Dutch classes at LanguiCo, in short:

The courses, given in small groups and aimed at higher educated expats, follow modern language learning techniques and offer the right mix of different skills, using a lot of extra materials, conversation practice, as well as the necessary grammar. 

Read on to discover why following a Dutch course at LanguiCo is a good choice.

Prices and other practical information:

The courses consist of 10 classes of 75 minutes and cost €140,-. They are all given once a week.

Nearly all courses are given both in person and online. A few more advanced courses are online. When joining a live class online, you’ll be able to hear and see both the teacher and the students who attend in person.

During the classes, explanations will be given in English when necessary, especially in the beginners’ courses. However, the teacher will speak Dutch as much as possible.

The course is built upon the idea that what students do at home, they should do at home. This means the homework takes around 3 hours per week.

About the teacher

My name is Carien Bus. Teaching and learning languages have always been my passion. I have been teaching Dutch for over 14 years, of which 12 years at LanguiCo. Knowing how complicated the Dutch language can be, I consider it a nice challenge and my responsibility to make it as easy and effective as possible. For this purpose, I have created large part of the study materials myself, such as an extensive explanation (in English) of grammar and difficult vocabulary, as well as a large collection of interesting articles and enjoyable audiobooks and songs with notes and word lists. I also believe that having a bit of fun will help you learn faster, so I always try to create a ‘gezellig’* atmosphere in the classes!

(*gezellig: any occasion where people are enjoying each other’s presence, especially while talking and laughing together)

Contents and working method of the course

Listening – Dialogues, songs and audiobooks

 The natural way of learning a language is by listening to it. Therefore, the course book contains many lively, colloquial language dialogues, recorded on mp3’s.  Students will also get a lot of Dutch songs to listen to. From level 4, audiobooks will be used in addition to the textbooks. In class we will talk about what you listened to, so you actively use the new vocabulary.

Conversation practice

From the very first class of the first beginners’ course, students will be practising a lot speaking Dutch, often in pairs of two. To make sure this isn’t too difficult, beginners follow a three-step approach, starting with yes/no questions about the dialogues, followed by open questions about them, and then moving on to more spontaneous conversations where you pretend to be in a similar situation. In the intermediate and higher levels, we will talk about the articles and books we’re reading.

Reading

From level 3 we’ll use, apart from the textbook, stories and novels, starting with those specifically written for learners of Dutch and then moving on to ‘normal’ but not too difficult books that are really fun to read, all accompanied by word lists.

Grammar

Although grammar is not everyone’s favourite part, it is an essential part of any language, and it will be taught, bit by bit, from the very beginning of your Dutch learning journey. When possible it will be mixed with some fun, like inserting grammar challenges in conversation exercises, or learning the irregular past tenses of verbs by listening to songs.

Pronunciation

In order to be understood, it’s very important to have a reasonably correct pronunciation. Attention to this will be given from the very start, so students don’t develop bad habits in this area. Also, we’ll practise understanding fast colloquial (often ‘sloppy’) Dutch (like kweenie: ik weet het niet. Dahwast?: Dat was het?). In the intermediate and higher levels, we’ll also study the influence of sentence stress and intonation on the meaning of the sentence.

Plenty of extra materials

For all the above-mentioned skills and activities, a wealth of extra notes and exercises has been developed, only available for students of LanguiCo. See also: https://www.languico.nl/books-and-material/

Efficiency

In class we do what cannot be done at home: most importantly conversation exercises and practising grammar. Students make and check the written exercises, and read the notes on the dialogues and the grammar at home.  Also, as you can do much of the homework, namely listening to textbook recordings, songs and audiobooks, while doing other things (like cycling), this method uses your available time very efficiently too.

Small groups

Average of 6 participants, giving you plenty of opportunity to participate and ask questions.

Classes for the very or extremely advanced too

If you are already near fluent, you might be interested to join the super-advanced group (level 22).

See https://www.languico.nl/nederlands-voor-vergevorderden-nederlands-op-niveau-c1-c2-c2/

Very affordable prices

Only €140,- for a course of 10 classes.