(gentle music)
- I chose to study Modern
and Medieval Languages at Cambridge
because I really enjoy languages.
- I've actually studied German, Spanish, Dutch, and Polish
in my time here.
- So I studied French and Spanish at school,
and I loved them so it seemed like a natural progression.
- The experience that you will get from this course,
whilst learning languages is absolutely fantastic.
- The course in Modern Languages at Cambridge
is a course that lasts four years,
and the third of which is spent abroad,
and the year abroad is a compulsory,
essential part of the course.
- The degree involves initially
choosing two languages to study.
Both might be post A Level or one might be from scratch.
As the course progresses, students have the capacity
to kind of shape their degree as they wish.
- You can do film, you can do novels,
you can do linguistics.
There's also language classes and translation,
and the first year in particular is really, really varied.
- After the first year they can start to specialise
their interests towards one language or the other,
including on the year abroad.
And then in their final year some students
choose to specialise entirely in one of their two languages.
(gentle music)
- My favourite experience probably has to be the year abroad
because that's when your languages
are brought to life for you.
- I spent my year working for a publishing house in Germany.
- I was working in Paris for five months,
I was working for a sailing company,
and then I was studying in Spain for eight months.
- And many of our students really relish that opportunity
to go and study or work in different parts of the world,
not just in Europe in our near neighbours,
but also travelling to Latin America or Russia,
even Africa as well.
- So the different modes of teaching include lectures,
small group teaching, one-on-one supervisions,
and seminar-style teaching,
which is often used for languages.
- They get to really practise their languages,
doing translation work, doing essay work.
As well as that, students have supervision work.
- The idea with supervision is really
to give the space and the time to students to ask questions,
develop ideas, and work really in depth.
- You have your Director of Studies,
and you have regular meetings with them
as well as your personal tutor.
And there's also faculty reps who you can talk to
if you have any issues about
how the course is being convened.
- I can talk to any of my teachers,
to the lecturers, and then that leads into the supervisors
who will always answer any of your questions.
- The students all really support each other as well.
It's a really cohesive and friendly environment.
- When it comes to the weekends I do need to let off
a bit of steam so I spend a lot of time playing football.
- I also sing in chapel choir,
so I find that a really good way to relieve stress
and really good for friendships as well.
- The beauty of this course is its variation,
which means that you can go in pretty much
any direction you choose.
- Marketing, law, finance, art.
- Journalism, consulting, and the civil service.
- Personally, I would like to work in the field
of international relations.
- I think I'm gonna do a qualification
to become an interpreter so I can use my languages
on a daily basis.
(upbeat music)
- So I think we're looking for a number of things
in prospective applicants.
One would be a real enthusiasm for the subject.
- The interviews are kind of modelled on supervisions.
So the interviewers are trying to find out what you know.
They're not trying to trip you up.
- Once you get in the flow of talking to someone,
that academics do make you feel more comfortable,
and you start to enjoy it, I promise (laughing).
- We're looking for someone who is inquisitive,
has initiative, and is open minded about new ideas.
- It was definitely
the best decision that I ever made.
- You'll have the best four years
of your life here at Cambridge.
- It's such an enjoyable experience.
(light music)