MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)

What is the MLAT?
How do I register and book?
Test preparation and practice materials
When do I take the test?
What should I expect on test day?
How do I get my results?

2025 MLAT test date: 24 October

What is the MLAT?

If you are applying for one of the following courses you will be required to sit the MLAT as part of the admissions process:

The Modern Languages Admissions Test is a computer-based test made up of 10 sections. Each language section consists of 20 multiple choice questions, and 10 English-translation questions. The sections you take depends on which course you are applying for. You can find out which elements you need to sit using the tables on this page.

There are eight individual sections for each of the following languages:

Czech
French
German
Italian
Modern Greek
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish

The other two sections are:

the Language Aptitude Test (LAT), for those applying for Russian on its own or as a beginner, and courses with Polish;
the Philosophy test, for those applying for Philosophy and Modern Languages.

Please note that there is no longer a Linguistics test section in the MLAT.

Candidates will need to take a maximum of two sections. You can find out which elements you need to sit using the tables on this page.

The Philosophy section lasts 60 minutes while each other section is 30 minutes.

You will need to arrange to take the MLAT at a Pearson VUE authorised test centre. Instructions on how to do this can be found under the How do I register and book? tab on this page.

How do I register and book?

Step 1: Check out our comprehensive guidance

Depending on whether you will be requesting access arrangements, please start by reading our guidance for candidates:

We also strongly recommend that you watch the corresponding 'Registering for and booking your admissions test' video, which you can find below.

Step 2: Register for your test – 18 June to 19 September (6pm BST)

Any time between 18 June and 19 September (6pm BST), go to the Oxford Admissions Test Registration portal and follow the instructions to create your own user account profile and register for your test. It will be easier to do this if you know your course code, which you can find on your chosen course page.

Note: you will be asked for your UCAS ID and you will not be able to register without it. So long as you have started a UCAS application, you will have a UCAS ID number. You do not have to submit your application to receive this. Your UCAS ID is a mandatory part of registration because otherwise we will not be able to match your test registration and booking with your UCAS application to Oxford.

As part of registration, you will be able to request access arrangements so long as you are able to upload sufficient evidence from a medical or educational specialist to support this request. You must upload this at the time of registering. Should you not have evidence, please delay registration until you have suitable documented evidence of the arrangement/s you require. Read our Admissions Test Access Arrangement Policy carefully to ensure your evidence is suitable.

If you require access arrangements, we strongly recommend that you register and submit your evidence for approval as soon as possible. It can take five days for standard arrangements and more than ten days for non-standard arrangements to be approved. Getting the approval in place will mean that you are able to book your test early and ideally as soon as booking opens on 18 August.

For all candidates, the final registration step is to review a summary page where you must check and confirm all the information you have entered is correct.

Step 3: Book your test – 18 August (1pm BST) to 26 September (6pm BST)

All registered candidates (including those with some approved standard access arrangements such as extra time) will be able to book their test from 18 August (1pm BST) until 26 September (6pm BST). From this time, a link will be available on your Oxford Admissions Test Registration portal dashboard directing you to Pearson VUE’s test booking platform. Places at test centres are allocated on a first come, first served basis and we strongly recommend booking as soon as possible.

If you have an approved further access arrangement for certain physical access arrangements, for example, a separate room, reader/recorder, screen overlays, or an adjustable workstation, you will have been sent a link to a Pearson VUE form. Once you have completed and returned it, Pearson VUE will contact you to finalise a booking.

If you have an approved non-standard access arrangement, Pearson VUE will create an implementation plan for you and will contact you directly to book your test.

Note: Once you have selected the date of your test, Pearson VUE’s Find a test centre functionality will automatically suggest centres near to the address associated with your user account. If you know that you will be taking your test away from home, you can override the default suggestions and enter another location to search.

If there are multiple sittings at your chosen test centre, you will be invited to select the time you want to book your appointment. It is very important that you scroll to the bottom of the booking page and confirm your test details. Once you have pressed the button, you will be taken to the Pearson VUE dashboard where you will see all the details of your arranged test. You will also receive an email from Pearson VUE giving the date, appointment time and duration, the test centre address and directions.

Registering for and booking your Oxford admissions test video

0:00 Introduction
1:00 Overview
2:52 Registering for your test
5:18 Booking your test appointment
7:20 Further guidance and support

Read the video transcript.

Registering for and booking your Oxford admissions test with access arrangements video

0:00 Introduction
1:04 Overview
3:13 Registering for your test
4:48 Requesting access arrangements
8:04 Booking your test appointment
10:45 Further guidance and support

Read the video transcript.

Additional support

View our FAQs or contact Oxford through the 'messages' option available on the Oxford Admissions Test Registration portal.

You can also contact us through Oxford’s undergraduate applicant helpdesk with questions regarding your Oxford application.

Contact Pearson VUE customer service with queries about your test centre booking.

You can make changes to your test appointment by signing in to your Oxford Admissions Test user account and selecting 'Manage appointment'.

Test preparation and practice materials

The MLAT practice test offers you valuable preparation for your test. It allows you to familiarise yourself with the online test platform and format for 2026-entry. Please note that as this is for practice only, you will not be able to submit this for a score or feedback after taking the test.

