NL Wat?! Heeft een cursist de docent een stommerd (a silly person) genoemd? Geen zorgen, de cursist is er ongedeerd vanaf gekomen! Stommerd is een van de woorden die je leert in onze workshop ‘Underground Dutch: schelden en vloeken’. Afgelopen sessie vond onze allereerste Workshop Saturday plaats. In online sessies van een uur, maakten cursisten …
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Updated February 22: GOOD NEWS! With the new easing of restrictions on February 25, all COVID restrictions that we fall under have been lifted. The classrooms that we use for our in-person Evening Courses are originally for 25 students and more so it is very possible to adhere to some distancing during the classes if …
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The Netherlands is famous for its cheeses. You will find cheese shops in every city in the Netherlands, selling many delicious kinds of cheeses. From jonge kaas to oude kaas and from kaas uit Gouda to kaas uit Edam! So, how do you pick the right cheese? Well, it’s a true journey, but here are …
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At Koentact we are known for our group courses but we also teach in-company courses at international companies. Learning Dutch whilst working in an English language office can be challenging, but attaining Dutch skills makes life in the Netherlands ever more enjoyable. Our founder Koen was asked for his take on learning Dutch in an …
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Photo from Field Trip “Waterland” Anyone who’s heard anything about the Netherlands knows that Dutchies love their fietsen (bicycles). They take them to work, to the supermarket, on nights out (when they’ve had a little too much to drink), and they carry all their kids on them too. When Dutchies say “Oh, op die fiets” …
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On Saturday we gathered in Amsterdam Oost for the famous Field Trip – a treasure hunt-like walk that sparks a kind of fanatism that one usually finds in a kid’s eyes. All of my students were already there when I arrived at the meeting point, casually sipping their thee or koffie verkeerd and catching up …
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How many teachers have you had in your life that simply told you to open your book at page ‘x’, make exercise ‘y’ and then checked the answers with you? At least one, if not more than one, right? For teachers, it is very easy to fall into the routine of doing things the “simple” …
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This Saturday Amsterdam will turn orange. On April 27 we celebrate Koningsdag, the birthday of our king, and there’s no way you will not know about it. Here’s why: A typical activity on Koningsdag is the vrijmarkt (free market), which means that everyone will look for hidden treasures in the attic that will not be …
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The founder of Koentact, Koen Gijzel, will be featured in the new series of ‘Groeten uit Holland’ (BNN VARA/ NPO2). Meester Koen will teach Dutch to Habiba, Farida, Fatima, Aicha and Khadija, five incredible sweet and outspoken Moroccan ladies. To put the ‘classroom Dutch’ into action, Meester Koen sends the ladies on Koentact-style Field Trips. …
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On how many occasions in your life did you feel reluctant to take the first step? It might have been asking that colleague out on a date. Or eating a grasshopper for the first time (spoiler alert: tastes like nuts, not like chicken). Going to the gym with your winter chubby-chops. Picking up the phone …
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