On average you should expect to spend at least double the amount of classroom time on independent study and homework.

From experience we know that the more time you invest in independent study and homework, the more you will get out of the course.

Unfortunately it is not possible to catch up on a missed lesson at another time. However, we can let you know what was covered in the lesson and what the homework for the next lesson is, so you will not fall behind. To find out what was covered in the lesson and what homework was set, please send an email to the Training Programmes department.

For the best results we recommend that you attend at least 80% of the lessons.

In the week before the start of your course you will be sent an email telling you the exact location where the course will take place. The lessons are mostly at UvA Talen itself (Roetersstraat 25, 1st and 2nd floor) or in one of the classrooms on the Roeterseiland Campus of the University of Amsterdam.

On the first day of the course, staff of UvA Talen are present at the UvA Talen offices and in all the buildings on the Roeterseiland Campus where lessons are held, to welcome you, answer any questions you may have and to show you the way to your classroom. During the other lessons you can ask the receptionist in the building to direct you to the right classroom.

Our group lessons take place at UvA Talen (Roetersstraat 25, 1st and 2nd floor) or in one of the other buildings on the Roeterseiland Campus. UvA Talen and the Roeterseiland Campus are located at just a five-minute walk from the Weesperplein tram stop and metro station (exit Valckenierstraat/Roetersstraat).
 
Our tailor-made language courses can be held anywhere in the Netherlands.

The online courses take place in our virtual classroom via Zoom. In the week before the start of your course, you will receive an email containing a link to the online lessons that you can use for the entire course.

UvA Talen uses professional teachers with many years’ experience in adult education. With several evaluation opportunities a year, we can confidently guarantee the quality of all of our teachers.

In order to safeguard the quality of our courses, UvA Talen has its own guidelines for deploying teachers.

Whether or not we choose to use a native speaker depends upon the type of course, as a native speaker is not by definition the best choice for a course at beginners’ level. For example, a Dutch person teaching French has the advantage that they have also had to learn French as a second language. This gives them a first-hand understanding of the specific problems that may arise when learning French as a foreign language.

On the other hand, there are definite advantages to using native speakers, as they know all the subtleties of their languages. A non-native speaker may equal this level, but cannot surpass it. For this reason we prefer to use native speakers for all our advanced-level courses.

Of course it is possible to take more than one course in the same period, but we strongly advise you to bear in mind the amount of independent study and homework that will be expected of you in addition to the lessons. This can be a heavy burden if you also have a job or are taking a degree programme at the same time.

We advise that you only consider taking more than one course at a time if you are willing and able to invest a lot of time and effort on improving your language proficiency in a short period of time.

UvA Talen offers intensive daytime courses lasting two or four weeks, intensive summer courses lasting two, three or four weeks and evening courses lasting ten weeks. You can take several courses consecutively to improve your language proficiency step by step.

If you choose an in-company or individual course, you can determine the length of the course yourself.

UvA Talen is closed on the following days: New Year's Day (1 January), Good Friday, Easter Monday, King's Day (27 April), Liberation Day (5 May on years ending in 0 or 5), Ascension Day (Thursday and Friday), Whit Monday and Christmas Day and Boxing Day (25 and 26 December). On Remembrance Day (4 May) there are no evening lessons.

Lessons continue as usual during school holidays.

We take public holidays into account when arranging the start and finish dates of our courses. If a lesson falls on one of these public holidays, it is cancelled and the course duration is extended accordingly. Before the start of the course you will be sent an email stating the dates on which there are no lessons.

Individual and tailor-made lessons may be planned on public holidays if required.

Quality is of great importance to us. If you are dissatisfied with a language course, it is important that you let us know as quickly as possible. You can first address your complaint or comment to your teacher, or to one of our course coordinators by telephone, email or in person. We will do all we can to comply with your wishes and will make dealing with your complaint a matter of priority.

If you have a complaint or comment during a course, it is important that you let us know as quickly as possible, so that we can for example change the course in some way or speak to the teacher. This will allow us to make sure that no time is lost and that you get as much out of the course as possible.

Please also see our complaints procedure.