Brave Learners: Learning Dutch in the Netherlands (Last Chapter)

What makes this Dutch course different? We asked Debbie herself.

To wrap up, we asked Debbie a few fun questions:

How do you create a safe and supportive environment for beginners learning Dutch online?
Just doing the things you would do to let your guests feel welcome and at home; look at everyone’s personal needs and interests and see how to be of help. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a quick or slow learner, a talkative or a silent introvert type of person, everyone should feel welcome in my class: just be yourself! I regularly check whether everyone can keep up with the pace of the lessons. And I always try to emphasise that it’s very normal to make mistakes and not be too serious about these, but rather laugh together about (for example) some hilarious Dutch sounds.

Games and interactive exercises are a key part of your course, why is fun so important in the learning process?
The truth? I hate boring lessons myself…haha. A course takes 30 hours of your life, so you better make every lesson count! Besides this it’s amazing what kind of effect gamification has when learning a new language. You don’t have the chance to think about your fears, you witness your own results and this will boost your motivation.

What are some of the main challenges your students face when using Dutch in real life, and how do you help them build confidence?
The number one challenge that most of the students face is ungrounded fear to make mistakes. The way to address this is by simulating situations relevant to them through role-playing. The benefit of this form is that they can do trial and error in a safe environment. But what's even more rewarding about this approach is that students discover they're not alone in their struggles and that it's perfectly okay not to speak perfectly from the start, since others aren't either. And slowly but gradually fears are transformed into successes we can celebrate!

How does the flexibility of the course, like learning while traveling or joining passively when sick, impact student engagement and progress?
A crucial component of the course’s success is the ability to attend the lessons as regularly as possible. So flexibility is important for enhancing commitment and engagement from the students. It takes two to tango, so if they see that you care by thinking along with them for creative solutions, they will care too to make the outcome of the course a success.

What tools or strategies do you use to keep online lessons interactive, even for those who aren’t actively participating?
Integrating games is a great way to involve everyone, especially when there are colours and sounds attached to it. One of the favourite parts of my students is a game where they have to compete to see who knows the most Dutch words. A little bit of competition makes it also interesting.

If you could change one thing about how Dutch is traditionally taught to non-natives, what would it be?
Many things actually….but if I could highlight the most important one according to me, that would be that all aspects of the course should be focused on making connection. I don’t believe in learning a language only for the sake of learning a language, I think that social skills should be integrated as well, so you can keep conversations going. After all, at the beginning of this course that’s what most of my students say they want to achieve: connecting with the locals.