Education Research Current Organisation and Cooperation NL
Login as
Prospective student Student Employee
Bachelor Master VU for Professionals
Student Desk Exchange programme VU Graduate Winter School Honours programme VU-NT2 Semester in Amsterdam
PhD at VU Amsterdam Research highlights Prizes and distinctions
Research institutes Our scientists Research Impact Support Portal Creating impact
News Events calendar Energy in transition
Israël and Palestinian regions Women at the top Culture on campus
Practical matters Mission and core values Entrepreneurship on VU Campus
Organisation Partnerships Alumni University Library Working at VU Amsterdam
Sorry! De informatie die je zoekt, is enkel beschikbaar in het Engels.
This programme is saved in My Study Choice.
Something went wrong with processing the request.
Something went wrong with processing the request.

'You can't just grab information from Wikipedia anymore'

Nils studied CIS: Language and Mind
'In secondary school, I was good at French and German, but I didn't want to choose a specific language yet. That's when I started looking at linguistics in general.'

Nils found it a great advantage that at VU he had six months before he had to choose a final direction. 'This introduced me to other communication subjects. In the end, this made me know I was right for linguistics.'

English 

The study took some getting used to. 'You can no longer just grab information from Wikipedia. You have to read articles and that is quite a challenge. Initially, I also found it difficult to do everything in English. Fortunately, almost everyone struggled with that, so that was not a problem either.'

Contact with lecturers was good. 'If you were worried about something, it was no problem to go to the lecturer, which is more difficult when you are on a course with 600 others.'

Mentorship

Nils was also active alongside his studies. He was on the board of the study association, was a mentor of first-year students and twice supervised a Pre University Masterclass for high school students. 'You get a lot out of that, and not just academically.'

His thesis was on heritage languages. Languages that people learn at birth but that are not the dominant language of society. For example, people who speak Turkish at home, but otherwise only Dutch, and how the dominant language then influences the grammar of Turkish. That was very interesting.'

Future

By now, Nils knows he wants to become a German teacher, which is not possible at the VU. He is now studying in Leiden. 'Thanks to the bachelor's subjects, I can do the premaster here and I don't have to start all over again.'

Initially, I afound it difficult to do everything in English. Fortunately, almost everyone struggled with that, so that was not a problem either.'

Quick links

Homepage Culture on campus VU Sports Centre Dashboard

Study

Academic calendar Study guide Timetable Canvas

Featured

VUfonds VU Magazine Ad Valvas

About VU

Contact us Working at VU Amsterdam Faculties Divisions
Privacy Disclaimer Veiligheid Webcolofon Cookies Webarchief

Copyright © 2024 - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam