Modern Languages University of Oxford

Overview

Modern Languages have been taught at the University of Oxford since 1724. The faculty is one of the largest in the country, with a total intake of more than 250 students a year (including joint courses). Undergraduate students have access to the Taylor Institution Library, the biggest research library in Britain devoted to modern languages, and the University’s central library the Bodleian, as well as many online resources. The University’s well-equipped Language Centre has resources specifically tailored to the needs of Modern Language students.

Language is at the centre of the Oxford course, making up around 50% of both first-year and final examinations. The course aims to teach spoken fluency in colloquial and more formal situations, as well as the ability to write essays in the foreign language, and the ability to translate into and out of the foreign language with accuracy and sensitivity to a range of vocabulary, styles and registers. You will also develop your reading skills to a high level.

The study of literature gives you an understanding of other cultures that cannot be acquired solely through learning the language. It leads you into areas such as gender studies, popular culture, theatre, aesthetics, anthropology, art history, ethics, history, philosophy, politics, psychology and theology, developing your skills as a critical reader, writer and thinker.

Careers

Oxford aims to produce world-class linguists and the skills gained and fostered by studying languages at degree level are much-prized by employers. Their knowledge and transferable skills ensure that modern linguists are amongst the most sought-after graduates in Britain. 

Employers value Modern Languages graduates because they are competent in one or two languages, have acquired a range of transferable skills and have first-hand experience of other cultures. Amongst the careers successfully followed by modern linguists are: journalism, the Civil and Diplomatic Services, education, environmental and development work and the law.