'Douze points' for stress free lessons at TaalTaal
They could easily start a girl band, the 'meidengroep' of the Dutch Basic 1 course, which consists of six sparkling ladies. Unfortunately, only Claudia and Aya were conspicuous by their absence during this group interview, but let's introduce the 4 remaining TaalTaal Girls: Annika from South Africa, Irem from Turkey, Diana from Bulgaria and Shadi from Iran.
These women meet up three times a week to learn Dutch in a relaxed way. If Irem were to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, she would certainly give the course and the group 'douze points'! She beams: "Before I started this course I had a lot of stress, but thanks to this group and this teacher, all the stress has disappeared. I have also made new friends!" Shadi agrees, but she adds with a laugh: "Well, I am a bit stressed right now, because we just had to take an exam!"
It is surprising how many Dutch words and sentences the ladies have already learnt, especially because this is only a beginner's course. In just 7 weeks, miracles have really been accomplished here! Each of these ladies even have their own favorite Dutch words. For example, Annika thinks 'schattig' (cute) is very, uh...cute and Shadi likes the short but powerful word 'aangenaam' (pleasant).
Besides the Dutch language, food remains a favourite topic of conversation. Almost all of the girls especially like food from their own countries, but Shadi and Diana are also big fans of Dutch fish. Diana: "In Bulgaria we always put fish on the barbecue, in the Netherlands you can prepare fish in all kinds of different ways." Irem however hates Dutch herring and admits that she always eats Turkish dishes (who can blame her ;-)) :"But for breakfast I'll just eat a broodje kaas! (cheese sandwich)!"
Nobody can hardly catch the girls commenting on Dutch customs, but one thing stands out for Annika: "I don't like Tikkies!" Yes, some really stingy Dutch people are known for sending a Tikkie for literally everything, even very small amounts. The entire group is unanimous about a nice Dutch custom: "Cycling!"
Last but not least, what would the girls do if they woke up tomorrow and suddenly spoke fluent Dutch? And let's be honest, they are already making great progress! Shadi would immediately start talking to her neighbors and Diana would like to start writing poetry. How could this dream possibly become a reality? Irem: "Go to TaalTaal!"
Girls (and guys), just wanna have fun Dutch lessons? Then follow Irem's advice and make sure you choose TaalTaal!
The next season starts in January, with Open days on the 11th of December and 8th and 11th of January. Check the website for all information: www.taaltaal.nl/en -- free intakes are available are available at: www.taaltaal.nl/intake