Cambridge Linguistics: Tips & Questions for Interview

This article will give you a better idea of what to expect in your Cambridge Linguistics interview – including previously asked questions to interviews with current students!

What is the Cambridge Linguistics interview structure?

Most candidates have two interviews that each last around 15-20 minutes in length. Some colleges give five minutes at the end of interviews to allow candidates to chat with student volunteers.
Candidates have prior notice, with most getting an interview timetable, along with who will be interviewing them.
Interviews take place in December.

Example Past Questions from Cambridge Linguistics interviews

General questions:

• Why do you want to study Linguistics at Cambridge?
• Questions on why I talked about X in personal statement 
• What is it about Linguistics that most excites you?
• What skills would make you suited to be a successful student at Cambridge?
• Why this college?
• Why Cambridge University?
• What can you contribute to college life?
• Discussion on my EPQ topic (if done)
• What did you do in your gap year?
• Discussion of my plans for study and career
• Why is Linguistics worth studying?
• Why is the course structured the way it is?
• Why should we give you an offer to study Linguistics at Cambridge?
• Summarise a book mentioned in my personal statement and my opinion of it

Cambridge Linguistics interview questions:

First Interview:

• My first interview was based on my personal statement, focusing on the languages I had mentioned, especially concerning the books I had read. Most of the questions seemed to be gauging how well you can think on your foot about something you weren’t expecting to answer.
• My interview started with a few questions about my personal statement and the implications of the opening sentence I had written in it. We then talked about linguistic theory, focusing on a particular area in detail
• In my first interview, Cambridge Linguistics tutors asked questions on my personal statement. They also gave me words to look at and discussed them concerning key ideas from linguistics. The discussions had an emphasis on phonetics-oriented questions (this was the interviewer’s area of focus)

Second Interview:

• My second interview included a morphological problem in an unfamiliar language, paired with a semantic/pragmatic discussion of a few sample sentences.
• The interview started by asking some basic introductory questions (such as why the course and university), moving on to questions on language acquisition. We focused on this topic for a while – the interviewer kept asking follow-up questions to any answer I gave.
• The tutors posed as someone learning English. They gave me a simple sentence, and asked me to explain to them how to change the word order to change it into a question. I generated rules as to how to change the phrasing, and for each one. The tutor gave an example of a different sentence to which the rule would not apply, and I had to reevaluate the rules I’d given to adapt to this.
• The tutors gave me a list of words or phrases in an uncommon language I was unfamiliar with, with translations of each word or phrase in English beside. The tutor asked me to pick apart these words to identify different morphemes, and what these morphemes may correlate to in English, for example, the equivalent of ‘he’ or ‘walked’ or a past tense conjugation. They asked me to use the deductions I’d made to translate a given sentence from English to the language they’d given.
• They then asked me to draw comparisons between different romance languages such as Latin and Spanish, and how I might go about teaching someone who knows one language, the other. The tutor asked me to discuss how language changes over time, and to comment on whether I thought this was a good thing or not.

What can I expect on the day of my Cambridge Linguistics interview?

I had two interviews, one with St Hugh’s College and one with Somerville college. Both interviews were online due to the pandemic.
I had a link to a meeting on Microsoft Teams before each interview, and logged on 5 minutes before it was due to start, and someone invited me into the meeting at my allocated time. At the beginning of my interview with St Hugh’s, I was introduced immediately to two tutors, who began the interview. However, with Somerville, I was first introduced to two student volunteers who welcomed me and put me at ease. They answered any questions I had, before leaving and allowing the tutors to join for the real interview to begin.

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What do you have to bring to your Cambridge Linguistics interview?

I had a pen and notepad on the table beside me, but didn’t need it. I wore a simple outfit that looked smart but not too formal, was comfortable, and wouldn’t distract me during the interview. Make sure to have a bottle of water nearby too!

When are Cambridge Linguistics interviews held?

According to Cambridge University, interviews typically occur during the first three weeks of December, with a few candidates interviewing in January. Admissions tutors interview candidates over a period of 2-3 days, but if you get pooled for another round of interviews then this period could be even longer.

I heard back on the 15th January, roughly 1 month after my interview that took place mid December.

What if my technology cuts out during the interview?

The interviewers will be used to technology not always working perfectly so do not worry – your interview score will not be affected. Try to remain calm, fix the issue yourself, and notify someone as soon as possible if the issue persists. 

What are the Cambridge Linguistics interviewers like?

My interview experience was very positive. Some of the tutors were more openly kind than others, while some kept quieter and were harder to read their reactions to what I said. There were some questions around the information in my application, for example noticing that I had done GCSE Spanish and using this to initiate discussion about language comparisons.

The interview felt less like a typical interview, and more of an interesting conversation between 2-3 people passionate about their subject! The interviewers just wanted to know more about me and my motivations for studying Linguistics!

Tips for the Cambridge Linguistics interview

1. Get prepared at least 15-30 minutes before the interview starts. Make sure you have good lighting, good connection, and have found the links you need.
2. I had a glass of water beside me, turned my phone off entirely. I ensured there were no other distractions around.
3. Make sure to sleep enough the night before, so you feel lively and refreshed. It can be easy to lose sleep due to stress, but the event should be fun not stressful.
4. Read around your subject. Explore areas outside of the curriculum. They want to see that your love for the subject goes beyond the classroom.
5. Consider alternative perspectives to what you may already know or have learnt about. Understand how your views could be contradicted or challenged. Be open-minded and willing to change your opinions based on new information. Read texts and articles critically. How do they phrase their arguments to achieve their end goal, whether by persuasion, providing information, or sparking discussion?
6. Discuss relevant topics with friends, and get used to talking about your subject. Sounding familiar with what you’re talking about will help you to feel less awkward.
7. Spend time going through your daily life considering the impacts of speech on your interactions. Are there differences in the ways you communicate with different groups of people? How do you adapt your language accordingly?
8. Treat the interview as a discussion, more than an interview. It’s an opportunity for you to chat to some of the most renowned specialists in your field about a subject you both care deeply about. It should also be a unique learning opportunity for you to listen to them speak about the subject too!

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