Oxbridge Interview / The Cambridge interview / Modern and Medieval Languages
Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages interview: the written assessment, then the conversation
Two applicants per place, but everyone sits a written assessment in the language before the December interview, and one of your two essays must be in a language you'll study.
Updated September 2026Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages had 2 applications per place in the 2025 cycle and accepted 135. Every college sets the MML admissions assessment, on 19 November 2026: a discursive response in the foreign language (40 minutes) and one in English (20 minutes), with a specification and past paper published. You also submit two pieces of recent school writing, one in a language you intend to study. All students study two languages, one of which can be learnt from scratch (except French), and the course ranges from Italian Renaissance art to contemporary Brazilian cinema, with linguistics options. Interviews are run by the college assessing you: main period 7 to 18 December 2026, online or in person depending on the college, most applicants having one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour with two or three interviewers. Cambridge says it assesses your understanding of the subject, readiness for high-level study, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm. In MML interviews you should expect to use the language you already study and to discuss reading or culture, though Cambridge does not publish a fixed format.
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS.
Merra: practise it out loud before it counts
Merra's Cambridge MML practice is a spoken mock in English in the college-interview style: five questions about reading, culture and language, one follow-up each, about fifteen minutes, then spoken feedback and a written report. It does not assess your foreign language or replicate the written assessment.
- 1Sign up free — no card, 2 free coaching sessions available until used.
- 2Practise out loud — answer unseen discussion questions with an AI tutor.
- 3Get readiness feedback — see how you reasoned and how you handled the push, with a recording and transcript.
No card details required. Your first 2 coaching sessions are free.
Practise an Cambridge-style Modern and Medieval Languages interview
An AI tutor asks an unseen discussion question out loud, pushes once with a follow-up, then moves on — the same shape as the real thing, minus the science problems on paper.
Practise an Cambridge-style Modern and Medieval Languages interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscriptionHow this interview works
- 1Submit two pieces of recent school written work, one in a language you intend to study at Cambridge.
- 2Sit the MML admissions assessment on 19 November 2026 at every college: discursive response in the foreign language (40 minutes) and in English (20 minutes). Specification and past paper are on Cambridge's college assessments page.
- 3Invitations mostly in November. Main interview period 7 to 18 December 2026 (Jesus interviews UK-based MML applicants in person); winter pool mid to late January.
- 4One or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour, two or three interviewers; you may be given material to read beforehand.
- 5Expect discussion of your reading and interest in the culture, and some use of the language you have studied. Cambridge assesses understanding, readiness, critical thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm.
- 6Outcomes 27 January 2027.
Interview questions
Cambridge does not publish interview questions for this course. The questions below are Merra practice questions written to the course as Cambridge describes it and to what Cambridge says interviews assess; they are not Cambridge's. Merra runs in English and does not test your foreign language.
“Tell me about something you've read in the language, however short. What did the language let the writer do that English wouldn't?”
“What's one thing about the country's culture you only understand because of its language?”
“Why do languages have grammatical gender? What would we lose or gain without it?”
“Give me a word or phrase from your language that has no good English equivalent. What does that tell you?”
“If you're taking a second language from the beginning, why that one, and what will be hardest?”
“Is a language a set of rules or a set of habits? Which does school teach?”
“What's a text, film or song in your language you'd want to write about at university?”
“Why two languages together rather than one, and why Cambridge's mix of literature and linguistics?”
Pricing
FAQs
How competitive is Cambridge MML?
In the 2025 cycle there were 2 applications per place and 135 students were accepted.
Is there an admissions assessment for MML?
Yes, at all colleges, on 19 November 2026: a 40-minute discursive response in the foreign language and a 20-minute one in English. You do not register in advance.
What written work is required?
Two recent examples of school writing, one in a language you intend to study at Cambridge.
Do I need to have studied both languages?
No. All students study two languages, and one can be learnt from scratch, except French.
When is the MML interview?
Main period 7 to 18 December 2026, one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour; format depends on the college (Jesus interviews UK-based MML applicants in person).
Official information
For the official course page and admissions details.
More Oxbridge interview guides
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS. Merra’s feedback is advisory only — it is not a guarantee of any offer or admission outcome.
The Oxbridge interview is spoken. Practise it that way.
Your first mock takes about 15 minutes: an unseen question, a follow-up, and feedback on how you reasoned. Free, no card.
Practise an Cambridge-style Modern and Medieval Languages interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscription