The summer course in Dutch language, culture and profession by the Union for the Dutch Language is a good supplement to the Dutch courses being taken at an academic level by students abroad. This course gives foreign students a chance to visit the Dutch-language area during their studies.
Introduction
The Union for the Dutch Language (Nederlandse Taalunie) is a Dutch-Flemish organisation set up in 1980 by treaty between the Netherlands and Belgium. The Taalunie promotes and finances projects relating to the Dutch language, literature, education and culture, both in and outside the Dutch-language area.
The summer course by the Taalunie is aimed at advanced students of Dutch wishing to spend a short period in the Netherlands or Flanders.
Most of the costs for the course are covered by the Union for the Dutch Language. Participants must pay a course fee of 200 Euros and cover their own travel expenses.
The course is held in Ghent (University of Ghent). The programme covers the entire Low Countries.
Target group and admission criteria
During the selection process for the course, we take the following criteria into account:
- Participants must have a command of Dutch at an advanced level. This means that the student can at least speak, read and write Dutch at advanced B1 (B1 Plus) level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages concerning learning foreign languages (CEFR);
- The university students have to be non-native speakers of Dutch who do not live in the Dutch-language area. These students have to study Dutch as a major or a minor subject, as BA or MA studies, or as another subject with Dutch as a major component (official proof must be submitted for the latter);
- Participants must be at least 18 years old and not older than 35;
- Participants have already passed one of the exams for a Certificate in Dutch as a Foreign Language, e.g. the one for the Certificaat Maatschappelijk Formeel (the former Certificaat Maatschappelijke Taalvaardigheid), which is comparable to the B1 level of the CEFR. For more information on these certificates, please have a look at: www.cnavt.org
Candidates will be selected by a selection committee. The course can accommodate approximately 120 participants.
Certificate
Participants who have completed the course will receive a certificate of attendance from the Taalunie.
More information?
More information about the summer course and about how to apply can be found on the page of the summer course (information in Dutch).
Dutch courses at other institutions
For more information on summer courses that are organised by other organisations,
please have a look at:
- Language centres at universities in the Netherlands and in Flanders;
- Our page with other courses in the Netherlands and Flanders (this includes distance
learning and independent study);
- Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) within the Dutch language area.
Questions
If you have any questions, please contact Jo Sterckx at jsterckx@taalunie.org.
Want to know more?
If you want to know more about the Nederlandse Taalunie? Please click here.