Bart de Pau - Language Courses

Bart de Pau Language Courses BV

Our programmes are offered on separate websites:

About Bart de Pau Language Courses BV

Bart de Pau Language Courses BV is active since 2014 providing Dutch courses for foreigners.

Bart de Pau Language Courses BV is registered at Noorderweg 1-A3, 1401 TV Bussum (legal/mail address).
Chamber of commerce registration: CoC: 71196846
VAT registration: NL858618175B01
Phone: +31648074618

The in-person courses take place at:
– Vakantiepark Het Timmerholt, Gagelmaat 4, 9431KT Westerbork, Drenthe

Bart de Pau Langauge Courses BV is abbreviated as BLC.

BLC provides:
– Dutch courses in a virtual classroom
– intensive offline Dutch courses (with accommodation) at the BLC Dutch Summer School
– intensive offline Dutch courses (with accommodation) at the BLC Dutch Winter School

All the information on bartdepau.com – such as the terms and conditions of NRTO, the NRTO code of conduct, the complaint procedure etc. – applies to the Virtual classrooms, Summer and Winter Schools only.

Please note: the current page (bartdepau.com) does NOT to relate to:
– free materials about the Dutch language and culture on Bart de Pau’s YouTube channel, Facebook page and website learndutch.org
– paid premium materials on the website learndutch.org (if purchased as self-study, without an-inperson course)
For these free and paid materials, the information on bartdepau.com – such as the terms and conditions of NRTO, the NRTO code of conduct, the complaint procedure etc. – does NOT apply.

Our mission:
Our goal is to deliver a quality language program at an affordable price. We want to provide maximum progress per invested euro. That is why we offer group courses and invest a lot in online materials. We want the process to be fun and efficient. We want to be clear and honest about our services and course results. We think that client satisfaction depends mainly on: learning results, fun, price/quality, having the right expectations, having the right mix of motivated students.

We very much value students who invest their time in choosing our courses and have a high motivation to learn Dutch. Please, take your time to find out if our courses are for you or not. Feel free to contact us by phone if you doubt. We always try to give an honest advise and we won’t try to sell you something that you don’t need. If we think the course is not for you, or if we think your plan is too ambitious, we’ll tell you.

About bartdepau.com:
We offer our programme as Summer School, Winter School, virtual classrooms (promoted on different websites). To make the registration and communication with existing clients easy, we’ve combined all booking activities and generic information on one website: bartdepau.com). There is also a specific e-mail address for existing clients (study [at] bartdepau.com).

On bartdepau.com you can find only information with respect to courses in a classroom (online and offline). The information at bartdepau.com does NOT relate to our free materials or #dutchgrammar subscriptions (more information on learndutch.org).

NRTO General Terms and Conditions

Bart de Pau Language Courses BV (in short: BLC) is a member of NRTO, the Dutch Council for Training and Education. BLC holds the NRTO Quality mark. BLC adheres to the NRTO General Terms and Conditions. These terms and conditions are agreed with the Dutch Consumers’ Association.

In Dutch: Algemene Voorwaarden
In English: General Terms and Conditions

As we understand that this is an extensive and generic document, we highlight a few things below:

Our services & definitions (article 1)

– The free materials and the #dutchgrammar video course are not covered by these terms and conditions.
– The BLC Dutch Summer School / Winter School are considered ‘face-to-face’ instruction.
– The virtual classrooms are considered an educational service that is for the most part offered by means of an electronic (learning) environment.

Accommodation
– The NRTO General Terms and Conditions do not regulate ‘accommodation’
– Accommodation in Drenthe is a part of one agreement for accommodation and educational service together: payment terms, cancellation conditions, cooling off period of NRTO apply on the entire agreement and as such on the accommodation as well. Additional conditions of the accommodation/holiday park apply as indicated here.

