Frequently asked questions

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Costs

How much does a course cost?

Most general courses cost €390. For more detailed information, please check the page of each specific course. 

There maybe discounts available for students who are following a full-time course 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.


Most courses include access to KickstartNet and a Kickstart School folder of materials, but you will have to purchase the course text book separately for most courses. 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, 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. 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, minus the €15 administration fee.

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

We offer a range of group and private courses taught face-to-face, fully remotely, or using a hybrid format.

The system we are using is called Zoom. You will receive all the relevant joining details shortly before your course begins. 

For General English courses we have different packages:

9 lessons - 22.5 hours

18 lessons - 45 hours

27 lessons - 67.5 hours

36 lessons - 90 hours

The General Dutch and Chinese courses last 24 hours.The other course types such as exam training, intensive and online courses have different lengths. Please see the individual course pages for the 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.


Each group course has between 4-8 students.

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.

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 age 5-8. See dedicated course pages for more information. 

Yes. Follow the links to find detailed information about Private and Small Group EnglishDutch and Chinese Courses.

Yes. Please see our company program page 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.

There are a maximum of 8 students in the class and a minimum of 4.

Will I have the same teacher for the next course?


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 principle you do not have to prepare anything for the first lesson. In some circumstances you may have been told to revise certain things during your intake interview.

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 some 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 an email to your classmates or the teacher to ask if they can email the homework after your class. If you don't you know their email address please contact the office and we will ask the teacher to send the homework information. For Dutch courses the homework is on our online learning platform, KickstartNet. Also, if a student misses a lesson during the course, catch-up lessons can be arranged at a discounted rate of €50/hour.

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.

You need to bring/have 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. In that case, 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 you attend the course remotely, you will find all the extra materials on our online learning platform, KickstartNet. If your course requires a text book you will have been sent details of this in your course confirmation email with instruction on where to buy the book. Your course may also include free access to KickstartNet, our online learning platform. Your login and password will also have been sent in your confirmation email. They will be useable from the day before your course starts and until one week after it finished. If you are following a general English or Dutch course then you will be assigned reading books during the course, these need to be returned to the teacher 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.

Yes, you can call us for an appointment and intake test, which is free of charge, or join us at one of our open days organised on a quarterly basis.

Level

We need to assess your current level with our level assessment test (either in person or via email and phone/Skype). Our level assessment includes a written test you can do online and an oral language assessment. 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

  • native-speaker teachers
  • central location in beautiful The Hague
  • excellent customer service
  • a unique online learning platform 
  • guaranteed success!
  • a study room where you can learn with other students
  • frequent start-dates for courses


Do I get a certificate?

At the end of most courses you can receive a Certificate of Attendance by request, provided you have attended at least 80% of the programme. During the last lesson you will receive the certificate. 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.