Preparing for German at University? Reading Suggestions For Your Personal Statement and Oxbridge Interviews in 2024
By Izzy (Wolfson College, Oxford University Postgraduate Scholar in the Humanities & DPhil Candidate in English)
Why Study German at University?
Learning German is hard. Reading books in German is even harder. But reading literature in the original language is not only wonderful for learning grammar, vocabulary and increasing your fluency, but it will also expand your literary horizons, essential for university applicants when it comes to curating content for your personal statement and preparing for interview. German literature, just like English literature, is a vast and multi-faceted corpus and it can be hard to know where to start. So if you want to branch out from re-watching ‘Goodbye, Lenin!’ for the fiftieth time and make sure you stand out as a German linguist and literature student, here are three books to start with.
1. Im Westen Nichts Neues by Erich Maria Remarque
This novel is famous in its English translation and movie adaptation ‘All Quiet on the Western Front.’ Published in the 1920s, it is a fictionalised autobiography of Remarque’s time as a soldier on the Western Front during WWI. It explores the damage done to an entire generation of men, traumatised and wounded by a conflict that they have lost any personal belief in. It was heavily criticised both within and outside of Germany and was one of the first books to be publicly banned and burned by the Nazi party because of its criticism of blind nationalism and the futility of war. The language is simple and clear, without the tortuous grammar and convoluted metaphors which characterises much earlier German writing, so it can easily be approached with the help of a dictionary. The writing style also provides a good snapshot of the development of realism as a narrative mode in the 20th century.
2. Die Verwandlung by Franz Kafka
Kafka’s ‘Die Verwandlung’ is both wonderfully short and wonderfully weird. It tells the story of an average middle-class salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. It is a seminal work of German and European literature, dealing with issues of bourgeois life, the individual and the family, toeing the line between the humorously mundane and dark surrealism. It is a set text for study in most German undergraduate courses at university but its brevity makes it very accessible to younger readers as well. It may be worth reading it together with a translation, as Kafka does often switch between perspectives, tones and subjects. But the vocabulary is extremely manageable and the story-telling just as captivating and strange as when it was published in 1915, so it is a worthwhile project to commit to.
3. Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink
Schlink’s novel achieved international acclaim when it was published in 1995 and was even made into a 2008 Hollywood movie starring Kate Winslet. It tells the story of a young teenage boy called Michael living in 1950s West Germany and his relationship with an older woman, Hanna, who seduces him and has him read aloud to her. Years later, Michael encounters Hanna again when she is on trial for war crimes as an SS guard. The book strikes a delicate balance between Michael’s personal development and the collective trauma, guilt and tension between wanting to forget or remember the Nazi regime. Its straightforward narrative style and language makes it popular with younger readers and it has cemented itself as a key work of modern German literature. It is an emotionally and conceptually challenging book but is very much worth the effort.
Further German Personal Statement Top Tips
Think of ways to link paragraphs, increase discussion of literary concepts and compare and contrast different writers. E.g. You could explore how authors such as Kafka, E.T.A Hoffmann and Goethe used their works to critique society through magical realism
Demonstrate you have done further reading outside of class, don’t regurgitate your A-Level/IB syllabus
Explore key literary movements to gain an understanding of some of the key themes and context e.g. In the 19th Century, the European novel turned steadily more towards realism, also called naturalism - Effi Briest in German was a landmark work in the European corpus - Theodor Fontane uses the realist literary mode to strip back romantic notions to deal with questions of marriage, adultery and female freedom (read our blog on our co-curricular division, Minds Underground, on the novel and the era here: https://www.mindsunderground.com/female-writers-thinkers/challenging-female-roles-19th-century-novels).
Make sure you give your opinion on texts/ films mentioned as this will demonstrate you can analyse texts and draw conclusions from them. Especially if interviewing, the interviewer wants to have an interesting conversation, so engaging with new ideas but also developing personal, independent thoughts on the literature that you have read and being able to stand your ground when challenged will stand you in good stead
Maybe look into aspects of literary theory that might interest you. E.g. You could research ‘Engelsian’ marxist criticism in relation to the prized German playwright, Bertolt Bretcht, who used the theatre as a forum for political ideas. Their ideas, which flourished in the 1930’s, included the need for a close reading of literature and formal analysis. They believed the language of literature has its own characteristics/effects, and that literary language makes the world seem new to us, like we’re seeing it for the first time (defamiliarisation). These critics made a distinction between reality & literature. E.g. Bertolt Brecht was most famous for his ‘alienation effect’, which drew the attention of the audience to see what was on stage was not natural reality, but a constructed literary image. For example, he might have a director on stage reading the script.
