Rick de Graaff
Rick de Graaff is fascinated by learning, teaching and using foreign languages to promote communication between people with different linguistic backgrounds. He was Professor in Multilingualism and Education at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht from 2016 until 2023.
Rick de Graaff studied General Arts at the University of Utrecht and Spanish Didactics at the University of Barcelona. He subsequently obtained his Spanish teaching qualification at the University of Applied Sciences Central Netherlands (Hogeschool Midden Nederland). He conducted his doctoral research at the VU Amsterdam, where he obtained his doctorate in 1997, on the effects of grammar education on foreign language acquisition.
"You learn languages to use them and by using them"
Rick de Graaff was appointed professor of Foreign Language Education and Bilingual Education at Utrecht University in 2012. He was appointed professor at HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht at the end of 2016. In collaboration with other lecturers and researchers, he works on the development of foreign language education and the training of language teachers.
Fields of expertise
- Language education
- Communicative language education
- Teacher-training programme
Publications
- Constructive alignment in foreign language curricula An exploration of teaching and assessment practices in Dutch secondary education
- Practical solution or missed opportunity? The impact of language of instruction on Dutch history teachers’ application of pedagogical content knowledge
- Why all the drama? Perceptions and Experiences of Foreign Language Student Teachers on Training in Improvisational Drama Pedagogy