Cancellation policy (article 5)
For Summer/Winter School/virtual classrooms:
– cancellation more than 2 months prior to the course – 10% will be charged*
– cancellation between 1 and 2 months prior to the course – 20% will be charged*
– cancellation between 2 weeks and 1 month prior to the course – 30% will be charged*
– cancellation less than 2 weeks piror to the course – 50% will be charged*
– early termination the full cost of the current block will be charged*

* on the total sum of the agreement (also applicable to the costs of accommodation, in case of a course with accommodation in Drenthe)

Cooling off period = 14 calendar days:
On distance agreements there is a cooling off period of 14 days when booking more than 1 month in advance; which means that you can cancel the service without any costs within 2 weeks after concluding the agreement.

Price changes (article 7)
– prices are always fixed; BLC will never raise prices on existing reservations; price changes are only applicable on new reservations

Payment (article 10)
– payment in cash is not accepted by BLC; only iDeal, bank transfer, credit card.

Extra terms and conditions - Bart de Pau Language Courses

Accommodation (offline courses in Drenthe)
BLC’s accommodations are located at Holiday Park ‘Landgoed Het Timmerholt’ (in full: ‘Stichting Vakantiepark Het Timmerholt’), member of RECRON (Recreation Businesses Association Netherlands). BLC has an agreement with the holiday park.

This means that:
– RECRON conditions are applicable (except article 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 because this is arranged in the NRTO conditions)

Teaching and Examination Regulations (OER)
– please find here our latest version

Level
One of the student requirements is having the right entrance level:
– Doing the level test prior to signing up is mandatory, except: a) when the student books level 1, b) has already done level 5, 6 or R with Bart de Pau Language Courses
– It is possible to sign up for a different level than indicated in the level test, in case this is agreed with Bart de Pau Language Courses during an oral intake (for example: depending on the scores and level of speaking)
– Bart de Pau Language Courses may require the student to do an extra level test not later than 4 weeks prior to the start of the course.

Not meeting the student requirements
– In case a student doesn’t meet the student requirements, including the situation where a student signs up without level test and/or without doing the extra level test as requested, Bart de Pau Language Courses has the right to: change the level, postpone the course or cancel the course.

Payment terms

Offline intensive courses at our Language Campus:

You will get an e-mail with a payment link after your course is confirmed.

Payment deadlines:
– within 2 weeks if the reservation is made more than 2 months prior to the course
– within 1 week if the reservation is made between 2 weeks and 2 months prior to the course
– within 2 days if the reservation is made less than 2 weeks prior to the course

Online Virtual classrooms:

You pay online at the moment of reservation, the last step of the online registration process. If the payment was not successful, you will get an email with a payment link within 30-40 minutes after registration.

Course specification

Apart from the general terms and conditions, specific variables of the course that you booked apply.

These you can find on the course website (before booking) and on the booking confirmation:
– course dates
– course price
– course price specification if you book more services (specification for course and accommodation)
– course location (online, Drenthe)
– total amount of classroom tuition
– total amount of self study/homework
– BLC’s level qualification (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or R)
– required entrance level (according the CEFR framework)
– target level (according the CEFR framework)
– required book and materials
– room type (if you book accommodation)
– amount of nights (if you book accommodation)
– check-in date (if you book accommodation)
– check-out date (if you book accommodation)
– specific conditions (level test requirement, intake form requirement)

Student requirements

Student requirements:
– the student has a basic level of English (preferably B1 or higher)*
– the student is at least 18 years old (younger applicants may participate under certain conditions**)
– the course pace is aimed at higher educated students; having a university degree is not a strict requirement, however count on more time needed for self study if you’re a slow learner
– the student has the required entrance level to do the course, more information here
– a laptop / tablet is needed for the self study / homework
– doing the homework is a requirement to do the course, count on 3-4 hours homework per lesson (additional to classroom education)
– to get a certificate: at least 80% of the lessons / homework should be completed
– [offline courses] the student has the right to stay in the Netherlands (visa/residence permit/nationality that doesn’t need a visa)
– [online courses] the student has a stable internet connection, a microphone and a camera

* Do we only speak in English? Of course not! It’s a Dutch course and we try to speak as much Dutch as possible in class. We use (simple) English:
1. in our e-mails
2. in the #dutchgrammar instruction videos (research shows: instruction in the target language makes no sense until B2)
3. in class in the levels 1 and 2 (and sometimes in level 3 depending on the strength of the group)
4. all our vocabulary lists are Dutch-English
5. we provide translations of Dutch spoken videos in English

** Students between 16-18 years old can participate under certain conditions:
– courses without accommodation (lessons-only packages and virtual classrooms)
– courses with accommodation: if the parents undersign a declaration OR if the student travels together with a parent
– student should be familiar with learning foreign languages
– student should have the motivation to learn Dutch (and not do the course because the parents want it!)

