Why did you choose to take a Dutch tutorial?
I chose the tutorial because I wanted personalized lessons. I have previously taken two NT2 courses that gave me a solid foundation, but I was less successful in addressing my personal mistakes and questions Because I have lived here for ten years, I have learned a lot of Dutch in an unstructured way. Therefore, I wanted a teacher who could spend time on my specific background and areas of improvement.
What is the most important thing you have learned for you?
That is three things: the more confident I am, the better my Dutch is; many mistakes I make are also made by native speakers; and I can strengthen my language skills in less time than I thought, for example with one hour of lessons per week. I also learned many new words and grammar rules, of course, but the most valuable thing is that I now think differently about using Dutch in my daily life. I am less afraid of making mistakes when I am talking to Dutch people. I now know that I can achieve more by speaking in my non-fluent (but good) Dutch than I thought. I also try to use the language in new ways, for example by reading books.
What have the individual lessons meant for your work?
In my current job I don't use Dutch very often yet, but for my future research I know that the skills I have gained will be very valuable. For example, in the future I want to be able to conduct interviews in Dutch, and by now I know that this is feasible.
Would you recommend a tutorial in Dutch at VU-NT2?
I would highly recommend it! With private tutoring, you have a lot of flexibility to adjust the schedule of your classes to your own schedule. If you have clear goals, I think you can learn a lot during the tutorial.
Do you have a tip for future participants?
Be honest about your learning style and what you find interesting and important. I know I learned more because I communicated clearly with my tutor about what I wanted to achieve.
