UvA Talen Reviews 39

I actually completed two courses at UvA Talen, and I was very satisfied with both. The program is well-structured and the teachers are highly professional.

I don’t really understand the negative reviews I’ve seen — in my experience, the quality was excellent. Of course, the result of your language learning also depends on your own effort. You have to take the program seriously, complete the assignments, and really engage with the material. If you do that, this course can take you far.

A special mention to Philine, my teacher — she was incredibly enthusiastic, helpful, and professional. She always tried to make the lessons interesting, not just about grammar. It never felt boring. We had plenty of chances to ask questions and practice, and sometimes it even felt like a private lesson, thanks to the personal attention.

I also needed a specific certificate for official purposes, and the UvA Talen team was extremely helpful. They processed it quickly, and I’m very grateful to all the trainers who supported me.

For anyone looking for an intensive and effective Dutch course, I truly recommend UvA Talen. Excellent program, great support, and outstanding teachers.

Cheers and congratulations to the UvA Talen team for delivering such high-quality language education!

I recently finished the Dutch Beginners course, and I can honestly say that Rutger, our teacher, made me like the language more than I ever thought I would. After avoiding Dutch for over four years, he helped me see it differently. He explained the grammar in a way that actually made sense, always patient and kind. What I really appreciated was how he didn’t just teach the rules but explained why they are the way they are, which made everything click.

I’m really looking forward to being in his class again!

What a manipulative. They give me 25 % discount and when I put the discount code it gave me on 10 % discount. I contact them and they just didn't care about this shame manipulative discount. They really should be shame

With the protests going on, people wearing terrorist symbols and the type of people allowed on the campus has made this university the biggest embarrassment of the Netherlands. Dont study here, dont apply here. There are better schools.

Don't ever enroll in their dutch course. There is a dozen of other places

I sent an email regarding my complaint but they offer the most ridiculous solution: to talk to my teacher.

The course is expensive but attending the class did not level my expectation for such a prestigious University name and watching youtube or any other free class online - is way better.

Until today my complaint is not solved and I've been asking for an alternative solution but keep telling me to talk to my teacher! Seriously

Everything is in Dutch. Due to Covid, there is no one to speak to on the phone. Everything has to be in Dutch. Your class handouts will only be in Dutch. Your book is for someone who knows Dutch to learn ENGLISH. I do not understand for a language school that you just expect to teach in Dutch and have new students understand. It’s an expensive course, I would like any focus to help students learn the language they are paying for.

Also give students more than a week to get the book. It’s so last minute, half our class was missing their books. When I asked the course materials early to avoid this, I was told the course materials were only a book. I later find out that it should be the book PLUS and online subscription. Just make your course and its requirements easier for the students to succeed.

For something so expensive, there are 0 refunds the second class starts when you find the course recommended for beginners and have 0 clue what is happening in class because it’s in basically in full Dutch. The course is marketed for absolute beginners.

The first version of this review was flagged as inappropriate by UvA Talen, who complained about my use of the R-word. I guess if you aren't allowed to say it, it isn't a problem anymore? Additionally, I've also made a review with more information in a blog post. Trustpilot doesn't allow links in reviews and UvA Talen also objected to my blog being mentioned by name, so you have to look for it yourself. It should be easy to find, especially if you search using the R-word. As well as being able to see the R-word spelled out in full, every version of this Trustpilot review will be available for viewing here, together with any objections UvA Talen may have expressed.

Our German class was organized and seated according to nationality. This was from the very first day, and without any effort on the teacher's part to get to know us as people. This was followed with R-word profiling and R-word slurs along the lines of Americans are not allowed to sit together, because you know 'they talk'. Americans are not allowed to sit near each other during the test, because 'they cheat'. We discussed similarities between German and Spanish grammar, but the only student deemed to have a sufficient background in Spanish to discuss this was a Portuguese student, as there were no native Spanish speakers, and the teacher was unwilling to recognize all three Americans had studied and spoke Spanish.

This was a major distraction in our class, and continued all the way to the end of both German level 1 & 2, a total of 20 weeks of class. As well as this distraction, our class was seriously lacking in many other ways.

I complained to the administration about our final exam, which was written and scored by this same teacher. The results also seemed to follow R-word profiling. This was because those of us who were primarily on the receiving end of the teacher's slurs didn't pass. I was initially told complaining wasn't possible because I hadn't first mentioned it in my written review of the teacher, in addition I hadn't complained soon enough. This was even though I reported it within 48 hours of receiving my last exam score.

I agree with most of the negative comments from other reviewers here, especially the comment that the administration doesn't seem interested in hearing complaints. It's certainly my experience they seem more interested in procedures and preventing the use of the R-word, than any complaints anyone might have about them. The administration is however always ready with the super-sweet replies you see on the other reviews here.

I don't think any educated or intelligent person will want to take a language class here, or will appreciate how they are treated by their teacher or the administration.

I used UVA Talen for a one week full immersion one-on-one training French.
As the full immersion meant no Dutch or English all day, we made very efficient use of the week.
Their formula is: theory in the morning, excursion in the afternoon. Combined with breakfast and lunch sessions. That helped me learn new words and better grammar, as it was tied to good memories.
Before the training I did speak some French, however I was reluctant to use French in practice at work. The training helped me overcome that barrier. I must say that I learned quite a lot in only one week.

great teachers and staff. I had only two weeks to prepare for a dutch test. I have never spoken dutch before, and I pass it with maximum grade thanks to their help and tips. I strongly recommend them.

Great course and nice teachers!!!!

We followed a German course for half a year. We had Mr Dörfler as teacher. He was excellent. Our wishes changed during time and the course had been changed to our wishes. So very flexible.
Combined with grammar we learned how to make business calls, make appointments, business writing, and formal manners.

great class. the teacher explains in a very lively and clear manner. the atmosphere is great. the exam is serious.

Thanks UvA Talen to introduce me to Dutch language very effectively – inTense course. Tailored to individual needs, intensive and very professional.

Learning in the UvA language centre was one of my best experinces during my English language learning. I got 6 courses from the elemntary level until advanced 2. The teachers were really very good. They were very professional (Americans and Britans). Thus, it was very important for us as students to improve our English accent. As for the books! (New total English) is a very good one because it consists of various information about life. You can have midical texts as well as geographic, arts, movies, travel, etc...
I'm very happy to study English in the UvA. However it is intensive courses you can start speak English in short time which helps me a lot in my academic study and daily life.

Great language course, compact and helpful

I did a 6-day individual immersion course in Russian. The course had the right level of intensity, a good balance between grammar, dialogue and excercises. It was given by three different native Russian speakers, with smooth handovers in between. I appreciated the flexibility to tailor the content - and some dialogue topics - to my personal preferences. It was time well spent and helped a lot in bringing back my ‘rusty basic base’, which I had developed many years before.

Good course but unbelievably expensive if you take into account the number of participants (~12 in my case). A private teacher is double the cost but with half the time you make 10x improvements. not worth it. Excellent teacher anyway!

I had a very nice experience studying Japanese on the beginner level with a diverse group of follow enthusiasts. The teacher of this course was very capable, as a Japanese native she could share with us much cultural information and more informal habits in Japanese language that were not included in the course material. The class was very interactive and personal.

The dedication from Ruby and the teachers are excellent. The excellent teacher Michiel is a very intelligent man, he knows how to simplify the method in the sense that it matches the student's skills. Overall, I highly recommend this school for students and professionals. I took the right choice of program : One week Intensive course. The excursions with the teacher Kristof was absolutely brilliant ! I am very satisfied with my learning experience with UVA Talens.