Our course is adult education, based on the idea that the student has an inner motivation to learn Dutch. We do not force people to attend classes, or to do the homework. We just expect that. Our offline programs are NOT camps under full supervision. We have no resources to provide extra attention to youngsters, to correct behaviour or to take responsibility for what they do outside the classroom. We don’t want to play the police. If you are a parent thinking about sending your child(ren), feel free to contact us for advice. In the past, we had young students who successfully integrated in the group of adults. But we’ve had also some students who could not handle the freedom of being away from home for the first time. Of course we would like to avoid situations that harm the learning experience of others.

Accommodation - Language Campus

Learn more here.

Teacher qualifications

The team of language trainers at the BLC Dutch Summer School / Winter School / Virtual classrooms consists experienced language trainers of Dutch as a second language. The number of trainers fluctuates between 20-30 depending on the demand.

We select our teachers, using the following criteria:
– an NT2-qualification, a teaching degree or a university degree in Dutch/linguistics or related subject
– at least 3 years of teaching experience of Dutch as a second language
– native speaker of Dutch
– extensive experience in teaching groups
– preferably having experience with self paying students (a demanding, highly motivational audience)

We educate our teachers to work with our own method.

We monitor the quality of the teaching through client feedback.

Please note:
It’s quite common that our students like the language trainer and then want to continue the next level with the same language trainer. To a certain extent we already take this into account when making our initial planning. For example: trainer A teaches level X in period Y and she/he will teach level X+1 in period Y+1. It’s important to realise that we can never give a full guarantee that a specific teacher will teach your course! Because plannings can change as there are unforeseen circumstances; teachers can get ill, change their planning and there are more factors that we take into account when making a planning (some trainers prefer certain levels). We can only guarantee that the language trainer complies with the above mentioned requirements.

PRIVACY POLICY

Who are we?

This is a website of the company: Bart de Pau Language Courses BV, Landstraat 190, 1401 ET, Bussum, The Netherlands; contact: study@bartdepau.com. Chamber of commerce registration: 71196846.

What is this document about?

This document describes which data is collected on this website, how, why, and what we’ll do with it.

Which data do we ask from you on the website?

All parts of the website are accessible without the need to leave your contact details.

On the following forms of the website we ask for your personal details:

Level determination test -> to provide you with an indication of the right group course, we have a level determination test on the website. The results of the level determination test are sent by e-mail. We store the test results to be able to advice you about the right level in case you approach us for advice. Unless you opt-in for our newsletter, you won’t receive other e-mails from related to the level test.
Course booking -> When you book a course with us, we ask for your personal details in accordance with the requirements of the law. The details are shared with: our accountant, our accommodation providers (in case you book a course with accommodation). We store billing information as long as required by tax authorities. Current legislation requires 7 years of storage. We will delete/anonymise billing information after 7 years unless regulations change.
Pre-registration -> Some courses are opened earlier through ‘pre-registration’. We collect the same data as with a course booking. Pre-registrations are converted into course bookings once the course is confirmed.
Intake form (questionnaire) -> After you reserve a course, we ask for extra details (educational background, experience learning Dutch, and information needed to plan logistics). We keep this information for 3 years (most of our students book multiple courses and it’s helpful to access your information at a later stage).
Waiting list -> When a course is full and you sign up for a waiting list, we will contact you if spots become available.
Feedback form -> After a course is completed, we ask you for feedback (how you experienced the course). We keep feedback information for 3 years. Then we anonimise it.
Complaint procedure -> We keep the information you file in a complaint for 3 years. Then we anonimise it.
Newsletter subscription -> Read more below.

