About
My passion for teaching Dutch
Dutch language trainer, Monique den Haan has hands-on experience settling-in under expat circumstances. She worked as a business consultant and project manager on international assignments in the USA, Canada and Europe.
After living abroad for over 5 years, Monique moved back to her home country as the partner of an expat. Since 2010, she has been supporting internationals moving to the Amsterdam region professionally. She started providing clients with practical relocation support, e.g. relocation planning, accompanying clients to local appointments, recommending suppliers and providing housing and/or schooling advice.
In 2018, Monique began developing the Boost Your Dutch Language Programme to make it easier for internationals to settle-in and understand the locals. Her idea was to take advantage of the extensive skill set and life experiences of internationals, when they are learning Dutch as a second language. She enjoys her teaching very much and has been specialising as a Dutch language trainer ever since. Her local knowledge and relocation expertise have proven to be very valuable for making lessons interesting and keeping clients motivated.
Mission of Boost Your Dutch
My aim is to ensure that my clients feel secure and have the best possible chances for a successful and enjoyable life in the Netherlands.
Over the years, I have helped many international families settle-in, and -in my experience- one of the most important aspects of making yourself feel at home is learning to speak (some) Dutch to ease local communications.
Learning Dutch can be fun and using Dutch in practice is likely to enrich your local life. And, no worries, you will be able to learn Dutch and enjoy yourself doing so. Join my lessons and boost your Dutch too!
Teaching approach
Before teaching Dutch herself, Monique recommended her relocation clients to take local lessons, but many seemed to struggle learning Dutch. Clients found it difficult to make progress and stay motivated. Based on their feedback and experiences with existing study materials, Monique decided to develop a language course from an international perspective and to focus on using Dutch in practice.
In August 2019, she completed a teacher training course at Dynamic Language Learning: “Basiscursus Dynamic Language Learning voor Nt2”, including: the theory of TPRS, teaching with comprehensible input, Total Physical Response (learning another language through actions), Picture Talk and Story Asking (co-creating a story with language students).
- Solutions to common Dutch language challenges
- Important TPRS-elements for language learning
- Design skills acquired as business consultant
- Training skills acquired as project manager
- Life experience as parent in a bilingual family