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

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Marta K

Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland
Business Studies, 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: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Basic phrases
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

it's HARD to learn Dutch here - because even if you try to speak it, the Dutch reply in English (almost everyone speaks it here - if you don't speak Dutch you can only have problems in the suburbs/poorer districts - where the immigrants live - they do not ALWAYS speak English)

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Daniel B

New York University, New York City, United States
Financial Management, Undergraduate, University Agreement

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: Did not speak it

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

it's sad to say-but there was no need to learn dutch-everyone speaks english, and all of the other international students only had a common language of english, plus dutch is IMPOSSIBLE to learn and they would speak english back at you if you tried to speak dutch

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scraffi40

Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Educational Psychology, Graduate, Erasmus

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: Basic phrases

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

My overall language and commnication experience was pretty well. I hadn´t to much problems. Is easy to communicate in english en Netherlands and I learned a little Dutch when I was working in a restaurant.

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Sushil A

University of Baguio, Baguio, Nepal
Computer Science / IT, Graduate, Independent

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: Did not speak it
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

well, here in amsterdam everyone speaks english and the courses are given in english so had noproblem with the language (local) may be thats why i am not learning dutch( local language) i guess

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Filippo B

Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
Economics, 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

The Netherlands are great! Everybody can speak english and so that it's easy to communicate with the others. Also TV programs and movies at the Cinema are in English so that you can practice the language in every situations.

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Christine B

Rheinisch Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Aachen, Germany
Psychology and Behavioural Sciences, 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: No problems in any areas (including slang)
My level after: No problems in any areas (including slang)

How much did you improve your the local language?

My level before: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)
My level after: Everyday knowledge (shopping, directions, etc.)

Language difficulties

Social

Educational

Administrative / Institutional

Overall

Personal comments

The Dutch speak English very well. This made communicating easy. It made it difficult though to learn Dutch. They hardly give you an opportunity to speak it. They always continue speaking English even if you ask for it...

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