E-mail newsletter
Website visitors can subscribe to our newsletter. We send our newsletter occasionally (about 5-10 times per year) to inform you about topics like:

Dates / prices when we open subscription of the new season
Updates on availability (related to typical peak season periods)
Experiences of students (pictures, blogs, reviews)
Special offers / announcement of early bird booking periods/deadlines
Other information/news related to our language courses
we use Mailchimp to send our newsletter (marketing automation platform); by subscribing to our weekly e-mail you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to MailChimp for processing in accordance with their Privacy Policy and Terms. This information is stored on Mailchimp’s servers in the United States of America.
we have closed a Data Processing Agreement with Mailchimp.
Mailchimp tracks activity (such as: is e-mail opened, are links clicked etc). This helps us to identify inactive members of our mailing list (to remove them from the list).
when you subscribe through the exit-intent popup, this subscription to the Mailchimp mailing list is handled through Retyp LLC d/b/a OptinMonster’s software in accordances with their privacy policy and terms; we have closed a Data Processing Agreement with Retyp LLC d/b/a OptinMonster.
Unless you’re a client, we use the double-optin function: which means that you need to confirm the e-mail that we send to you after you completed your name and e-mail on the website to subscribe to the e-mail newsletter. If you don’t click on the link in the confirmation e-mail, you won’t be subscribed to the list.
We submit booking information to our mailing list
to access your data stored in the the mailing list:
- click the link in the footer of the e-mail newsletter to access your data information/settings
- to unsubscribe: click the ‘unsubscribe link’ in the footer of every e-mail newsletter

COOKIES

This website uses cookies to let the website function. A cookie is a small piece of text that our website places on your computer. For example: we use a cookie so you don’t need to login every time you use the site. Cookies can also have other functions: to gather statistics, to serve relevant advertisements. Cookies can be placed by third parties.

The website shows a popup message the first time you enter the website:
– with a link to our privacy policy
– and the option to accept or decline cookies.
You can change your initial choice later using the ‘reset cookie consent’ button in the footer of the page.

Which cookies do we use?

Google Analytics

We use Google analytics to track how users use our website. The statistics will be stored at Google’s serves in the United States of America. Our website sends the IP-addresses anonymised to Google. Because the IP’s are anonymised our website places cookies without consent. For more information, read the privacy policy of Google and the privacy policy of Google Analytics. We have signed a Data Processing Amendment with google. And we have opted-out for data sharing. Our Google Analytics account is linked to our Google Adwords account. This allows us to measure effectiveness of our advertisements.

Youtube

This website uses embedded videos that are hosted on Youtube (Google). Youtube places cookies to identify the visitor. Videos watched on youtube, including the embedded videos on this website influence how other videos (including advertisement videos) will be offered on Youtube to the visitor. More information: Youtube’s privacy policy.

Marketing

We use cookies to promote our services via Google Adwords. Through this cookie, you might see an advertisement of our products (Summer School, Winter School, online courses) on other websites. Also, we have linked our Google Analytics account to our Google Adwords account: this will let us measure if our advertisement is effective.

Vimeo

This website uses embedded videos that are hosted on Vimeo. Vimeo uses functionality cookies and so called ad targeting cookies: cookies that will track behaviour in order to serve relevant advertisement. For more information check Vimeo’s privacy policy.

Social media

This website uses social media buttons (Facebook, Google+, Twitter and other social networks). When someone likes/shares our content, your information is submitted to these social platforms.

Newsletter popup

As mentioned above, we use a popup feature (Retyp LLC d/b/a OptinMonster) to encourage people subscribe to our e-mail newsletter. This popup usually is shown when a person is abandoning the page (so called: exit-intent popups). Cookies are stored to prevent the popup showing every time you visit the website, and show up on every page.

Good to know: you can also edit cookie settings in your browser.

OTHER

Children

We acknowledge the privacy of Children and we encourage parents and others in charge of the children to play an active role in the online activities and interests of Children. Children younger than 13 years, or 16 years in case the children are inside the European Union, can not use or try to use our services. In case we find out that personal information was collected about a child, we will delete this information. Parents who find out that this website has collected information about a child can send a request to bart@learndutch.org to delete this information.

Who else has access to personal data?

Hosting

This website is hosted by WP Engine (wpengine.com), which has it’s servers in the United Kingdom, under their generic Data Processing Agreement.

