Modern Languages Day at the University of Cambridge

Four of our Year 11 Linguists were invited to Girton College on 16 October to find out about studying Modern Languages at Cambridge, where students study two languages. Students can choose to take a new language from scratch as their second language and the exciting options including Arabic, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Russian or Classical Latin/Greek. A language plus History is also possible. As the number of A Level candidates in Languages nationally continues to decline, studying Languages at Oxbridge presents a wonderful opportunity for our students. Our alumna Sophia has just gone up to Cambridge to read Spanish and Italian ab initio and Rosie to Oxford to read French and Russian ab initio.

Below are the reports from our students who were inspired by what they learnt.

What I learnt at Girton’s Languages Taster Day

Mercredi dernier, j’ai eu de la chance car j’ai assisté à Girton College, Cambridge, pour écouter à des conférences et parler avec des élèves à l’université. Après avoir voyagé en train avec mes camarades, rencontrer les autres, qui est passionnant aux environs des langues, était très amusant et intéressant! Pour commencer le jour, on a essayé de traduire des poèmes écrits en anglais du 13ème siècle dans différentes langues, comme français, espagnol et allemand. Je suis allée dans une classe à propos du cinéma français et j’ai discuté du système d’école en France avec d’autres élèves. Bien sûr, on a visité l’incontournable Lawrence Gallery musée dans l’université où on a trouvé une momie égyptienne! Je pense qu’aller au Girton était très utile pour moi, particulièrement parler avec des élèves qui ont déjà étudié à Girton, parce que je pensais à propos de ce que je vais étudier à l’université et maintenant, étudier MML ou peut-être le francais avec une autre matière comme l’histoire est une option que j’aimerais! J’ai l’intention d’y postuler à Cambridge.

Last Wednesday, I was lucky because I attended Girton College, Cambridge, to listen to lectures and talk with students at the university. After having travelled by train with my classmates, meeting others who are passionate about languages was very fun and interesting! To start the day, we tried to translate poems written in 13th century English into different languages, such as French, Spanish and german. I went to a class about french cinema and I discussed the french school system with the other students. Of course, we visited the unmissable Lawrence Gallery museum in the university where we found an Egyptian mummy! I think that going to Girton was very useful for me, especially talking with students who already study there, because I have been thinking about what I want to study at university, and now, studying MML or maybe French with another subject like history is an option I would love! I plan to apply there at Cambridge.

Darcy

Τον Οκτώβριο, το Girton College διοργάνωσε μια ημέρα γλωσσικής γευσιγνωσίας για μαθητές λυκείου από όλη τη χώρα, ώστε να ζήσουν μια μέρα από τη ζωή ενός φοιτητή που σπουδάζει γλώσσες ή γλωσσολογία.

Το πρωί, ξεκινήσαμε ακούγοντας από τους καθηγητές εισαγωγής για την τεράστια ποικιλία μαθημάτων και επιλογών για χρόνια στο εξωτερικό που προσφέρει το Cambridge. Στη συνέχεια, λάβαμε μέρος σε ένα εργαστήριο μετάφρασης όπου εξερευνήσαμε την ελευθερία της διερμηνείας για να μεταφέρουμε διαφορετικές αισθήσεις και συναισθήματα. Επικεντρωθήκαμε ιδιαίτερα σε ένα ποίημα γραμμένο σε παλαιότερα αγγλικά, μεταφρασμένο σε γλώσσες όπως τα ισπανικά, τα γαλλικά και τα γερμανικά. Στη συνέχεια, ο καθένας μας επέλεξε εργαστήρια πολιτισμού: στο μάθημα των γαλλικών, συζητήσαμε την ταινία Divines, και την απεικόνιση της ταυτότητας και της ανισότητας στο σημερινό Παρίσι. Μετά το μεσημεριανό γεύμα, είχαμε την ευκαιρία να δούμε το Lawrence Room, το οποίο στεγάζει μια συλλογή αρχαίων αντικειμένων, κυρίως μια ρωμαϊκή μούμια του πρώτου αιώνα. Τέλος, συμμετείχαμε σε ένα γλωσσικό εργαστήριο, όπου έμαθα ιταλικές λέξεις και φράσεις για καθημερινή συζήτηση. Χάρηκα πολύ που μίλησα με τους σημερινούς φοιτητές και το προσωπικό, οι οποίοι ήταν πραγματικά φιλόξενοι.

