About You and your language study: widen your horizons

If you are thinking about your future and how language study will open more doors to you where career or degree options are concerned, it is never too early to plan ahead. Here are some things you can do.

Following up your personal interests in language(s)

You may have come to Cambridge with a language skill you simply do not wish to lose, for personal reasons or enjoyment, or perhaps there is a language that you have always wanted to study. Perhaps you have a "heritage language" spoken by members of your family that you wish to develop or improve, or maybe you want to travel to a particular part of the world where you would like to be able to speak the language. Whatever your reasons, we are keen to offer as many avenues as possible for enjoying your language.

Your access to CULP courses and/or tailoring your planning to your specific situation, supported by an Adviser, will help you to achieve your ambitions.

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Planning for your career and future employability

When developing a language as an integral part of your skillset, it is useful to be aware of what employers need. A simple way to do this is to keep up with languages in the news. To demonstrate an understanding of the specific information employers require about your proficiency, compile a Languages Passport to accompany your CV. It only takes a few minutes but is essential for communicating what your language skills really are. Any courses or self-study should go into this document.

The University Council of Modern Languages signposts articles on languages for enhanced employability.

The Careers Service website with Raven login offers information on using languages at work and your career options. Book an appointment with the languages Adviser to have a personal conversation about your interests.

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Furthering your language learning for academic purposes

• Might you need to read material in your field that is written in another language?
• Do you need to access an archive or conduct fieldwork in another country?
• Is there a research team overseas with whom you would like to collaborate?
• Or are you a non-native speaker of English studying or researching at Cambridge?
  

Many students and staff members in Cambridge pursue language learning for these reasons.

Through our CULP, ADTIS, Access to our Learning Centre, the John Trim Centre (JTC) and Advising activities, we offer support for our specialist academic areas.

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If at this stage you are considering pursuing language study as your main degree subject(s), further information on undergraduate and postgraduate courses can be found at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages or the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.