<p>Hi, I'd like to know which language is used during the interview. I live in France, so let's say that I have an interview in my city, the interviewer should speak french fluently because I don't think that Harvard or any college send somebody in each country to meet all the applicants. to sum up, would he speak french or would he rather speak english ?
Don't worry, using English isn't a problem anymore to me (at least I can express myself) but I think it could be easier to be charismatic and represent at best his real personality with his native language.</p>
<p>Most likely, as you live in France, your interviewer will speak French when contacting you. However, during your interview, they may speak English to gauge your fluency. Be prepared to speak both languages.</p>
<p>Strangely enough, it doesn’t address this in the handbook. With that said, I feel like the expectation is that the interview be conducted in English. When I used to work doing information sessions, I remember on more than one occasion that the officer would be explicit about Harvard being an institution functioning in English and the expectation is that all in attendance be fluent. Perhaps, the interviewing will go on some tangents in French. All in all, I feel that an interviewer cannot assume any language other than English regardless of location.</p>
<p>I think that you should probably contact the Admissions Office and ask because no one seems to be 100% sure.
But if I was to guess I’d say he’d speak English but also understand and speak French fluently</p>
<p>Someone else brought this up on MIT’s forum, and the answer there was that it would be 100% conducted in English because a huge part of the purpose of the interview for internationals is to ascertain whether or not you are comfortable speaking English. I don’t know what Harvard’s policy is but it’s probably similar.</p>
<p>I would assume it will primarily be in English for the reason stated above. If you are French and a realistic Harvard applicant, it should be easy for you to switch if necessary.</p>