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Academic language proficiency

RADAr: academic language proficiency English/Dutch (for first-year students)

From the academic year 2022-2023 on, all Bachelor’s students at the Faculty of Social Sciences are required to participate in the academic language proficiency course in their first year. This course consists of a plenary lecture, a toolbox on Brightspace, the language test, and possibly remedial seminars. Students take the course in the language that their programme is instructed in.

All students are registered for the OSIRIS course, the Brightspace course, as well as the test itself by STIP Social Sciences. On Brightspace, the course guide can be found, as well as all information pertaining to the test. The plenary lecture takes place in September. Afterwards, you can work actively on language skills exercises in Brightspace using a digital toolbox. In October, you are required to take the digital test of academic language proficiency (the RADAr). This test takes place before the first exam week. Do you score below the norm on the test? Then you will take part in the remedial seminars. These take place in periods 2 and 3.

Why does this matter?

Our undergraduate students’ language proficiency seems to have dwindled in recent years. Radboud University wants to train students to be communicatively powerful academics who are well prepared for the job market. Moreover, experience has shown that, if your language skills are not up to par, it is often too late to start working on them right before an assignment is due. By subjecting you to this testing and coaching process, you are encouraged to work on your language skills right from the start of your first year, which means that you can actually improve on them. You therefore follow the academic language proficiency course directly in the first year of study.

For more information, please consult the Brightspace course and have a look at RADAr: academic language proficiency in the course guide.
Should this link not open, please go to the OSIRIS course guide and look for SOW-RADAR-EN (or SOW-RADAR-NL if your programme is taught in Dutch).

Do you already want to check your language skills now? If so, take the practice test right here.