DUC · Columbia University
Do you have an extra credit in your schedule? Speak either German or Dutch (even poorly)? Want to spend an hour a week in the dark depths of SIPA looking? Then take this class! In all seriousness, Wijnie is the best of the best, an icon in her own right. Incredible professor, chill as hell, easy grader (vibes incurred upon heavily), and you end up with a weirdly specific skill that you can employ in historical research or whip out at rooftop cocktail parties to the many ooos and ahhhs of your fellow merrymakers. Wijnie really does care for each of her students, and since the class is capped at 5 students, you get some of the most individualized attention possible.
Greatest prof of all time. Very sweet lady. If you don't take this class you are doing yourself a disservice.
Very kind! Flexible! Sometimes the themes were a little too niche for me, but I really enjoyed Wijnie's perspective! She cares most about students developing a passion for the language. It is a very niche class... many students were in the class so their could better communicate with their Dutch partners, so if you have a reason for learning the language, it certainly helps. If you're passionate about learning Dutch, I'd highly recommend!
WIJNIE SHOULD BE A GOLD NUGGET. SERIOUSLY. Hands down the BEST professor I have had at Columbia. She is a great professor who genuinely wants her students to learn Dutch and gain an understanding of Dutch culture. If you aren't particularly strong at languages, this is the class for you. Only meets twice a week too which is nice.
Wijnie is a very nice lady, her class is the moment you look forward to during the week: she makes you laugh, learn fun things in dutch and listens to you. I have taken elementary dutch (I&II) and intermediate (I&II), although I don't feel like I am fluent - I can for sure read and get the general meaning of what I am reading. In Intermediate Ducth we read a book and poems and learnt about Dutch history. If you have any connection to Dutch or just a genuine interest for the language and the Low countries, join the class !
Wijnie de Groot is one of Columbia’s hidden gems. She is an absolutely fantastic language teacher because she goes above and beyond the call of duty in order to give her students the best possible experience. Her carefully crafted lessons go beyond the Dutch language and touch on Dutch culture and literature. After leaving her class, I feel as though I have a solid grounding in all aspects of Dutch life. Wijnie is the entirety of Columbia’s Dutch department. Her lessons are all self-made, which means she is able to customize her classes based upon her students' interests. She works extremely hard to ensure that each of her students stays interested in engaged with her material. This keeps her classes fresh and interesting, as they are constantly updated and revamped. If anything interesting happens in the Netherlands, she'll come to class armed with news clips and articles. She organizes a number of activities outside of class hours, like Dutch dinners or theatre. She also takes a deep interest in her students, acting as both a friend and a mentor. By the time class ends, you’ll have learnt more Dutch than you ever thought possible. I cannot recommend her highly enough. If you have any interest in the Dutch language — any at all — I'm sure that there is no better teacher than Wijnie in all of New York.
The teachers want you to do well and will work with you. You are the master of how much Dutch you will learn and they will help you on the way. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: DTCHUN2101_002_2023_3-INTERMEDIATEDUTCHI : INTERMEDIATE DUTCH I-DTCHUN2101_002_2023_3 - INTERMEDIATE DUTCH I Instructor: Pieter Lauwaert
You meet once per week, and for each session you are expected to skim through and begin translating the document. You won’t need to finish it, and in class you all work together to get through the docs (especially when the older ones have vocab that require some internet sleuthing). Tests throughout the semester are only given if she thinks you aren’t meeting expectations, but in a class of two people, it’s hard to not keep up. There is one final project where you decide together a document for you translate and then hand in. Personally, I would create a running list of vocab you learn during the course, especially if you are using this class to gain further reading knowledge for research purposes.
I had no Dutch experience and Wijnie made this class very funny and interesting. Teaching style gets everyone involved and you learn very easily. The content of this course is interesting even though it is just Dutch. You will definitely have some interesting people in your class.
I definitely refined my dutch abilities! Especially my sentence construction and spelling.