The Hague University (HHS)

Morocco is a bi-lingual country (French, Arabic)where languages are taught everywhere (specialised centers, university). In Holland, it is pretty the same. It is a small country that makes big impressions thanks to the openess of its people towards people, cultures and languages (most of the Dutch speak English, French, Italian, German...!!). When I came first to Holland, my English was not bad though very formal. After meeting other people from different countries such as Great Britain, USA, Sweden as well as watching movies in English etc my spoken and written English improved very much. Now, I am happy to declare myself almost trilingual!

I did learn Dutch as a part of my course, and found this challenging. This was due to the fact that the majority of Dutch people use English, therefore there were not that many opportunities for me to practice. However, I did try to use common courtesies in most situations, in the native language. I did not find communication a barrier at all. The fact that I lived with other foreign students also exposed me to other languages which I enjoyed. I had studied French at school and so living with some French students allowed me to improve. I have also taken up French lessons upon my return to Australia.

As the course was taught in English, I chose a Dutch class and Dutch Culture class so I could be able to ommunicate in the Netherlands albeit basic Dutch but it made me feel attached to the Netherlands and to understand the history/culture behind the country.

Nearly everyone speaks really good English in Holland (in big cities for sure), so you really needn't Dutch, but at least understanding it and knowing a few words helps, e.g. if you'd like to go to a sports/dance club etc. English was no problem for me, we speak it at home university + I'd studied in the States

The first days I was really shy and couldn't say a word. And after a few weeks I strated to be really at ease with my international friends. After a few months I was thinking and dreaming in English !

I had pretty good English as I study in English in my home university in Russia. Now I feel I have improved it a lot and can support all the topics. Moreover,I have greately improved my Spanish as i have a lot of Spanish friends and I admire Spanish language.