Arthur van Essen


Arthur Joseph van Essen is a Dutch linguist, academic and author.

Degrees, honours

Teaching Certificate in Modern English

Teaching Certificate in English Language and Literature

BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Leiden
MA in General Linguistics under E.M. Uhlenbeck, University of Leiden

PhD, supervised by A. Cohen and E.M. Uhlenbeck, in General Linguistics from the University of Utrecht

Postgraduate diplomas in applied linguistics and psycholinguistics
Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

Reflections on Language and Language Learning. In honour of Arthur van Essen edited by M. Bax and J.-W. Zwart was published by John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia in 2001. Contains full bibliography of Arthur van Essen's writings up to 2001, including his major work E. Kruisinga. A Chapter in the History of Linguistics in the Netherlands published by Martinus Nijhoff of Leiden in 1983.

Main teaching experience

Teacher of English in state schools in the Netherlands from 1962 to 1971. Taught refresher courses for the Dutch Ministry of Education in late 1960s. From 1971 to 2001 Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer and then Full Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Pedagogy at the University of Groningen.

Since 2003 Professor Emeritus

Lectured extensively throughout Europe, Africa and America.

Offices held

Committee Member of the Dutch Modern Language Association Levende Talen, 1971-1975.

Editor of its journal Levende Talen, 1971-1975.

Member of IATEFL since 1967.

Elected Vice-Chair of IATEFL in 1985. Subsequently committee member.

Elected first Chair of NELLE in 1989. Subsequently Chair of NELLE Advisory Board till 1998.

Elected member of the Executive Committee of the European Language Council, 1995-2003.
Head of Dept of Applied Linguistics, University of Groningen, 1985-2000.

Head of Teacher Training Unit, University of Groningen, 1998-2001.

Chair, Board of Advisors, School for Translators and Interpreters, Utrecht, 1999 to 2008.

Patron of ACTDEC, 2008 to date.