Tilburg University (KUB)

It is obvious that after one year as an Erasmus student I have improved my language and communication skills considerably. My english was good when I came to The Netherlands, but after my international study experience in this country I have no problems at all in any areas to speak in english. There are many factors that have helped me to improve my english. First of all I had all my courses in english in Tilburg University, I could learn a lot in all the classes and I had to study all the courses in english. Being surrounded by international people was also an important factor to improve my english. The Netherlands and Tilburg University have helped me to improve my communication and personal skills: I learnt more not only about english but also about other many cultures, and I am sure that all this can help me in my future professional career.

Overall, the English ability of Dutch people is excellent. In 9 months living in the Netherlands, I think I met a total of 4 or 5 people who couldn't speak English -- and they were all over 60 years old. It is hard to be motivited to learn Dutch in this environment, but my biggest regret of my stay there is that I did not put more effort into learning the language -- because it certainly would be a great skill to have, but I let that opportunity slip away.

Dutch people have a good knowledge of English which can be very helpful. The problem is that it isn't possible to hear English the whole day because Dutch is the first language in the Netherlands and so the learning effect is lower. There are a lot of exchange students in Tilburg which makes communication very interesting and after some time your explanation skills improve automatically.

In The Netherlands, although I didnt know any words of Dutch, I am really able to cope with everything easily. This is because everybody in Holland speaks English. If someone knows English, it is enough for going to The Netherlands without any problems.

Dutch people talk a perfect english. The do not ussually have stange accents, so it is a good opprtunity to improve your english. Talking about Dutch language, I can only comment that it is quite difficult for latin languages native speakers.

well actually i tried to learn some dutch languages but they all speak very good english there and the fact that i only lived with international student enable me to speak a fluent english but not even a basic dutch!