What is it Like to Study French at Oxford University?

If you’re considering studying French at Oxford, expect an intense, literature-heavy course, a demanding workload (often 1–2 essays per week), and a year abroad that is largely self-directed. Here’s exactly what it is like, based on my experience as a French sole student.

I’ve found that over the years, more and more people who follow my blog and, indeed, people who know me in real life ask me what is it like to study French at Oxford University.

While everyone’s university experience is slightly different, there are some clear patterns in how the course works and what you can expect.

For context, I was a French sole student at Oxford, meaning I only studied one language, but two is the norm.

This doesn’t mean I got away with only doing half the work; it just means that I did more French literature than the average Modern Languages student.

Where others had languages classes for say Spanish or Italian, I ended up studying French linguistics and Medieval French translation.

To give you a clear picture, I’ve broken this post down into four key areas:

• How is the course structured?
• What is the course content?
• What is the workload like?
• What did I wish I knew before?

How is the French course structured at Oxford?

First of all, all Modern Language degrees at Oxford span over four years and typically the third year is spent abroad in a foreign country.

First Year: The Foundations

The content that you study in first year introduces you to a wide variety of different authors and genres of literature.

The set texts will vary year to year, but you can expect to study Racine, Balzac and Beckett to name a few.

If you study French sole at Oxford, you’ll study additional modules of French Cinema, French Philosophy and French Literary Theory alongside the literature texts.

At the end of the first year, all students sit prelims, which you must pass in order to continue to second year, however, these grades do not count towards your final grade in fourth year.

This year is self-contained, so to speak, so you will not be examined on these texts again and can largely forget about them.

Second Year: The Most Underestimated Year

In second year of French at Oxford, you will choose the modules for the rest of your degree. What you learn in second year is examined in fourth year, so it is vital that you treat this year as seriously as your last.

However, as this is year is not examined, most people see this as the “best” year of the degree (myself included).

It’s very easy to forget that you’re going to need the notes/knowledge you are working on in second year, two years later at the end of fourth year, which is something that came back to bite me in the butt later on.

Third Year: Year Abroad

Third year of French at Oxford is the year abroad, which is your chance to really improve your language skills.

There are many different options for what to do and where to go during this year, and I believe that the year abroad at Oxford is more flexible than at other universities because it is basically entirely organised yourself.

Popular choices include: teaching English, work experience or study.

Fourth Year: Finals

After your year abroad, it’s time to get back to the real world and sit those dreaded finals.

As I said, the content you learn in second year is examined at the end of fourth year, so forward thinkers (i.e. not me) spend the lead-up to fourth year going over what they learned in second year.

The first term of fourth year is usually spent learning more content, much the same as any term of your second year. For most people, the second term is the “thesis” term.

Linguists don’t write theses in the same way that History or English students do, but most people tend to use this term to prepare a piece of work of around 8000 words.

Lastly, comes finals term.

The worst term of any Oxford Student’s time at university. For many Oxonians, the most stressful time of their life.

Seriously, I’ve lost count of the number of Oxford grads who have told me that nothing is worse than finals so it’s only up from here.

Modern Linguists usually sit exams in 5th and 6th week, which gives you a decent amount of time to prepare and plenty of time for fun when finals are over.

What is the French course content?

One of the most important things to know is that the Modern Language degrees at Oxford are very, very literature-heavy.

We don’t study any culture or history modules, and I’d even say that language classes are somewhat neglected (something that always surprises people!).

Obviously, studying only one language, I had fewer language classes, but on the whole, I think most Mod Langs students would agree that literature is pretty much the sole focus of your degree until the year abroad.

I found that although there were weekly language classes, they were not afforded anywhere near the same importance as literature tutorials, and it is very much up to you to make sure that your language skills are maintained throughout your degree.

I wrote a separate post here detailing all the books I read for my fourth and final year of French at Oxford University, which should give a good idea of the number and the types of books you can study. You can check out my top recommendations for French classics here, too.

What is the workload at Oxford University like?