Payment

If you make a purchase on this website, order date will be sent to Rabobank through their Omnikassa payment platform. Our website does not ask for credit card details – these details you input directly in Rabobank’s safe payments environment.

Language trainers

Our trainers have access all relevant information regarding your course booking. Language trainers can access only the client details of their own group.

Accounting

Data about purchases on this website is processed by our accountant Inzaken. Their privacy statement applies.

Client feedback

We are continuously monitoring the quality of our educational services. Therefore we’ll send an evaluation form within a week after the completion of your course.

In this evaluation form, we ask about:
– quality of the total program
– quality of the teacher
– quality of the book
– quality of the online materials
– quality of the information (website / e-mails)
– quality of the organisation
– how much time you spent on the self study
– evaluation of the learning result
– quality of the accommodation (if you booked a room)
– the price/quality score
– if you plan to come back
– suggestions

NTRO Code of conduct

As a member of NRTO (the Dutch Council for Training and Education) Bart de Pau Language Courses BV (for short: BLC) adheres to the NRTO code of conduct.

In Dutch: gedragscode
In English: code of conduct

Complaint procedure

1. The procedure: for who
– The complaint procedure is applicable to clients/students of Bart de Pau Language Courses BV’s (further called ‘the organisation / we) who booked an offline course or a virtual classroom course.
– This procedure describes how a client/student (you) can file a complaint about the organisation.
– This procedure is not for users of the website (free/paid materials) who did not book a course (in an online/offline classroom).
– This procedure deals with situations where the received service was not in accordance with what could be expected based on the organisation’s website and course agreement (course confirmation) and common sense.
– This procedure does not deal with situations of sexual intimidation, discrimination, aggression, violence, intimidation.
– The first person to address an issue in class is the teacher. This complaint procedure is meant to address situations that could not be solved in the classroom.

2. Goal of the complaint procedure
– Through this ‘complaint procedure’ we hope to improve our educational service, minimise mistakes, and improve the information on our website to provide the right expectations of our services.

3. How to file the complaint:
– You can file a complaint using this form
– The course administration of the organisation deals with the complaint and the complaint will be treated confidentially.

4. After you filed the complaint:
– Within 2 weeks: we confirm the receipt of the complaint and we contact you to investigate the complaint and see if we can come to a solution. We try to act faster with ongoing courses.
– If the complaint takes more than 2 weeks to investigate, we will confirm the receipt of the complaint and indicate a term within we will respond, but no longer than 4 weeks.

5. Solution finding
– Depending on the severity of the complaint, the cause, the responsibility/liability, and the difference between what was communicated and the service that was received; we may offer a solution, which might be a compensation, a new (partial) delivery of the service, or substitute service.
– A possible result of the investigation and mutual consultation might be that we still hold a different view than you:

6. Dispute settlement ‘geschillencommissie’
– If the complaint cannot be resolved in mutual consultation, a dispute will have arisen that will be eligible for the dispute settlement at ‘de geschillencommissie’ through NRTO. The decision of ‘de geschillencommissie’ will be binding. A dispute settlement at ‘de geschillencommissie’ can be started only after the complaint procedure at the school is completed. The NRTO general terms and conditions, and the NRTO code of conduct will be leading in such a procedure.
– Course reservations made before 12th of May 2022 cannot have a dispute settlement at ‘de geschillencommissie’, because Bart de Pau Language Courses BV started to apply NRTO conditions only from that date.

Levels

Level descriptions & course objectives

IDENTIFY YOUR LEVEL

It is important that you determine your level before you book your course.

We help you by providing:
– a (general) level determination test, followed by an extra level test (if you score A2 or higher)
– level descriptions (below)
– if you doubt: contact us for an oral intake

After you book a course, you are required to re-confirm your level not later than 4 weeks prior to the course, by:
– completing an intake form
– doing an extra level test (if you book level 3 or higher)
– an extra oral intake (if you book level 4 or higher / if your level test doesn’t confirm the level you booked)

CEFR

CEFR = the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It distinguishes the levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. It’s a way to identify how well someone speaks a (foreign) language. Many language schools and books use this classification.

