Get confident speaking Dutch
This course is for people who are are comfortable with the basics in Dutch, but struggle to speak in more realistic settings.
Our method
We believe that someone’s ability to speak a language has little to do with how much grammar and vocabulary they know. Some people know lots of grammar and vocabulary but are barely able to speak in real conversations, and some people know very little grammar and vocabulary but can speak with confidence.
We believe the difference is caused by the difference in mastery of the ‘speaking skills’. We have identified six skills that are essential in order to be conversationally fluent. These skills are not about the language itself, instead, they are about your attitude and how you use the language knowledge you have.
Using these skills, you can become conversationally fluent, even with limited grammar and vocabulary.
The speaking skills are:
- Communicating in creative way
- Not switching to English
- Controlling the conversation
- Showing positive energy
- Not caring about mistakes
- Actively promoting your learning
During this course you will do fun, interactive activities with your teacher and your fellow students like playing a simple board game, doing something creative together, cooking something together, but also just simply talking about how your day was and what your plan is for the weekend.
During those activities your teacher will coach you on the use of the six speaking skills. This way, you will get confident speaking in realistic settings, and you will be ready to enter the community afterwards to continue your learning!
During the course, you are already free to try out community events to pracice your speaking skills. A community membership is included during the duration of the course.
Dutch level
This course is for people who know the basics of Dutch, but have low confidence with speaking or struggle to have conversations in Dutch with other people in more realistic, unstructured settings. If you have a basic Dutch level but the thought of going to a community-event where everybody speaks Dutch only seems scary and intimidating to you, this course is a good choice for you!
Minimum Dutch level
We assume that you will know the basics of Dutch (at least A1 level). The following sentences should be relatively easy for you to understand:
| Wij hebben dertien weken vakantie. Ik ga met de trein naar mijn werk, en jij? Zij leest een interessant en makkelijk boek. Vorige maand was het herfst. Ik ben nat, omdat het regent. |
and the following sentences relatively easy for you to translate to Dutch:
| I hear a loud sound The pen is on the table, to the left of the coffee cup On Thursday we will get a new kitchen The lamp in the toilet is pretty Yesterday I found my pants |
If these sentences are still very challenging for you, then we recommend to follow our basics course first!
Does this sound too easy to you? Check out our community!
Not sure about your level? Go to level assessment.
Practical details
Location:
Our courses will either take place in our café, Herengracht 13A, 2511EG, The Hague (right next to The Hague Central Station) or in our new, alternative location: Always Summer, Prins Hendrikstraat 124, 2518HX, Den Haag (in the cozy Zeeheldenkwartier). Check your location when signing up.
Dates & Times:
The courses consist of 8 weekly sessions. It is recommended that you are available on most of these sessions, however, it is ok if you miss one (more is not recommended as you will miss too much).
For a list of available dates and times, see the sign up form.
Also check out our one-day speaking skills workshops.
Group size
The course will have a small, focused group of 4 to 8 students.
Community access
The course comes with two months of community membership so you can try all our events to use what you learned and to further get confidence with speaking. Your teacher will advice you which events will be good for you. The community events are optional and at different times throughout the week (see the community event calendar).
The details: Upon registration you will receive a discount code that makes your first two months of membership free, except for €0.50 activation costs. Your membership will then continue automatically, so don’t forget to cancel if you only want to use your two months of free membership. You can of course also try our events without activating a membership by paying the event entry fees.
Homework:
Your homework will consist of small, fun assignments and challenges that encourage you to use your newly learned skills in practice! This homework is optional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I miss a session?
We recommend to be available for most sessions for maximum results. However, if you miss one or two sessions, you can still get a lot of value out of the course. Missed sessions are in principle non refundable. We don’t recommend to retake a lesson in a later group, as that usually that will be one or two months later and will not have much of an effect. Instead, you can do an extra community event for free if you miss a session, which is our recommended approach. If you really want to retake a session in a later group, we can’t guarantee this is possible, but we can look if a later group still has a space. In that case, send us an e-mail.
I’ve finished the course, now what?
After this course, you should be able to enter our community events with confidence. You can choose to become a community member and further increase your Dutch speaking ability and confidence, while doing interesting activities and expanding your social circle.
Costs
Price: 285 euro.
Includes:
✔ Eight sessions of 1 hour and 30 minutes in-class, in a small focused group of 4-8 students
✔ Our reader with theory and techniques
✔ Two months of community membership (for €0.50).
✔ One planned visit to a community event with your group