In October, Girton College organised a language taster day for high school students from across the country to experience a day in the life of a student pursuing a degree in languages or linguistic-related fields.

In the morning, we started by hearing from admissions tutors about the huge range of courses and options for years abroad offered at Cambridge. Next, we took part in a translation workshop where we explored the freedom of interpretation to convey different sensations and emotions. We focused in particular on a poem written in older English, translated into languages such as Spanish, French and German. Then we each chose culture workshops: in French class, we discussed the film Divines, and its depiction of identity and inequality in today’s Paris. After lunch we had the opportunity to see the Lawrence Room, which houses a collection of ancient artefacts, most notably a first century Roman mummy. Finally, we participated in a language workshop, where I learned Italian words and phrases for everyday conversation. I really enjoyed talking to the current students and staff, who were really welcoming.

Siana

El 16 de octubre, cuatro lingüistas fuimos invitados al Girton College de Cambridge para participar en unos cursos para aprender nuevas lenguas. Hice un curso de cultura rusa y alemana, ambos muy interesantes. Me gustó especialmente la introducción al ruso porque fue una experiencia completamente nueva para mí. En alemán, nos presentaron un poema y lo analizamos y lo que significaba. Yo no había estudiado alemán antes, así que estaba un poco nerviosa, ¡pero al final lo disfruté mucho! Además, durante la comida, tuvimos la oportunidad de visitar el museo de Girton, y vimos la momia de Girton, ¡que se llama Hermione! También tuvimos conferencias sobre el estudio de un idioma en la universidad, y la posibilidad de pasar un año en el extranjero. En general, fue una experiencia muy útil que disfrutamos mucho. Gracias, Sra. Pavlopoulos: ¡lo pasamos muy bien!

On October 16, four linguists were invited to Girton College in Cambridge to participate in courses to learn new languages. I took a course in Russian and German culture, both of which were very interesting. I especially liked the introduction to Russian because it was a completely new experience for me. In German, we were introduced to a poem and we analysed it and what it meant. I hadn’t studied German before, so I was a bit nervous, but in the end I really enjoyed it! Also, during lunch, we had the opportunity to visit the Girton museum, and we saw the Girton mummy, which is called Hermione! We also had lectures about studying a language at university, and the possibility of spending a year abroad. Overall, it was a very useful experience that we enjoyed very much. Thank you, Mrs. Pavlopoulos: we had a great time!

Alexa

Una giornata bellissima

La giornata è iniziata con un’introduzione al Girton College, parlando con i professori dei diversi corsi di lingua che si possono seguire a Cambridge e conoscendo altri studenti. In seguito, siamo passati al seminario culturale, dove ho appreso della rivoluzione messicana e ho intrapreso un’interessante discussione su come l’arte e la cultura possano essere rivoluzionarie. Poi è arrivata l’ora di pranzo! Innanzitutto, abbiamo esplorato gli splendidi giardini che il college ha da offrire, poi chiacchierato con molti studenti e infine, visitato il museo del college, che comprende molti rari manufatti romani e anglosassoni. Più tardi, ho intrapreso il corso di russo iniziale, dove abbiamo acquisito familiarità con l’alfabeto russo e scoperto tutti i fantastici viaggi che Cambridge ha da offrire. La giornata si è conclusa con una sessione di domande e risposte, e un’introduzione alla vita a Oxbridge, particolarmente sulle differenze tra questo sistema e le altre università inglesi. Nel complesso, è stata una giornata impegnativa ma davvero divertente; ho imparato molto di più sulla vita universitaria e su come le lingue possono influenzare la carriera. Vorrei tanto ringraziare Ms. Pavlopoulos per aver organizzato questa fantastica opportunità!

Carlotta