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Modern and Medieval Languages

Fellows

• Dr Stuart Davis (Spanish) (Director of Studies)
• Dr Gabriele Natali (Italian) (Director of Studies)
• Dr Fionnuala Sinclair (French) (Director of Studies)

Details and statistics

• Number of students admitted per year (average over 2008-2010): 8
• Entry requirements: an A level in at least one modern language
• Typical offer: A*AA

  Candidates are not expected to sit STEP or AEA papers. A typical conditional offer would be A*AA at A2 level. One of the A2-level subjects must be one of the languages that you wish to study at Cambridge.  A2-level subjects which are useful for an MML degree at Cambridge include History, English Literature or Language, ancient languages and Philosophy, but these are not required and we have many successful candidates with other combinations of A2 subjects, including mathematics and science subjects.

• Interview arrangements: usually 2 interviews; candidates may expect that a part of the interviews will be conducted in the foreign language(s) currently being studied. Candidates take a written language aptitude paper which tests their ability to write in the foreign language and to think about an English text. Both interviews are wide-ranging: as well as exploring the candidate’s aptitude in the spoken foreign language, the candidate’s knowledge of set texts or topics may be addressed. It is equally likely, starting from the basis of their knowledge of these set texts or topics, or of their interests as outlined in their personal statement, that candidates will be expected to put forward and discuss their ideas on wide-ranging cultural issues relating to politics, sociology, the arts and sciences, philosophy, linguistics, current affairs etc., which may arise from them. Candidates wanting to study a language ab initio will be expected to demonstrate convincingly why they wish to do so, but no knowledge of the language is expected. The interviews are kept as informal as possible; the interviewers have no fixed agenda except in the broadest sense, they welcome candidates coming ‘as they are’, and they look for spontaneity on the part of the candidate in all aspects of the interview process. 

Brief outline of the course

The Modern and Medieval Languages Tripos is divided into two Parts.  Part I is itself divided into Part IA and Part IB, which is completed before the Year Abroad.  The fourth year is Part II.  The following languages can be studied as part of a Modern and Medieval Languages degree: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Russian.  All of them can be studied from scratch, with the exception of French.  About half of our intake at Girton each year study two languages that they have already taken at A-level, and the other half take one post A-level language and one as a beginner.  We are always willing to consider students who wish to combine one of the MML course languages with an Asian and Middle Eastern Studies or Classical Studies language.  In addition, students can learn languages such as Catalan, Portuguese, Dutch, Modern Greek, Ukranian and Neo-Latin as options in Tripos. 

In Part I all students study two languages.  In IA the focus is on language with literature or linguistics work in one paper, while in IB the choice widens to include, alongside continued language development, a wealth of papers on literature, linguistics, film and intellectual thought.  The Modern and Medieval Languages course at Cambridge is one of the most flexible and rewarding that there is.

A course guide is also available on the the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages website.

Organisation of teaching

MML students follow a combination of lectures, language classes, seminars and supervisions.   Lectures and language classes are organised by the faculty and you will find yourself taught alongside linguists from other colleges.  Supervisions are the strength of the Cambridge system as you are taught in groups of usually two or three students, ensuring you receive personal help and attention.  In addition, the university has language laboratories and computer facilities specifically for language study, whilst Girton has a large and up-to-date library stocked with nearly all the key texts and an extensive DVD film collection.

The Girton MML Department

MML at Girton is one of the larger communities of MML undergraduates at Cambridge, with typically 8 or 9 students in each year group.  Despite this size, we pride ourselves on being an informal, friendly and lively community.  The teaching staff currently consists of specialists in French, Spanish and Italian.

Dr Stuart Davis is College Lecturer in Spanish and Director of Studies for Parts 1a and 2.  He specialises in contemporary Spanish literature, film and culture.

Dr Finn Sinclair is Director of Studies for Part 1B and the Year Abroad.  She specialises in medieval French literature and society.

Dr Gabriele Natali is Senior Language Teaching Officer in the Department of Italian.  He is also the author of several collections of poetry.

Dr Laura McMahon is a Research Fellow in French.  She is a specialist in French Cinema and 20^th century literature and philosophy.  She teaches on the comparative European cinema paper.

Dr Olivier Tonneau is an assistant College Lecturer who specialises in Early Modern French thought and literature     

Also, the college has a French lectrice, for oral classes, who is a graduate from one of the top French universities. 

As far as possible, supervision teaching is undertaken by us at Girton, with assistance given by colleagues in other colleges for languages not otherwise covered.  However, to ensure that you get the best teaching you will be supervised by experts in the relevant field and, if you later develop interests in areas outside of our expertise, you will attend supervisions with carefully selected supervisors of other colleges.

Girton has a strong history in MML and as well as the current teaching staff, the college has several distinguished Life Fellows: Professor Sarah Kay (a French medievalist), Professor Melveena McKendrick (a Golden Age Hispanist) and Dr Gillian Jondorf (French early modern period). 

A typical weekly work schedule

In a typical week a IA Girton modern linguist is likely to be working on one essay or piece of written work for supervision (of roughly 1500 words), a translation piece, exercises for language classes and preparation for oral classes.   The number of contact hours can vary, depending on whether you are studying a language from scratch, but usually you can expect 3 or 4 hours of language teaching, 2 or 3 hours of lectures and 2 or 3 hours of supervisions per week.  In between these contact hours you are also expected to work on language acquisition, using computer resources or reading newspapers in the library for instance, and to read and prepare for written work.  Your Director of Studies (Dr Davis for IA) is always available to advise on managing the workload – as a matter of course you will have regular meetings to monitor progress and ensure all is well.

Applying to read MML at Girton

We look for students from all backgrounds, the only essential is that you have one modern foreign language to A-level (or equivalent) and have a passion and intellect for exploring and learning about other languages and cultures.  As noted above we welcome any combination of languages, including Classical and Oriental.

Candidates should expect a written test and two interviews at Girton.  The written test is of 45 minutes duration and comprises a passage in English with a couple of questions – your response will be roughly 250 words in a language that you wish to study here (a sample passage is available at the Faculty website).  The passage and your test response are not used during the interviews themselves.

You will be interviewed for each language that you are applying for.  In interview, as well as exploring your aptitude in the spoken foreign language, your knowledge of set texts or topics may be addressed.  If you want to study a language ab initio you will be expected to demonstrate convincingly why you wish to do so, but no knowledge of the language is expected. The interviews are kept as informal as possible; we have no fixed agenda except in the broadest sense, and we welcome candidates coming 'as they are'.

We welcome students applying to take a ‘gap year’, especially so when they will use the year to spend some time in an environment of their chosen language(s) and/or will be of use academically.