Dear Dutch Learner,
Long time no see!
It's been over a year since my last newsletter, but I am still here! I've just been too busy with teaching and taking care of my horse Morph (who was very sick) and a lot of other things in order to send any updates.
But now, with the Corona virus going around, I would like to help out those of you who need to stay at home and spend some of this time helping with their Dutch. (Continue reading to find out how). Because that is the reason why I chose this line of work: to help people improving their Dutch. I don’t want to just stay at home with plenty of toilet paper and wait with my arms crossed to see what will happen to the world…
But first, I’ll tell you about some things from the past year. I’ll start with…
The Movie Making Workshop:
You can see the result of two full days of hard working is here. Actor Martijm Scherff and I had more participants than usual and we were at a beautiful location (for sale!!!). The participants created their own storyline, wrote the dialogues and then acted it all out before tea camera. Despite the fact that one of the participants had to leave the second day due to family matters and Martijm became sick, the result was very rewarding and we had lots of fun! One of the participants of this course was also the photographer of our…
Photoshoot Day…
… for new advertising posts and a new Learn Dutch Fast bag. The photos came out great and you can't tell at all that the weather was very bad that day. It was a very “gezellige” day, with lots of laughter. The grouppictures were made by Alex Verrier, (you can contact him for special 3-D photos if you want to sell your house, he also did the one above from our movie set) and Aimée Eenhuis (photography is one of her hobbies). I have chosen one picture with a cat from Aimée and one without a cat from Alex for my…
New Bags…
… made by Anhs mom in Vietnam. She does magic with fabric! The bags came out fantastic and are ready to be ordered, the first bags have already been delivered and were received with joy. You’ll get one for free if you participate in a group lesson (but: “op = op”). However, if you would like to buy one or more, please send me a mail. I have about 20 bags with a cat and 20 without. Do you know who were very jealous not to be on the bags? My dog Mister and…
Horse Morpheus (photo: Loredana)…
… who has been very sick in the past year but luckily his health is improving at a steady pace, after 5 vets didn’t know what to do (even after taking expensive blood tests and X-rays), but the 6th made the difference!
Also, after 12 years at the same spot, he needed to move to a new stable, which was a challenge, since he doesn’t like changes at all. After some adjusting time, he is making new friends, taking part in children lessons and enjoying the new found strength. He is getting better day after day. Therefore, I dared to let my husband take over the care for him for a couple of days, so I could treat myself (for the first time in years) to go to a 3-day training in Brussels, taught by my huge idol…
Sivasailam Thiagarajan, a.k.a. Thiagi
I not only aim to help others improve but I constantly spend time on improving my own (teaching) skills. I read Thiagis first book 20 years ago, and was hooked right away, despite the fact that the book was in French, and I probably understood only 80%. The training was in French as well, and it put me into the shoes of my own students, to do something in a foreign language 😉. I was invited to stay in the house of a dear friend where they spoke English, German and Spanish. My head was spinning, but I learned soooo much, met great new colleagues and went home totally refreshed. That was really necessary, because after I came home, I had to prepare for my 22nd…
Dutch-German Journalist Exchange
Just like the last 20 previous years, I was part of this ultimate 11-days Dutch learning challenge. German journalists had to learn enough Dutch to be able to work for Dutch television, radio or newspaper. That resulted in 14-hr lesson days. Tiring for everyone, but very rewarding! See some of the highlights here. And Morpheus was again well taken care of by my husband Bart. Unfortunately, because the training was in Brabant, 6 out of the 9 participants weren’t allowed to start working in their new office, because of fear of…
(no picture, you have probably seen enough of those...)
Corona ;-(
This is the reason why I write this newsletter. I've decided to give free webinars in order to assist the students who have to stay at home these days, but want to continue learning Dutch. After successfully completing the first test trials with Zoom figuring out how to make a session as interactive as possible and to create the same kind of atmosphere & experience as in my real classes, I would like to offer the chance to be in one of my next free webinars (with my sidekick Loredana).
If you would like to join, look here (also for many more ideas for home study) or join my WhatsApp list to receive new dates (see details below*).
I will also try to post short “How to improve your Dutch in 1 minute” videos on my Youtube channel soon.
Unless there will be a total lockdown in the Netherlands as well, I would like to continue with private sessions while walking in nature (2 meters apart from each other), with Mister or Morph. But from Monday on, you can also book your private sessions with Zoom (for very reduced rates). It is a great way to teach/learn, I’m very enthusiastic about what I’ve seen so far. Mail me if you are interested. Another option to improve your Dutch is the Distance learning program, or phone calls with my friend…
Josien:
If you are at level B1 or higher, you can book some time on the phone with her. Mail me if you are interested. She is not a teacher, but a great person to practice your Dutch conversation with. She can also do different accents, or act like a GP or anything you need. I hope you stay healthy and don’t need a doctor, but just in case!
If there is anything else I can help you with, please let me know!
Veel liefs en sterkte, hang in there!
* P.S.: To receive monthly updates about course dates &
last minute offers, you can join my WhatsApp list
by sending a Whatsapp to 06-45185335.
Please don't use this number to contact me for other reasons.
(I can be reached at 035-6923960 / info@learndutchfast.nl)
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Thank you!
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