We were jolly pleased to organise the third edition of the Association for Low Countries Studies Dutch Summer School in Sheffield from 30 June to 6 July 2024. This event is supported by the Taalunie, the Netherlands Embassy and Flanders House.
Echt Gebeurd
The idea is simple: each morning consists of two integrated Dutch language and culture classes offered at three levels (A2, B1/2, C1), followed by a project session that cuts across different language levels. The sessions are informal and informative with specific emphasis on building confidence in speaking.
This year's project sessions were led by our Sheffield Artist in Residence Paulien Cornelisse and our favourite podcaster Chris Bajema.
Cornelisse's sessions centred around story telling, in the style of the well known cycle, 'Echt Gebeurd'. In small groups each participant worked on a 'real life' story in Dutch. What makes a good story? The sessions culminated into a stage presentation at the end of the week along the 'Echt Gebeurd' format: in Dutch and no notes. Does that sounds scary? Our participants smashed it!
Our theme: Rivers
The afternoon sessions are reserved for excursions and workshops. This year we visited the Sheffield Archives where we looked at the representation of the Sheffield Flood of 1864, we visited the exhibition 'Sheffield: City of Rivers' in Weston Park Museum followed by a workshop with Carrot Stick Art. We went 'drainspotting' with Hidden Sheffield and we made our own river object in the workshop of FLOD. Water and rivers proved a rich theme: these important arteries have shaped life in the Low Countries and in Britain alike.
All the teachers were very enthusiastic, engaging and well-prepared. They chose interesting material, appropriate for the level of the group.
Participant
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"Can I come to you?"
We were particularly fortunate to welcome comedian and author Claudia de Breij and literary translator Jonathan Reeder to Sheffield as part of the Summer School. Together we worked on a translation of De Breij’s well-known song ‘Mag ik dan bij jou’. To fuse meaning, mood and music was a great and wonderful challenge. Claudia sang the English translation in a private performance on Wednesday afternoon.
The whole team of teachers are impressive, enthusiastic and a credit to Sheffield Uni. Thank you all of you.
Participant
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If you are interested in our Summer School and other activities, including our new online Dutch language course, please keep an eye on the ALCS website and you can always drop us a line on ALCS@sheffield.ac.uk