MFL

[loobylou44]

Daughter has decided that she's like to do French, which she's doing at a-level, and Russian at university. She has a career goal in mind and these languages would enable her to do it.

Has anyone got any experience of French/Russian and can share their experience of the university they went to?

Or can anyone suggest which universities to look at. There are so many that she's a bit overwhelmed with choice.

I did MFL at uni and the main difference then and I believe now is the focus on literature or language. Many established unis favour literature, so if that's not her thing, look carefully. Language-focused MFL degrees are more likely to be found at a uni like Bradford (in my day).

Other than that, the usual caveats - campus or city uni? Close to home or far flung? London? Scotland? Big city, small city, small town? RG or not fussed? These factors will all narrow it a lot. No use applying to Loughborough if you want a big city vibe. Sheffield will not suit if you want a self-contained campus.

DS applied to Cambridge, Bristol, Newcastle, UCL and another one which for life of me I can’t remember now for MFL. He wasn’t very literature focussed but was interested in linguistics/culture. He’s currently on a gap year.

Waves to @Tenpastseven

What are your dd’s predicted grades? She could look at Bristol, Leeds, Oxbridge, Exeter, Sheffield, Southampton, UCL, Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews. Those were all on dd’s list at some point and she’s now in her first year at uni studying German and beginners’ Russian. Enjoying it, but finding the Russian b**y hard! German is split equally between language and literature, but Russian is focussed only on language until after the year abroad. Some courses offer modules in film, linguistics, translation or medieval language, so choice of course will depend on what your dd is interested in, as well as the location of the uni and her grades. What career is she interested in pursuing? Does one particular uni link to it more than others?

I went to Leeds where MFL was very strong with large departments and generally lots of options for modules (I was specifically attracted to the non-literature routes).
It was definitely also possible to study a third language as an elective.

I meant to say in my post OP that I studied MFL at Bristol. Not French or Russian but lots of friends did one or both of those (Russian ab initio).

Bristol is worth a look for sure - I would say it is not for everyone as it is not a campus and is very sprawling across the city.

Waves back at @NiamCinnOir. How’s your DD getting on? Enjoying college life?

Thanks for that list. DS’s 5th was Exeter.

Thanks for the replies. She wants to work for the government as an analyst. She is more interested in the linguistic side rather than literature etc.
Ideally I think she'd like a smaller city and somewhere at least 2 hours away from home! That rules out much of the North.
She quite likes the look of Bath at the moment but I'm not sure how they are placed for MFL.

Also waves at @Tenpastseven 😊

Ds is at Bristol studying Spanish (post a level) and Russian (ab initio). He’s loving it. The Russian is hard (surprise surprise) but he is really enjoying it.
He loves Bristol life (possibly a little too much 😳) and has made some lovely friends.

I studied French a level and Russian gsce, then went on to study Russian at Birmingham (although ab initio as the gsce wasn't quite enough to go into the post a-level group). At the time of my degree, Birmingham was top 3 for Russian but not sure where it is now! She doesn't need to do a MFL degree - she could just do French / Russian joint honours.

I'm currently a civil servant (although i no longer use my Russian). I could hazard a guess at the type of "analyst" she might be interested in and she will need a very high level of language if that is the case. But just as an option, there are lots of civil service jobs where having a language can be really useful, without being an analyst.

Generally, my advice would be to look carefully at the course content. Some of the courses i looked at were literature heavy. At Birmingham, literature was an option but the focus was more on politics, economics etc, which i was much more interested in and in hindsight, more helpful for my career. Outside of the language clases, i mixed my Russian history, politics and economics classes with modules on central and eastern european history, some modules on the european union and some international relations modules, which were really interesting. I also did a year of polish too.

Birmingham is a campus university so although its a big city, you don't feel it at the uni, as you are almost entirely based around the campus in Edgbaston, which is lovely and green, and most students live in Selly Oak, which is 5mins walk from the uni.

My DD1 did MFL at Bristol. French was one but not Russian. She enjoyed the courses. She had so many options it would be difficult to be disappointed or not set up for the job you want.

Bristol can be compact for a student! It really depends where you live. The MFL dept is in Clifton and there are halls there too. Second year houses are also in this area so the university is not really spread out. Certainly not all across the city. You can definitely be at the university in a few minutes after falling out of bed!

It’s a brilliant place to study snd the determined student will do well. My DD didn’t use her languages after leaving but has a career that’s hard to get and pays very well, so she’s happy!

DD is at Newcastle and has a couple of friends studying MFL there. The MFL department is very highly regarded and both of her friends are happy there.

I’ve heard Newcastle is well regarded for MFL too, but I don’t think they offer Russian.

Lots of the universities have reduced the languages they offer. You really do have to check each university for language and possible options.

Bigger cities may offer more opportunities to meet native speakers to practise her chosen languages. Also worth finding out where the year abroad opportunities are. If she really want to spend time in Paris or St Petersburg, say, then important to find out if there are links there rather than Marseilles or Moscow

Not French, but a friend's daughter is currently studying German and (beginner) Russian at Exeter. She's very much enjoying it and looking forward to her year abroad, which will be spent in Russia.

Birmingham offers Russian ab initio and it can be done with French. DS is in his first year at Birmingham doing MFL and he is loving it.

Newcastle is great too - DS dithered for quite a long time between Birmingham and Newcastle for his first choice but Birmingham edged it in the end.