Try to show a wider awareness of the culture and politics that come with studying Modern Languages
If you are applying to Oxbridge, think about questions likely to come up in the interview relating to the personal statement
Make sure what you have cited in your personal statement is not everything you have got - have further examples to draw upon that relate to books/theorists/concepts mentioned
Take a few words or a phrase, and imagine an interviewer asking, “can you expand on that?”
Between now and the interview, role-play with yourself. What are the contentious, unclear, or unspecific points in your personal statement? What might an interviewer ask? This is very much the portion of the interview where you can take control
Looking for ideas for personal statement content/ impressive talking-points at interview?
We have built out an entire co-curricular platform, Minds Underground, for university applicants to use as evidence for their wider subject exploration. A few ideas:
Our Languages Summer School allows students to broaden their horizons in the literature of their target language (s) (we offer German, Spanish and French), to consider authors, theorists and themes. Classes are hosted by our Oxbridge-educated language tutors.
Research Projects: E.g. “A Translation and Analysis Project on The Poetry of German Writer, Rainer Maria Rilke, With a Wolfson College, Oxford, PhD Researcher” (Projects are typically a month in duration, with 5 project tutorial sessions).
Useful Resources for German Personal Statement & Oxbridge Interview Preparation
CamLangSci is an incredibly interesting blog run by graduate students working at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics in Cambridge
Cambridge HE+ Resources: Check out their resource on the language of The Brothers Grimm
Short Stories in German: New Penguin Parallel Texts: A volume of eight contemporary short stories for German students of varying abilities, aided by parallel translations
Online lectures e.g. Movement and Metamorphosis - Translating Kafka
Deutsch fur dich (Goethe Institut): Check out their culture section for articles on film, theatre and literature.
Looking for a Personal Statement Writing Tutor or Support For Your Wider Modern Foreign Languages Application?
Personal Statement
U2’s Oxbridge-educated mentors have a close insight into what admissions tutors like to see in a Modern Foreign Languages (incl. German) personal statement, and can help students to convey their skills, motivations, and long term goals, in order to stand out from other applicants. The statement should be the candidates own work, but our mentors will provide direction and guide you through the process of content building and writing. We offer offline drafting as well as tuition sessions.
Oxbridge Languages Mentoring (German)
U2 offers admissions test preparation (MLAT), as well as wider Oxbridge Mentoring programmes (book a free consultation to discuss options). We have a large team of Oxbridge-educated Languages (German) mentors including 1st Class, Master’s and PhD level graduates.
The Process:
1) We suggest an Oxbridge German graduate as a mentor and send their full CV for review. Our mentors are deeply familiar with the admissions process to study Languages at the University of Oxford and Cambridge, and are well-placed to guide you through personal statement curation, the entrance exam and interview process. We may suggest a range of application tutors to choose from with slightly differing rates depending on qualifications and level of experience.
2) We typically suggest beginning with a 1.5 hour informal assessment/ taster session, where the mentor will informally assess the student’s current performance level for application, including test and interview. Following this, we issue a report with feedback, and structure a plan to best prepare.
3) U2’s approach for regular German application sessions: The main focus of tutorial sessions will be to explore material that can be discussed in the personal statement and at interview - this may sometimes stretch from A-Level standard to First Year Undergraduate. Mentors ensure each student refines their interests within German language and literature, and is exposed to a range of linguistic approaches, literary eras and new concepts, guiding students in their reading and wider subject exploration. Together, we build a case for the student, solidifying the stance and direction they will take during interview and honing skills for the MLAT if applicable.
Frequency of sessions can be decided between student and mentor. Students can take either ad hoc sessions, or we structure a full programme for preparation, which may include further co-curricular opportunities such as our research projects, Languages summer school and Oxbridge mock interview days. Honing the skills necessary to succeed for Oxbridge ideally requires long-term preparation and mentoring presents a wonderful opportunity to learn from some of the very best Oxbridge has produced. We also provide GCSE, A-Level or IB German support if needed.
Sessions from £70/h.
