Free Interview Resources
Free practice questions, preparation advice, and expert insights for Modern and Medieval Languages interviews at Cambridge.
Real Modern and Medieval Languages interview questions in the style Cambridge asks. Try answering each one aloud before you reveal the hint.
After reading a passage arguing that humans are already technology-assisted "cyborgs", identify the main argument and decide whether you accept it.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
In the same technology-and-humanity passage, which rhetorical choices make the argument persuasive or unpersuasive?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
After reading a passage on nations, states and identity, explain how the author distinguishes a nation from a state.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Using the nation-and-state passage, explain how examples such as language, religion, land and national symbols shape the author's argument.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
After reading a passage on invented languages, assess whether constructed languages should be understood as art, cultural world-building or linguistic experiment.
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Supervision-style interviews with problem-solving and academic discussion, often with two interviewers.
Cambridge interviews usually happen at your first-choice college. Most applicants have two interviews, with some subjects requiring a third at the pooled college. Cambridge interviews tend to involve two interviewers and may include a written assessment or pre-interview task sent on the day.
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
In a passage about changing phone etiquette, how does the writer use contrast between old and new forms of communication?
How would you define language in a way that includes grammar, culture and social use?
Should poetry require effort from its reader, or is difficulty a failure of communication?
Apart from length, what separates a short story from a novel?
What makes a piece of writing feel poetic rather than merely descriptive?
When does a novel, film or play become political?
Why might studying French still matter in a world where English is used so widely?
What evidence would you use to compare Spain and Latin America without relying on stereotypes?
How could you compare a French newspaper such as Le Monde with an English broadsheet using language, audience and political context?
What kinds of historical or cultural evidence might explain why some languages have stronger opera traditions than others?
What is lost when a poem, joke or idiom is translated, and what evidence would show that something has also been gained?
If a universal language became normal, what would be gained and what cultural losses might follow?
If you had to send three objects to explain "French culture" to people with no prior contact, what would you choose and why?
Why do you want to study a languages degree that includes literature, film, history, thought and linguistics rather than language acquisition alone?
Which text, film or cultural topic in your personal statement would you most like to discuss in a supervision, and why?
You mention interest in a country's culture: how is its historical development visible in one work of literature, cinema, art or music you have studied?
If you are applying for an ab initio language, what have you done to understand the literature, culture or history of that language area before studying the language formally?
Should learners avoid offensive words in a new language, or must they understand them to understand the culture fully?
Can a book be immoral, or is moral judgement the wrong way to evaluate literature?
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Practice with a Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages graduate who's been through it.
Book Mock Interview →Watch & Learn
Applicant-facing overview of the course from Cambridge students and staff.
Subject webinar format is useful for understanding the course and admissions process from a College perspective.
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Further Reading
by David Bellos
A strong bridge into translation, meaning and cross-cultural understanding, useful for MML discussion beyond grammar.
by Guy Deutscher
Useful for applicants interested in how language, perception and culture interact.
by David Lodge
Accessible preparation for discussing narrative technique and close reading in literary interviews.
by Jhumpa Lahiri
A personal and literary exploration of living and writing in another language, especially useful for Italian or translation interests.
by Brian Nelson
A compact route into French literary periods and genres for applicants wanting to contextualise texts.
by University of Cambridge HE+
Cambridge-designed subject exploration, including useful links and activities for sixth-form applicants.
by Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics
Shows the academic breadth of languages, culture, literature, film, philosophy and linguistics.
by University of Cambridge Undergraduate Study
The most direct preparation source for the written assessment and its marking priorities.
by University of Cambridge Undergraduate Study
Provides authentic practice in the passage-based response format.
by School of Advanced Study, University of London
Useful for broadening language-area knowledge across French, German, Hispanic and Italian studies.