Learning Dutch

When you asked us to speak only English during the week, I thought, ok, we’ll see! 😊 But, in fact, every time when I being forgetful say something in Russian, Egor says: “I’m sorry, Mum, I don’t understand you!” Moreover, in the evening on Monday he asked me to help him with his homework! What have you done?! 😊 How could you manage?! 😊 He never does his homework at school, maybe, during the break time before the lesson starts if the teacher is strict enough! 😊 I’m really impressed by the teaching skills of you! Thank you very much! It’s very important for me. I’ve wanted to introduce Egor to this kind of studying for a long time. He’s been never interested until now. As I told you, I’ve done a lot of language courses in England. I love it, I miss it very much. I’m happy that Egor seems to like it too. I think that in spite of the fact he’s doing a short course he’s going to have a great breakthrough in his English studies.

Thank you very much for all your help!

That’s what I most appreciate in our teacher at Una Paloma Blanca – however broken we may speak, she’s always encouraging, fun and has a friendly, empathetic way of correcting us. That’s highly important to keep the motivation going and practice even outside the group, in real life.

A couple of email conversations later, I found myself at their Eindhoven facility. I loved the vibe and decided to give it a shot. Soon after, it became a home away from home for me as I formed instant friendships within my group. Their one-of-a-kind learning material (an illustrative book that you would not want to put down) and immersive lessons helped me learn the language quicker than I had anticipated. Furthermore, it aided my understanding of the cultural nuances in the Dutch society that gave me an edge in interviews and formal conversations. I cannot thank my teacher enough (who went above and beyond every time) for her constant motivation and support. To all the fellow expats looking for a fun way to learn Dutch, I say go for it!

The balance between study material and outside activities makes the course not feel as intensive and actually makes it fun. The teachers also did a good job encouraging us and motivating us into starting conversations. For anyone looking to improve their vocabulary and gain confidence in conversing in Dutch I really recommend Una Paloma Blanca’s summer courses.

However, the teachers are so nice at this school and they encourage you to practice every time even if you don’t speak perfectly… and basically, this is the whole point of following a Dutch course…. TO LEARN! This is what I always appreciate about my teacher: her teaching style, the way of explaining grammar to me, the empathy that she always shows me (not only to my broken speech). My teacher makes me feel part of this family. It is highly important to have the right teacher for your needs, who knows how to keep you motivated in this process of learning a new language all while integrating into Dutch society.

I made a good decision in trusting Una Paloma Blanca to take my Dutch and Russian to the next level and the results are amazing: Currently I am able to work in Dutch and I can handle conversations in Russian

I liked most that the team of teachers immediately understood my needs and they focused on my preferences helping me achieving my goals in no time.