The Academic Language Programme (ALP) offers courses, workshops and coaching on academic English and Dutch. Students looking to improve their grammar, writing, pronunciation or presentation skills can choose between group sessions or individual coaching. For international students, there are courses for learning Dutch.
Courses
Academic English
- Pronunciation: improve your English pronunciation
- Academic Writing in English: learn to write better academic texts in English (for master students)
- Advanced Writing Tutorial: continuation of the Academic Writing in English course
Academic Dutch
- Academic Dutch Plus: improve your Dutch language and writing skills
Writing Centre
The ALP Writing Centre offers support to bachelor’s and master’s students who are writing essays or a thesis, in English or Dutch.
Workshops (Writing Weeks)
A few times a year, the ALP organizes a Writing Week. During this week, we offer several short workshops (1 hour and 45 minutes) in groups of a maximum of 20 participants. Each workshop focuses on a specific topic that is relevant for writing texts in English and/or Dutch. Here are some examples of the topics that we address:
- How do I create a logical structure in my text?
- What is an appropriate style of writing for academic texts?
- What can I do when I get stuck during the process of writing?
The Writing Weeks also include so-called Shut Up & Write! sessions, where you can work on your own texts in the company of other students while also getting some tips from a writing coach. Read more about the Writing Weeks.
The workshops take place on campus. Do you want to know when the next Writing Week takes place and which workshops will be offered? Sign up for our mailing list by sending an email to alp.sgw@vu.nl.
Individual coaching sessions about your thesis
Writing a thesis or dissertation is a challenging task. If you ‘get stuck’ or cannot see the way ahead, it can be useful to talk to an experienced writing coach. The focus in the coaching sessions is not on the content of the thesis, but on the writing tasks or specific language problems. Coaching sessions take place on campus. Read more about coaching for thesis.
Minor English
Do you want to learn even more about the English language? The department of Language, Literature and Communication offers a university minor in English (30 EC), which looks at the role of English in an international context, and in particular in an academic context. In addition, you can improve your English writing and speaking skills. You can also take the writing and pronunciation courses separately. For more information, see vu.nl/en/education/minor.
Dutch for international students
The VU-NT2 department offers courses for international students who want to learn Dutch as a second language.