Languages - Reviews of Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA) | Netherlands

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marianne_reber

Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Munich, Germany
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: Dutch

Was learning Dutch a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Dutch

How much did you improve your Dutch?

My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

In general, there were no major problems as all Dutch people speak English very well which helped when I did not know how to express myself in Dutch. The bad thing about it was that people could get impatient when you kept trying speaking Dutch while it would have been easier to communicate in English

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artdecoring

Haverford College, Haverford, United States
Linguistics, Graduate, Independent

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

No, it wasn't.

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

In Amsterdam, everyone speaks english... almost to a fault. I think it is important to learn dutch, that way, one can from real relationships with the local people. In general, I'm more comfortable when i can understand what's going on around me, read the paper and listen to the radio.

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conni

Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Language, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my English

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Basic phrases

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

Although I had already studied english language abroad, studying english and american literature at the University of Amsterdam was fundamental for my writing skills. We used to write up to four papers a week, and when I was back home I had no difficulties in writing my thesis.

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Stephanie S

University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
Political Science, Undergraduate, University Agreement

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Was learning English a key decision factor?

No, it wasn't.

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

In my host country, I have taken courses both in English and French and I have found them equally direct and informative. There is also the opportunity to take second (or third, fourth, etc.) languages and I believe these classes were very well organised.

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isis p

Université Panthéon-Sorbonne: Paris I, Paris, France
Banking, Graduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: English

Local language was: Different than language of instruction

Was learning English a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my English

Was learning the local language a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my the local language

How much did you improve your English?

My level before: At ease in most situations
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: Basic phrases

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

something amazing about the Netherlands (or at least Amsterdam) is that everybody there is fluent (almost biligual) in English, even the people working in the street or in the supermarkets. So you can do everything with English. The drawback is that you're not prompted to learn Dutch...

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claudia s

Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Munich, Germany
Literature, Undergraduate, Erasmus

Languages

Language of instruction: Dutch

Was learning Dutch a key decision factor?

Yes, I wanted to improve my Dutch

How much did you improve your Dutch?

My level before: Did not speak it
My level after: At ease in most situations

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

You have to force the Dutch not to speak english to You, because they tend to switch to english quite quickly;but if they see that you really are interested in learning dutch, they help you and encourage you in any possipble way.

Universiteit van Amsterdam (UVA)

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