Workload at Oxford (Quick Summary):

• 1–2 literature essays per week
• 3–4 books per essay
• Weekly language work
• Optional lectures (4–10 hours/week)

This is the question I am asked most often and the one I struggle most to answer.

Everybody’s experience will be different depending on what sort of person they are and how hardworking they are, but there is no doubt that a huge amount of work is required at Oxford, no matter what subject you study.

The biggest problem that linguists seem to have is finding the time to get through all the set texts before term has begun.

Oxford terms are only 8 weeks long, meaning we have very intense, short terms.

This also means we get a lot of “vacation” time, but this time should be used to read the texts for next term and is not much of a holiday if you’re a hard worker.

If you don’t manage to read the texts before term starts, you end up having to try to skim-read them during the week, which is when you also need to be reading critical texts, writing your essays and doing your language work.

It can all be a bit overwhelming if you haven’t managed your time correctly (speaking from experience here, wah).

Read more about the number of books I read during my fourth year here.

In my first year of French at Oxford, I think around 3 literature essays every two weeks would be normal.

Language work varies from college to college (more about choosing an Oxford college here), but I had about three or four hours of language classes every two weeks and would have to do grammar exercises on a weekly basis, as well as vocab learning and essays in French.

There are also daily lectures, which you are advised, but not obliged, to attend.

In second/fourth year, the amount of work you do each term will be determined by the order in which you study your papers, which can depend on when different tutors are available.

I had a very unbalanced second year doing 12 literature essays in term one and two and 8 literature essays in term three (remember terms are only eight weeks long…).

On top of this, I had a French essay to do every two weeks as well as general vocab learning and language work.

In fourth year, you’ll get even more speaking classes and listening comprehension prep as finals draw closer.

Also, each student probably had around 4-10 hours of lectures to attend each week, but these are optional.

In short, I think it would be fair to say that most people had 1-2 literature essays a week (for which you would have to read maybe 3-4 books and several works by critics).

Then you had a whole load of language work on top of that, including 1000-1500 word French essays on topics such as the representation of war, whether comic books should be considered an art and more.

What I struggled with in the final year was that there was lots of language work that required you to have excellent language skills, but there were no longer grammar classes that actually made sure you had those skills.

It really is up to you to make sure that your language skills are constantly being honed and perfected, something that a lot of linguists forget until finals loom.

What no one tells you about studying French at Oxford

Looking back, these are the things that weren’t obvious to me before applying, and would have been really helpful to know!

• It’s closer to an English Literature degree than a language degree.
  Most of your time is spent analysing texts, not actively learning to speak French.
• Keeping up matters more than understanding everything perfectly.
  The pace is so fast that falling behind is far more of a problem than finding something difficult.
• Your language progress is largely self-driven.
  There comes a point where you’re expected to perform at a high level without much structured teaching.
• The year abroad is very independent.
  You have a lot of freedom, but very little hand-holding.
• Being “good at French” isn’t enough on its own.
  Strong essay-writing and critical thinking skills are just as important, if not more so. My English Pre-U qualification was the most helpful thing in preparing for this.

I hope that this will help anyone thinking of applying to see whether the Modern Languages course at Oxford really is for them or not.

It is a very tough university environment that certainly isn’t for everyone, but if you’re passionate about your subject and not adverse to hard work, then applying to Oxford is definitely something I’d recommend.

You get to meet and learn from the experts in their fields and get a lot more contact time than you would at any other university.

I loved only studying French at Oxford, and it means that now I’ve covered pretty much every period of French literary history and think I have a broad, though by no means extensive, knowledge of French literature.

For more posts about my time at Oxford, check out these Oxford University blog posts:
8 Do’s and Don’ts When Choosing an Oxford College
How Many Books Did I Read For My French Degree At Oxford University?
10 Reasons to Apply to Christ Church, Oxford
My Oxford Interview for Modern Languages
10 Most Beautiful Colleges at Oxford University
Inside 8 of Oxford University’s Most Beautiful Libraries