Costs
Most general courses cost €390. For more detailed information, please check the page of each specific course.
There may be discounts available for students who are following a full-time course at a university in the Netherlands and/or au pairs. To request the special discount rate, students must upload a scan of their student card in the registration form. PHD students are excluded from the student discount. Au pairs must provide the details of their host family. If this information is not provided on the registration form then the full tuition fee will be charged.
Our courses include access to KickstartNet and a Kickstart School folder of materials (if applicable), but you will have to purchase the course text book separately. Some courses, like the Business English course, include all materials. Please check the course webpage for more details.
For many courses, yes we do offer discount for full-time students in the Netherlands only. See question above.
After the first lesson of a group course, you can still decide to withdraw from the course. You will only need to pay a €15 administration fee and return the course materials in good condition. The course fees will be transferred back into your bank account within 1 week. If you think the course is too easy or difficult and you would like to enrol in a course at a different level, please notify your teacher or the administration after the first lesson. We will do what we can to accommodate your needs. If you withdraw from the course before the course begins, we will provide a full refund of the course fees within 1 week.
In general, there is a 2-week payment period. At the very latest, payments must be made before the course starts.
After payment you are definitively registered. This way we can determine if the course has the minimum number of students to go ahead. If the course does not start, we will inform you about the alternatives. If there is no suitable alternative, you will always be refunded the tuition fee.
If you want your employer to pay for the course, register via the website with your personal details but enter all your employer's billing information/contact details in the additional notes/comments section. We will then send the invoice directly to your employer.
Payment in instalments is not possible. Upon registration, the full amount must be paid 2 weeks before the course starts or directly after receiving the invoice if the course starts within 2 weeks.
Payment is preferred by bank transfer. If you do not have a bank account you can also pay with cash in person in our office or by credit card online via Mollie.
Courses
The system we are using is called Zoom. You will receive all the relevant joining details shortly before your course begins.
The standard duration of our general Dutch courses is 24 hours; the general English courses are 22.5 hours. Other course types, such as exam training, or intensive courses may have different duration. Please check the individual course pages for specific information.
In all our courses, the emphasis is placed on verbal communication. Listening exercises are also an integral part of all lessons. Reading is usually assigned as homework in order to build upon the content learnt during lessons, and many courses incorporate writing practice as well.
In Exam Preparation Courses, a larger amount of time is dedicated to reading and writing than in General or Conversation Courses. Needless to say, our Online Writing Courses focus on writing skills.
We will run a course once 4 students are enrolled. If there are just 3 students enrolled, a course of fewer hours may be offered at the same price. The students will be consulted about this.
There are a maximum of 10 students in the class and a minimum of 4.
We cater to all different types of people. This is reflected in the wide range of courses on offer at Kickstart. Generally, we cater to professionals, people in higher education, stay-at-home parents, students, au pairs, and children.
Yes, we organise intensive and regular summer courses during July and August.
Yes. We offer private Dutch, English Courses for children and teenagers, as well as a Dutch club for kids aged 5-9. See dedicated course pages for more information.
The minimum age for most of our group courses is 18 years. The teaching material is focused on the perception of adults. We do offer private and small group Dutch, English and Chinese lessons for children and summer courses in English for teenagers.
Yes, but it is not possible to register 2 people with the same e-mail address. To access our online learning platform, KickstartNet, every registration has to be linked to an individual account with its own e-mail address. If you don't have your own e-mail address, then you can easily create a free e-mail address via, for example, gmail or hotmail.
How fast you learn and how much time you have varies from person to person. There are homework guidelines on all our course pages.
The teacher may be the same but sometimes this is not possible. We understand that it is nice to stay with your own teacher, however it is also refreshing and helpful to get lessons from another teacher. Our teachers are all experienced native-speakers who will teach you the language with great enthusiasm!
After registration
The minimum number of participants is 4. We receive most registrations just before the start date of the course. If there are too few participants on the day before the start date, you will receive a phone call and an email and you can choose an alternative. If there is no suitable alternative, we will refund the tuition fee to you within a week.
You will always receive a confirmation of your registration by e-mail. Check your junk/spam folder if you have not received a message. You will also receive an email the day before the course starts as a reminder.
