In 1724, a donation by George I was intended to provide teaching in French and German to train future diplomats, but the scheme soon failed.
The matching second building was designed to house lecture rooms and libraries for the study of European languages, and is now the Taylor Institution.
[12] The Chair of the Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature (held in conjunction with a Fellowship at All Souls College) was established in 1918 after a donation of £25,000 by Sir Basil Zaharoff.
[citation needed] The Sub-Faculty of French has ongoing links with other Oxford-based institutions, notably the Maison Française d'Oxford (MFO) and the Voltaire Foundation.
[citation needed] Some notable past members of the Sub-Faculty of French include: There are two chairs associated with German studies.
[citation needed] Notable past members of the Sub-Faculty of Modern Greek[18] include Professor Elizabeth Jeffreys.
[citation needed] The Sub-Faculty of Italian[19] has strong links with the main research network at Oxford for scholars working on any aspect of Italy.
It has maintained its position as one of the top departments of Spanish in the UK, with 60% of its research output being classed as internationally excellent or world-leading in the 2008 RAE.
[citation needed] The King Alfonso XIII Chair of Spanish Studies, held in conjunction with a Fellowship at Exeter College, was endowed in 1927 by a donation from Lord Nuffield and others.
A number of Spanish writers have been teachers in the Sub-faculty; these include Jorge Guillén from 1929 to 31, Dámaso Alonso from 1931 to 1933, José Angel Valente from 1955 to 1958, Vicente Molina Foix from 1976 to 1979, Félix de Azúa from 1979 to 1981 and Javier Marías from 1983 to 1985.
[24] Some notable past members of the Spanish Sub-faculty include: The Jesus Professorship of Celtic was the first chair to be established in the Faculty, in 1877 with John Rhys as the first professor.
While most teaching takes place in the different colleges of the university, lectures are generally held in the Taylor Institution or Taylorian, where the modern languages library is situated.
degree includes a compulsory year abroad, spent either enrolled at a university or with paid or volunteer work in a foreign country where the target language is spoken.
Dorothy L. Sayers (Classics and Modern Languages, Somerville), novelist John Sturrock (French and Spanish), commissioning editor and journalist for the TLS and LRB.
Emma Walmsley (Classics and Modern Languages, Christ Church), CEO of GlaxoSmithKline Marina Warner DBE, FRSL, FBA (French and Italian, Lady Margaret Hall), writer and cultural historian Susie Dent (Modern Languages, Somerville), lexicographer, etymologist, author and presenter of Countdown and post-watershed spinoff 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown