XXX
DIRECT DUTCH
23
(Advertorial)
Language, culture and nice extras The lady at the reception desk is very friendly and her Dutch, though obviously not her native language, is impeccable. Director Ruud Hisgen takes me to a classroom on the second floor where he sits me down with a glass of water. Ruud started Direct Dutch in 1985, when he came back from Australia, where he lived for a year. “I would have liked to learn about Australian society sooner, I thought as I was returning home, and this gave me the idea to set up a language school for expats in the Netherlands which also teaches students about the culture of their host country.”
That is how Ruud, who has a degree in English from Leiden University, started Direct Dutch in the Anna Paulownastraat in The Hague. “Since 2001 we’ve been located on Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië very close to railway station Laan van NOI, so we get many students from Delft, Zoetermeer and Leiden too.” The tram and the bus stops are right in front and parking is free in the afternoon and evening. “Our aim is to teach people to explore the Netherlands and learn the language. Our motto is ‘Home in on Holland’. In order to understand a culture, you have to learn its language, at least a little bit. Our courses consist of learning some practical Dutch very fast and besides that we tell you all you need to know about the Dutch history, their habits and mentality. If you know the background, it helps you understand the Dutch better and that makes you feel at home here.”
FRIENDS FOR LIFE “People from the United States for instance expect to be invited to Dutch people’s home straight away. The U.S. culture has always been very open, because it is very important to them to be friends with everyone. Dutch people are different. They want to get to know you better. But when they finally invite you, it means that you could become a ‘friend for life’.”
ALL IN DUTCH With so many expats in The Hague, people of many different nationalities follow the courses at Direct Dutch. People from India, Kenya, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Greece… the list is endless. So where do you start? How do you start teaching a language to someone who doesn’t know a word of Dutch? Ruud gets up and shows me. He holds a pen in the air and says: “Pen!” Followed by “boek” (book) and “tafel” (table). Then he moves onto: “een pen, een boek, een tafel”. And “Is dit een pen? Ja, dit is een pen.” I get the picture. This works fast! After only one lesson of one and a half hour, students are able to introduce themselves in Dutch and say something about where they work and live.
NOT FLAWLESS The next step is to go out and practise. It hardly takes effort and to see results so quickly is very motivating. “All our lessons are in Dutch from the very beginning. We only explain some of the grammar in English and some information about our society. What’s most important is that people just go out and do it. Make mistakes. If you get the article of a noun or the word order wrong, it doesn’t really matter. Even if you make mistakes, you can still communicate and that’s what it’s all about.” He adds: “Dutch people don’t
Direct Dutch provides beginners, intermediate and advanced day and evening courses and an intensive two week full-time day course, all with a maximum of eight students. Prices vary from 395 euro for a beginners course to 995 euro for the intensive course.
speak or write flawless Dutch either. If you want to make a Dutch person blush, ask them to explain the difference between ‘hen’ and ‘hun’!”
FREE WORKSHOPS What drives Ruud? “The kick of teaching is seeing that absolute beginners, who just arrived in the Netherlands, are able to express themselves in Dutch within a couple of weeks. Quick results. Motivated people. Besides that it’s fascinating to get in touch with people from so many different cultures, I learn a lot myself.” Besides courses Direct Dutch provides lots of free activities such as a Dutch book club, a Dutch film club and workshops on Dutch culture. Ruud: “For these events which we call Dutch Up we cooperate with the Hague Central Library. And once a year we organise ‘speak Dutch day’. It can be hard for expats to practise their Dutch because everyone in Holland speaks English. After a short workshop people go into town in groups, wearing ‘speak Dutch to me’ badges. The café or restaurant that deals with them in the best or most creative way, receives a trophy. It’s always lots of fun!”
All information can be found on their website: www.directdutch.com. Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië 275 2593 BS The Hague The Netherlands Tel: +31 (70) 365 46 77