Learning Dutch

Today I had my oral test at Volksuniversiteit, to see what class I could sign up for. I wanted to go for the A2 halfbeginners course, but I needed to take an oral test to prove that my level was good enough for that class. I called the line this morning (Ik spreek een beetje Nederlands, maar spreek u engels of niet? I speak a little Dutch, but do you speak English or no?)

To my surprise, they were able to schedule me for an oral test tonight at 7pm. Which meant that Marco and I had to rush through dinner a bit (chicken stir fry, yum) but it worked out. And it meant getting it over with quickly before I stressed about it too much.

It would be the first time I took a bus alone, not counting the times I have gone to Marco’s work. But I did ask Marco to come with me to the bus stop I needed to wait at, which proved quite helpful. I had researched where I needed to go using the 9292 app, so that was not too much of a problem after that. And all of the buses have computer screens with the upcoming stops and and a reminder to check out with your OV-chip card.

Also interesting was the fact that since my appointment was at 7PM, about 7 or 8 people on the bus were also getting off at the same stop as a handful of classes started at that time. That made it pretty obvious where I needed to go.

The oral test itself wasn’t that bad. Wat is dit? Dit is een tafel. De tafel of het tafel? De tafel (table) and getting a bit harder from there. We spoke about 95% Dutch, and I had to say Ik weet het niet about five or six times  (= I don’t know). I was usually able to answer in complete sentences and sometimes provide extra information. The last bit of the oral exam was harder – he started to get into expressions and similar, which I simply have not memorized.

So in the end he suggested the same level that I was interested in (A2, which is a step above beginners but not quite intermediate) because it was quite clear I would be bored if I was placed into A1 but I did have issues with word order. (I usually forget to put the verbs at the end of the clause or sentence when it is required.) I am familiar with most of the rules – I just don’t have enough practice speaking yet nor do I have the rules memorized.

In the next few days Marco and I will register for the class officially, but tonight I just feel like quietly celebrating (and relaxing).

Yay!

So Marco and I have sat down and started looking more seriously at Dutch courses. In The Hague it seems the choice (for us) is between two: Direct Dutch and Volksuniversiteit (aka something like “People’s University”).

Both organizations have a range of courses at the beginning – for example Voltsuniversiteit has an absolute beginners course (A1) and a half beginners course (A2), whereas Direct Dutch has a beginners basic course (A1) and a beginners elementary course (A2 I assume). Both require taking a short oral test if you are not starting at the very beginning, but that is to be expected (and makes sense).

One of the reasons we are thinking about choosing Volksuniversiteit is because of when the class starts. For Direct Dutch, the intermediate class would start February 6th, but the beginning elementary course (which they might put me in as my verbal skills leave much to be desired) starts March 19. I don’t really want to wait that long. On the other hand, at Volksuniversiteit, the two A2 sessions start February 6 or 12th.

The other consideration is where in The Hague the courses would be offered. The university has various locations depending on the class you are looking for, while Direct Dutch just has one location at Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië 275, so I do not have to switch buildings every three or four months.

On the other hand, if I look at the university course, I have a choice of Tuesday mornings (9;15 – 12:30PM) at Sweelinckplein 42 or Tuesday evenings (7:00 – 10:15PM) at Oostduinlaan 50. And then at each you have the choice between a bus or a tram, and one or the other is closer but might require a transfer. It’s all about choices.

So sometime soon, I wil have to go get more information and I have to take the oral test to double check what level I am. 😉 I expect A2 but we will see how it goes…