VU-NT2's Dutch tutorial is an individual customized course for international staff at VU Amsterdam. Phoebe Hargrave, junior lecturer in Political Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, followed this tutorial. In this interview, she talks about her experiences and shows what the course has given her in her daily Dutch language use.
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.
