15 November 2024
This academic year, we are revamping the online ALP tools for writing and language skills. The aim is to make this writing and language support (NL/EN) easy to find for all teachers and students.
With the help of funding from the VU Language Policy, we are transforming the ALP website into an online platform for all our information and tools. The tools for Dutch, including the Dutch Academic Phrasebank, have been updated and are available with a new look. The tools for English, as well as new materials about general academic skills, will follow soon.
Which online tools are on the updated ALP website?
- The feedback website NLS Online, with extensive information on common language and writing problems in Dutch, has been updated and is now available with a new layout. The same applies to the Dutch Academic Phrasebank, the Dutch version of the popular Manchester Academic Phrasebank.
- The update of the feedback website ELS-Online, with extensive information on common language and writing problems in English, will also be available soon.
- We are also expanding the information on academic communication skills, and making online modules available for students who want to work independently to improve their skills in academic Dutch and English.
- For teachers, we offer tools to support students in developing their skills.
Development of new tools
In the coming months, new tools and information will be added to the website:
- Information on academic skills other than academic writing, such as critical evaluation of argumentation and structuring texts.
- Writing tools for students - including AI tools - that are on the market, with ‘reviews’ of their value.
- Students will also soon be able to work directly online on their Dutch skills. They will find self-study modules on sentence structure, building good paragraphs and using verb tenses, and Self-tests on their vocabulary. They can also use online tools such as Digirevisie that allow them to get automatic feedback on their texts. Similar tools will also become available for English.
- Teachers who want to support their students will soon find tools to correct student texts on the use of English or Dutch, thanks to a more user-friendly version of the ALP feedback systems. In addition, we bring together various tips and tricks in an orderly manner, for example on how to create good writing assignments in the age of AI, and on teaching writing skills.
We expect to have the revamped ALP website available in spring 2025.