Jan Nedermeijer
New online Dutch course for international students. 09 August 2017. Website Leiden University
Asking the way to the beach in Scheveningen or buying cheese on the market in Leiden. With the new online Dutch & More language course, prospective international students can get to know Dutch in a Leiden setting. The online course is available for international students at Leiden University and starts twice a year in June and December.
The Dutch language course Dutch & More is a small private online course (SPOC), specially developed by Leiden University for international students who will be coming here to study in September. The SPOC consists of five lessons, each on a different theme. The course uses standard language learning elements such as vocabulary, grammar and sentence formation, and gives students the opportunity to get to know the Dutch language in an accessible and fun way. The lessons are based on realistic scenarios from the life of an international student at Leiden University. The market in Leiden, a student house and the beach at Scheveningen all feature in the film.
The Dutch & More SPOC has been developed by the Academic Language Centre and the Online Learning Lab at Leiden's Centre for Innovation. International students have played a large part in the making of the SPOC. The lead role in the course is taken by Jill, from Ireland. She came to Leiden seven years ago as an exchange student and is still living here today. It's Jill in the photo at the top of this article, buying flowers on the market in Leiden.
Trailer SPOC Dutch & More - online Dutch language course
By following Dutch & More, international students can get to know a bit about the Dutch language before they come to study at Leiden University, as well as taking a peek at student life in Leiden and The Hague. Students who complete the SPOC successfully will receive a substantial reduction on the cost of the Dutch 1B course at the Academic Language Centre. Leiden University hopes that this will be an incentive for students to learn Dutch.
International students and the University
Every year around 4,000 international students and PhD candidates study at Leiden University. Although they can generally get by in the Netherlands by using English, the University encourages them to learn the basics of Dutch because this will help them find their way better in the Netherlands and give them even more opportunities to get the most out of their student life. The International Student Barometer (ISB), a survey held among international students, also indicated that international students are very interested in learning Dutch.
Want to know more?
All prospective international students will receive an email with the access data for the SPOC Dutch & More. Once they have completed the SPOC successfully, they can register for the Dutch 1B course at Leiden's Academic Language Centre for just 75 euros. Read more about the Dutch & More SPOC. Current international students can also sign up for the SPOC.
See also the (Dutch) article in Transfer van Nuffic (blz 26)