Learning Dutch retreats: the fastest way to learn Dutch
Residential private crash courses Dutch for the higher educated

Private intensive Beginner courses Dutch focus on conversation skills: understanding and speaking. Hence: right pronunciation and sentence melody, correct syntax, commonly used vocabulary, only the useful grammar essentials. Private teaching, full immersion, focusing on the necessary bases for real proficiency. Emphasis on understanding and fluently speaking Dutch. Conversation centered learning, integrating some news and other topics you're interested in.

Advanced made to measure Dutch courses work up to using: more demanding, longer clauses, recognizing implicit meanings and understatements, building up lines of reasoning, understanding and editing more complex texts, more fluent and spontaneous conversations on technical, professional and everyday more complex topics.

Both beginners and advanced private intensive Dutch course take place in Averbode abbeys guesthouse. If you prefer, private intensive holiday courses in the Pyrenees mountains are possible too.

You're higher educated, you need to learn Dutch fast, for work or family ? Contact Richard van Egdom to share your needs and goals and discover how he can help you, mail richard@learning-dutch.com

Private residential crash courses

Learn Dutch retreats = the fastest way to learn Dutch

Private residential crash courses

The method is based on higher educated skills: creative dissatisfaction and recognition of structures. Such an intensive full immersion private crash course allows executive managers, diplomats, lawyers, and other higher educated to learn Dutch in a week: 5, 7 or 9 days.
That's what Richard's full immersion private residential Dutch courses claim and former students witness since years.

These private intensive immersion Dutch courses are customized. From the very beginning Dutch conversation skills is the thing to develop.  - 6 one to one lessons, + 3 hours of extra conversation a day, + 2 to 3 hours of revision on your own (coached revision is possible too)  = more than 50 hours of immersion in Dutch  - your Dutch improves up to nearly 2 levels in 5 days. If you need to progress more 7 or 9 days private immersion Dutch courses are possible too, all you need to do is contact Richard.

Residential crash courses - tailored to your personal needs - take place at Averbode Abbey one of our oldest and most beautiful historic abbeys. It's surrounded by a calm and scenic nature and wildlife area 'Averbode Bos en Heide'. A study-friendly environment. The abbey brews it's own, of course Belgian, beer too. 

Learn Dutch retreat = the fastest way to learn Dutch

At the start (if you don't start from scratch) Richard will test your level of proficiency according to the European Proficiency Scale. Most important is learning Dutch the way higher educated native speakers would prefer to hear.
In order of what makes it easier to understand you this is :
1. correct standard pronunciation and sentence melody,
2. correct sentence structure,
3. vocabulary,
4. respect of basic grammar rules.
Richard's courses focus on conversational Dutch. Focusing on understanding and speaking you're of course learning Dutch grammar, syntax and spelling too. You discuss test results with Richard and together fix goals and priorities for your week. This assessment can also be done before. Don't mind - if you have already some Dutch proficiency - to make an appointment with Richard for a somewhat longer phone call or online meeting in Dutch. You'll get a professional feedback on your strengths and deficits according to the European Framework of Reference.

Full immersion private Dutch courses

From the first day on Richard is talking Dutch with you. This full immersion may be somewhat strange at first but you'll rapidly discover it's efficiency in allowing you to learn Dutch at your pace in the shortest possible time.
Such a 'sudden' immersion in  a language you don't know, demands some adaptation from your brain. Don't worry, you can trust its creative dissatisfaction response : It will start to function autonomously, looking for contextual and nonverbal clues to understand what is said.
That's why this is the best and fastest possible way to learn Dutch for the higher educated : you know from experience you can trust your brain's innate ability to recognize structures.

Private one to one Dutch lessons with Richard your dedicated tutor

Theme-centered learning Dutch: on every day topics or, in advanced courses, on those topics you're interested in. Meanwhile you get the help you need to progress: Richard hands you the every-day or professional vocabulary you need. Teaches you good pronunciation and sentence melody. Shows you the right way to express yourself. Emphasizes on clear 'one idea one sentence' Dutch and common language.
This is the fastest way to express yourself in easy understandable good Standard Dutch. 
During advanced courses we may use articles, radio or TV news, recordings, texts on subjects your interested in, hobbies, work, family-life, home, Dutch ways of live, ... .

