Both Arjen and Johan were invited to hold a 45-minute key-note speech. After an introductory speech by the rector Arjen presented his lecture called “Literature and Language Acquisition; a perfect match!” In his presentation Arjen emphasized the fact that often too little attention is paid to the strong potential reading has for language acquisition in general. He mentioned numerous examples of research that supports the need for (more) reading in class and beyond. A very lively presentation with strong interaction was the result. Not in the least because of the fact that Arjen showed several approaches to language acquisition that were novel to the majority of his listeners!  After coffee time Johan presented “Chaim Potok; a life as Zwischenmens”. He compared several main characters from Potok’s novels to present day Christian students and adolescents and also to any given minority facing a domineering majority. After the session many questions were put forward as to what our right responses should be in such situations. The rest of the conference was dedicated to workshops in the respective fields.

The conference also proved an excellent opportunity to meet other guests and lecturers. An ideal situation for networking activities! In sum, we look back on an extremely worthwhile visit!