In some courses you do not have to prepare anything for the first lesson. In some circumstances, you may have been asked to revise certain things during your intake interview. In our " flipped classroom" courses, you will be requested to prepare for the first lesson by yourself before the course starts. You will get an email and KickstartNet access a few days before the course starts.
If you have problems attending the rest of your course for unforeseen circumstances, please speak to one of the administrators so that we can discuss the best option for you. In exceptional circumstances we can ‘freeze’ your account balance for a maximum of 12 months.
As soon as you know you cannot attend, please email the office. For the homework you can send a message to your classmates or the teacher via KickstartNet to ask if they can send over the homework after your class. If you don't have access to KickstartNet in your course and don't know the teacher's email address, please contact the office and we will ask the teacher to send the homework information. For Dutch group courses, the homework instructions can also be found on our online learning platform, KickstartNet. Also, if a student misses a lesson or two during the course, catch-up lessons can be arranged at a discounted rate of €50/hour. You can contact the administration or the teacher directly for this.
Materials
KickstartNet is our online learning platform. Enrolment in most of our general courses also includes access to KickstartNet. This will provide you with a range of extra resources and exercises for grammar, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, so that you can develop your language skills at home as well.
Your account will start working the day before your course begins and will close one week after the end of your course. The access will be extended to 4 weeks after a semi-intensive or intensive course.
Bring a notebook, a pen, and your own copy of the course textbook (where applicable).
Most of our courses require you to buy a course text book. Details of this book can be found on your confirmation email. Please order the book as soon as you receive the email.
Your internet browser may have saved an old password. Delete your cookies or try in another browser. For example Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari. It is also possible that you entered an incorrect password when registering (the password is case sensitive and will not be recognized if there are any blank spaces before or after). If you still have an issue after trying this out, contact us by telephone, so we can help you further.
The course manual and any other included materials will be given to you in your first lesson, if applicable. Regardless of the course format, you will also find the extra materials for our general Dutch courses on our online learning platform, KickstartNet. If your course requires a text book, you will receive details on this in your course confirmation email with instruction on where to buy the book. If your course includes free access to KickstartNet, our online learning platform, your login and password will be sent before the course begins. Access is enabled before your course starts and expires one week after it finished (or 4 weeks, in the case of semi-intensive and intensive courses). If you are following a general English or Dutch course, you might be assigned to read books during the course. These need to be returned to the teacher or administration office before the end of the course.
Location
Tram 9 stops close to our school. We are 4 stops away from Central Station. The stop is called 'Laan Copes van Cattenburch'. Buses 22, 24 and trams 1 and 17 stop close by. For more information, visit the Dutch public transport website www.9292.nl.
Level
To ensure the best possible learning experience, we first need to assess your current language level. Our level assessment includes a written test you can do online and speaking skills assessment (usually by phone, but an in-person or Zoom meeting can also be arranged in advance).
The results of these will be discussed with you either in person or over the phone. We also consider factors such as how much time you have available to study and your learning goals. If you feel you are a bit rusty or need to start at a slightly higher level, we have refresher courses available.
Other questions
- dedicated and experienced native-speaker teachers
- easily accessible building in a central location in The Hague
- a unique online learning platform
- flexible enrolment options
- tailor-made learning materials
- carefully designed intake process
- admin support available until 8 pm
At the end of most group courses you can receive a Certificate of Attendance by request, provided you have attended at least 80% of the programme and have reached the level needed. If your group class is face-to-face, then you will receive your certificate during the last lesson. If you are not present during the last lesson, please visit the office for your certificate. If you attended the course remotely, we will send the certificate via email as PDF upon request. Certificates will not be posted.
It is not possible to take a trial lesson. However, after the first lesson, you can still decide to withdraw from the course. You will only need to pay the €15 administration fee and return the course materials in good condition. The course fees will be transferred back into your bank account within 1 week. If you think the course is too easy or difficult and you would like to enrol in a course at a different level, please notify your teacher or the administration after the first lesson.
Kickstart School is unable to help with visas, accommodation or letters of acceptance. You can either join one of our remote or hybrid courses or you could register for face-to-face courses at Kickstart once you have arrived in The Netherlands.