If you're starting from scratch Richard uses a manual and, once you start grasping the basics, uses Wablieft too. A weekly newspaper for foreigners learning Dutch. Wablieft informs about last week's news and actual topics among the natives. Most useful : although printed, Wablieft uses every-day spoken Dutch. Seeing and reading commonly spoken Dutch, although you may not be aware of, your brain notices how Dutch spelling suggests correct pronunciation. Seeing and reading Dutch aloud helps you abandon English-like pronunciation more easily. You see what consonants are assimilated by what others and how words are written. Rather unconsciously your brain grasps regularities in Dutch pronunciation.
And, you see the sentence structure. Seeing sentence structure makes it more easy to imitate and absorb the way native Dutch-speakers stress parts of the sentence and parts of the words. You see where you can take a breath, to have enough air for correct pronunciation of those long Dutch vowels, this way respecting the rhythm of Dutch sentences.

In the residential setting: Breakfast, Lunch, diner are another opportunity to practice every-day Dutch you learned that day in an every-day situation. Starting to practice conversation with other guests. In the evening you may watch TV-news together. Relaxed dinner conversations, acquaintance, exchange, ... . Opportunities to meet ordinary Dutch speaking people and ask them everything you'd like to know about the way Dutch speaking natives are and think, our history, social life,habits and customs, wit and humor, ... .

Revision and choosing key-sentences

Each afternoon's last lessons are to review vocabulary, sentence structure, pronunciation and grammar encountered during morning lessons, breaks or watching the news. From yours and your teachers notes you choose key-sentences that may be more useful as an extra pronunciation, sentence structure, useful grammar and vocabulary aid.
These key sentences are used to help you improve your pronunciation, finding the right rhythm and melody of Dutch sentences. Doing so almost unconsciously you integrate correct living Dutch sentence structure and grammar in an almost effortless way.

Free time

Learning a new language is a demanding mental activity. Having a siesta, taking a shower or bath, going for a walk to discover the surrounding country-side and nature ... are necessary to keep your brain relaxed and awake.
After break you can do some personal reviewing of notes and key-sentences the way you like. You may need 2 to 3 hours for optimal results. Essential for learning Dutch fast is to keep yourself immersed in Dutch. The more you cut of yourself from reading or speaking any other language, the faster you learn understanding, thinking, feeling and speaking Dutch.
Don't mind sleeping enough : during sleep your brain processes and integrates the day's experiences and what you learned. Students often tell they even started dreaming in Dutch. After 6 or more private Dutch lessons and ongoing conversation your brain needs a rest to integrate! Disconnecting, a good balance between activity and rest, contact and withdrawal are important to learn Dutch the fastest possible way. This intensive private one to one made to measure Dutch course is rich and intensive. Letting your thoughts freewheeling is a way your brain integrates new experiences.Relaxing, decanting, without any conscious effort leads to internal conversation, thinking and even dreaming in Dutch.

Learning Dutch, customized immersion Dutch crash course

Every morning debriefing and feedback to adjust this made to measure Dutch course to your learning. What's getting easier? What's still somewhat difficult? Feedback about conversations with the locals or other guests. It's your made to measure private Dutch course. It can be adapted day by day according to your progress and needs, rhythm and learning pace.

Learn Dutch, full private immersion for the higher educated, last day :

Together you discuss what you would like to review, deepen or train this last day. This may be some pronunciation or intonation, some points of sentence structure, essential grammar or spelling, whatever you need.

Testing for feedback on how to continue to improve your Dutch. Richard uses a similar method as first day to evaluate your progress according to the European proficiency scale. Taking into account goals and priorities you fixed yourself at the beginning of this intensive Dutch immersion week. Testing offers you, a more objective experience of your progress. But most pleasant of course will be your real life experience: your better understanding, speaking fluently and thinking in Dutch.

Summary

Full immersion crash courses Dutch are one to one and focusing on your needs and goals, emphasis on understanding en fluently speaking Dutch, conversation centered learning, integrating those topics you're interested in. These are Richard's ingredients of efficient motivating private Dutch courses. That way you want to meet, share your experiences,opinions and ideas, put your questions, give your answers, ... . As you want to communicate in Dutch about your interests, hobbies, concerns, you want to learn Dutch as fast as you can.

How to learn Dutch or improve your fluency one level in just 5, 7 or 9 days

Home

Learning Dutch retreat at Averbode Abbey = the fastest way

Most efficient one to one online crash courses Dutch

Who's this experienced dedicated private Dutch teacher? Testimonials

Excellent quality / price ratio Dutch courses worth your investment

Dutch grammar and syntax downloads & useful resources

Assess your actual Dutch proficiency?

You're higher educated, you need to learn Dutch fast, for work or family ? Contact Richard van Egdom to share your needs and goals and discover how he can help you, mail richard@learning-dutch.com