MLAT practice test

View the solutions for this test:

Please note that although the Philosophy (PhilAT) practice test is accessed via a separate link below, in your actual test the Philosophy test (taken by applicants for Philosophy and Modern Languages) will appear as a section within the MLAT.

PhilAT practice test

View the MLAT video transcript.

Read the video transcript.

In the meantime, candidates can view the past papers and resources below to get a sense of the types of questions asked in the test. Please note that although the exact format of this year's test may differ slightly from these materials, working through past papers will still be very valuable preparation.

Past papers and additional guidance and resources

Please note that there is no longer a Linguistics test section in the MLAT. Candidates applying for courses including Linguistics should ignore this section of the 2019 and earlier past papers.

In 2025, candidates will not be asked to translate from English into their chosen language(s). Language sections now consist of 20 multiple choice questions, and 10 into English translation questions.

The University does not endorse, or allow use of, its tests that are protected by copyright for commercial use.

MLAT and LAT solutions

The following are solutions to some recent MLAT papers and some older versions of the Language Aptitude Test, which you can use to mark your own answers, or ask your teacher to refer to them.

The University does not endorse, or allow use of, its tests that are protected by copyright for commercial use.

Language Aptitude Test

If you are applying for our Russian course or a course with Beginner's Russian or Polish, you will need to take the Language Aptitude Test (LAT). This section of the MLAT takes 30 minutes and is designed to assess your aptitude for taking up a new language.

The test involves an imaginary language (a new one is invented for the test each year), and invites you to identify and apply the patterns and rules which govern this language.

At the start of the test you may be given some information about the imaginary language, such as the importance of word order. You will be provided with a number of sample sentences written in the language, alongside their translations into English, which illustrate the vocabulary and grammar of this imaginary language. Your task is then to translate a couple of further sentences from the imaginary language into English, and then a couple more sentences from English back into the imaginary language.

After you have completed these tasks with the first set of sentences, you will be asked to do similar tasks with other sets of sentences of increasing complexity (for example, you may need to shift from present to past tense, or establish differences between positive and negative statements).

Tutors will not be expecting a perfect score, but are interested to see how you respond to an unfamiliar set of vocabulary and grammatical rules, whether you can spot patterns, and whether you can apply the rules which you have deduced from the ways the imaginary language seems to work.

Because the imaginary language and its rules differ each year, we recommend that you have a go at one or two of the sample tests available online, simply to practise completing the exercise (understanding the nature of the tasks, getting used to the timing etc.). None of the specific grammatical knowledge you gain from understanding one imaginary language will help you with the next one!

What are we looking for?

We are assessing your attentiveness to the ways languages work: to the ways grammatical concepts shape words; to the different patterns you can discern in a language, even if you are not familiar with it; to the distinction between different parts of speech (nouns or verbs, for example) and how these parts of speech interrelate; and to the features that can identify differences between elements in various sentences. You should pay close attention to variations in spelling, to the functions of each word within a particular sentence, and to the ways each word conveys meaning with its different component parts.

Philosophy Test (PhilAT)

The 60-minute Philosophy Test is designed to test a candidate's philosophical reasoning skills. There is no expectation that you will have undertaken any formal study of philosophy, and it is not a test of philosophical knowledge.

You will normally be asked to undertake a comprehension exercise and write a short essay or answer a structured question. Tutors are looking for the use of precise and careful reasoning to answer the question asked, and particularly answers which anticipate and are able to answer objections to the reasoning given. You should avoid stating an opinion without evidence or argument to support it.

The following information, written by an Oxford tutor, outlines the different types of questions you will come across in the test and discusses ways to approach them.

Answers to past papers:

The University does not endorse, or allow use of, its tests that are protected by copyright for commercial use.

When do I take the test?

Candidates will take the MLAT at Pearson VUE test centres on 24 October 2025.

What should I expect on test day?

You will be taking your admissions test at a Pearson VUE test centre and we advise that you read Pearson VUE's guidance on what to expect on your test day. This includes information on:

Reschedule and cancellation policies
Pearson VUE test centre management
ID requirements
Candidate rules
Test centre check-in procedures
Personal belongings (including information on note taking)
In the test room
Breaks

We also recommend watching the below videos which take you through the test day process.

Read the Video 1 transcript.

Read the Video 2 transcript.

00:00 - Introduction
01:26 - Ear defenders and earplugs
02:03 - Extra time
02:45 - Rest breaks
03:37 - Beverages
04:15 - Separate test room
04:55 - Separate test room and snacks
05:10 - Glucose monitors
06:18 - Overlays

How do I get my results?

Admissions tutors will receive the results of all candidates' tests directly and in time to make their shortlisting decisions in November.

Test scores will be automatically distributed to all applicants after college decision letters are sent in January. Applicants will still be able to write to their college to request feedback.

MLAT (Modern Languages Admissions Test)

2025 MLAT test date: 24 October

What is the MLAT?

How do I register and book?

Step 1: Check out our comprehensive guidance

Step 2: Register for your test – 18 June to 19 September (6pm BST)

Step 3: Book your test – 18 August (1pm BST) to 26 September (6pm BST)

Registering for and booking your Oxford admissions test video