Michael

Having to leave home at 6am the day after my 18th birthday to come for interviews wasn’t exactly the best start I could have had.  Nevertheless I actually quite enjoyed the experience, and not simply because I got four days off school for it.  Applying for the beginners’ Russian course meant that I had to take a test and have a faculty interview, as well as taking the standard French grammar test and having interviews with college language tutors, but while it was all very challenging, none of it was too hard to cope with.  It definitely helps to try a practice test beforehand (available on the admissions website), but don’t worry too much about them – basic revision of work done at school is usually enough.  Everyone is slightly nervous before interviews, but it’s important not to let the nerves take over.  Take a few deep breaths, and approach them with the biggest positive attitude you can.  If you intend to study a language from scratch you will be asked why you want to do so, and how you know the course is right for you, so it’s essential to have read up on the course beforehand.  For other language interviews you will probably be given a short passage to read, prepare and discuss, usually in the language concerned but occasionally in English.  Much of the Oxford language course is literature-based, so discussing short texts and your own reading is a tutor’s way of seeing whether you will benefit from the course.  It isn’t necessary for you to have read a lot of foreign books, but an open mind and the ability to think are essential.  In my interview I was asked to speak for a few minutes in French.  At school I didn’t really have much chance to develop good pronunciation, but the fact that I got a place shows that it can’t be too important.  If you are asked to go for more interviews, treat them not as a rejection (I had two but still got in to my original college) but as another chance to show what you can do.  Finally, make sure you enjoy your few days here.  They offer a chance to meet new people, take a break from school, and go home with interesting stories to tell – in my case about the interview in a tutor’s house with her two large dogs jumping on me!