Learning Dutch while having fun!

For the second year running Theo van der Genugten will be conducting two Dutch courses, one for absolute beginners, and one for those with a smattering of Dutch. He was inundated with e-mails when he launched this exercise last year, and says animatedly, 'With the overwhelming response I got last year, I have become more ambitious than before! We have set up a foundation and have received a subsidy from the provincial government here, the Provinciale Staten.

'Our teaching is serious but not pedantic, we use unusual techniques to help people learn Dutch,' says Astrid Lips, another tutor, who teaches at Communication Studies. She continues, 'For instance, once we got a bag of vegetables and eggs that we threw at each other, screaming their Dutch names! We can imagine that after a whole day of working, the last thing somebody would want to do is learn a foreign language in a very bookish manner. We become actors in order to teach.'

Marin Derkink, a primary school teacher, recounts, 'Last year we were having a discussion about food and when my Romanian students learned that I had onion soup they were horrified. Well, I made onion soup for them which they absolutely relished! So for me, it is not just teaching, it is also forging friendships.'

The course comprises twelve sessions and the fee is Euro 50. Each student will receive a book, audio and CD-Rom. After diligently following the course the foundation will help student find follow-on courses. If you are interested in enrolling in one of these courses or would like to join this dashing team of Dutch teachers, contact Theo van der Genugten at [email protected]

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