novel, My Uncle
Napoleon (1996).
(Oxford)
General
• R. Yann, Shi’ite Islam: polity, ideology and creed, Oxford, 1995.
• S. Farman-Farmaian, Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey from Her Father's Harem Through the Islamic Revolution,
1993.
• A. Ansari, Modern Iran Since 1921, Harlow, 2003.
• The Ruba’iyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by P. Avery and J. Heath-Stubbs, Penguin Classics, London, 1979
• Rumi, Spiritual Verses, translated by A. Williams, Penguin Classics, London, 2006.
Language
You are expected to learn the Persian script before you start your course. We recommend that you use:
• N. Farzad, Teach Yourself Modern Persian, London, 2004.
• S. Abrahams, Modern Persian. A Course Book. Abingdon, 2005.
You will need a copy of the course books which are:
• W.M. Thackston, An Introduction to Persian, repr. 1993.
• A.K.S. Lambton, Persian Grammar, Students’ Edition, Cambridge, 1963.
History
• A. Bausani, The Persians from the earliest days to the twentieth century, London (1971)
• E. G. Browne, A Year among the Persians, Cambridge (1927).
• R. Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet, London (1987).
• N. Keddie, Roots of Revolution, New Haven, Conn (1981).
Literature
• A. J. Arberry, Classical Persian Literature, London (1958).
• Farid ud-Din Attar, The Conference of the Birds, translated by D. Davis, Penguin Classics, London, 1984.
• Firdowsi, The Legend of Syavush, translated by D. Davis, Penguin classics, London, 1992.
• H. Kamshad, Modern Persian Prose, Cambridge (1966).
• S. Daneshvar, A Persian Requiem, translated by R. Zand, London (1991).
(Cambridge)
Thanks to Haroon Shirwani, Eton College
University College School
Modern Languages Department
Italian Reading List
Peter Langdale, who is Head of Italian at North Lon don Collegiate School, offers the following advice on books you might
read to make you a top candidate for a degree involving Italian (NB – you’re not expected to read these books in Italian!):
• For the literary Dante (at least the Inferno), (the Penguin Classics, Mark Musa Translation has extensive notes and looks
good).
• For a bit of 'fun' - not much of that often on university reading lists (!) - why not some stories from Boccaccio - the
Decameron?
• For those into Drama - and with experience of Molière - Goldoni - The Servant to Two Masters - theatre breaks away from
commedia dell'arte - also fun.
• I would strongly recommend Manzoni, The Betrothed. It is the first novel in Italian and the cornerstone of the modern
language in some ways.
• Giovanni Verga - I Malavoglia (The House of the Medlar Tree) - the classic Italian realist novel of the late 19th Century.
• Going into the 20th Century, and particularly for drama buffs - Pirandello - Six Characters In Search Of An Author and
Henry IV
• Cesare Pavese - The Moon and the Bonfires
• Ignazio Silone - Fontamara - Struggle of peasants in pre-war Abruzzo. A highly political anti-fascist writer better loved in
England than in Italy.
• Giorgio Bassani - The Garden of the Finzi Contini - Life for Jewish family in Ferrara in the late 1930s
• Alberto Moravia, Contempt or Boredom
• Italo Calvino - so many possibilities: If On A Winter's Night A Traveller, Our Ancestors, The Path To The Spider's Nest
• Tomasi di Lampedusa - The Leopard. Brilliant historical novel about Sicily during the unification of Italy. Great film starring
Burt Lancaster!
• Leonardo Sciascia - The Day of the Owl - the classic Mafia novel. Also Sicilian Uncles.
• Dario Fo - Accidental Death Of An Anarchist - Play verging on the absurd dealing with police treatment of terrorist suspect
in the 1970s
• Umberto Eco - The Name Of The Rose - brilliant tour de force about medieval society and literature (avoid the film!)
• Alessandro Baricco – Silk: a curious modern(ist) and japaneesy novel - among the best of the contemporary
• Niccolo Ammaniti - I'm not Scared - Excellent contemporary writer with a novel dealing with abduction and childhood
(good film) or The Crossroads (Come Dio Comanda), a bleak and complex novel about the underbelly of contemporary Italy
(not so good film)
• And for a bit more fun.. Any of the Commissario Montalbano detective novels by Andrea Camilleri (must be read in
translation as written in a sort of sicilianised Italian.)
I guess one should also recommend a history of Italy. I have come across two promising ones: (1) by George Holmes called
The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy. (2) The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, its Regions and their Peoples by David
Gilmour, both written by people who know Italy well. There is also A Concise History of Italy by Christopher Duggan which
looks promising too. There is of course the classic Modern Italy: A Political History by Denis Mack Smith - one for a historian.
•Albert Hourani, A history of the Arab peoples (Faber)