But, the steps between the levels are not equal. The corresponding vocabulary knowledge illustrates this: level A1: 1000 words, level A2: 2000 words, level B1: 4000-5000 words, level B2: 10000 words. So it takes much more time to go from B1 to B2 than from A1 to A2.

OUR LEVELS

As we organise courses of 9-10 days, we determined our own levels. We chopped the entire journey from 0 to B2 into equal parts. Each level corresponds to an intensive Dutch course of 9-10 days class. The levels are successive. You can find the level descriptions below.

PLEASE, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
– levels are successive, but ‘having done’ one level, does not automatically mean that you are ready for the next level
– reviewing the course materials after a course is very important; you really need to know the content well before you can start the next level
– be cautious with booking 2 levels without a break, especially intensive offline courses; take the time to review the materials; learn more here.
– you learn a language better by reviewing, than by progressing too fast
– re-doing a level = not a failure! many students benefit a lot from doing a level for the second time; you will still learn a lot of new things that you didn’t grasp the first time
– some people do a level and then plan to do the next level by self study: this goes wrong in 90% of the situations; the only level you can skip by doing self study is level 1 if you have completed #dutchgrammar / ‘1000 most common words’.
– signing up for a higher level than you have? Not a good idea! If you learned to swim a bit, you don’t jump into the ocean in order to become a better swimmer. Sometimes, people think this will push them to a higher level; the reality is that you end up learning nothing.

LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS

Course	Entrance level description	Course objectives
LEVEL 1 – Total beginner (from 0 tot A1)	Entrance level = 0: You have never studied Dutch. Or you have done an introduction course up to A1 level, but you don’t master the content. Do the level test to see if you are not over-qualified for this level.	Target level = A1. At this level we do lessons 1-9 from ‘Het Lesboek-1’. Table of contents + introduction + lesson 1: click here. Course objectives: click here to see the ‘review’ pages at the end of this level.
LEVEL 2 (from A1 to A2)	Entrance level = A1: You score at least (close to) level 2 in this test. You have completed an introduction course up to A1 level, where you spent at least 60-100 hours* on studying (including self-study). It is important that you really master the content of that course (‘doing a course’ is not the same as ‘mastering the content’!). You can do this level too, if you master the content of Bart de Pau’s online course #dutchgrammar (part 1) in combination with ‘1000 most common words in Dutch’ (both available on learndutch.org). Required prior knowledge: you need to know at least 750-1000 words and the basic elements of grammar, such as: conjugation of verbs, main clause word order, inversion word order, structure of questions, plural nouns, possessive adjectives, modal verbs, comparative, diminutive, behaviour of adjectives with de/het words, (present) perfect tense. Skills: you can understand very basic phrases. You can introduce yourself. You can ask and answer questions about personal details. You can can interact in a simple way (saying what you want, need) provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. Is it a problem if you have no real experience speaking Dutch? It’s OK if your knowledge is still ‘passive’. In short: you’ll need to choose the right answer from a multiple choice question, but we understand that applying all elements of the basic grammar correctly in a split-second is still a challenge. Reference 1: if your introduction course was a self study program like Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur or Duolingo; that’s in itself not enough to enroll at this level successfully, because these programs do not cover the required grammar. This can be compensated by completing #dutchgrammar part 1. Reference 2: is it some time ago you did the introduction course? Then make sure you review all the materials in advance! Reference 3: if you studied with ‘Nederlands in Gang’ before: have you come halfway (until chapter 9) and you master the first half of the book really well, then this is the right level to book. Have you completed the book but you don’t really know the content well: then this is the right level to book (instead of level 3). Reference 4: Have you completed the ‘Inburgeringsexamen buitenland’ (the exam of the Dutch embassy/consulate at A1 level), then please be advised that level 2 might be too hard. The reason: the materials for this specific exam do not cover too much of grammar. You might compensate this by completing the online course #dutchgrammar-1. Reference 5: Are you somewhere between A1 and A2 level, and learning for your Inburgering-exam (and having passed perhaps some, but not all of the A2 components) then this is the right level to book.	Target level = A2. At this level we’ll cover lessons 10-18 from ‘Het Lesboek-1’. Table of contents + introduction + lesson 10: click here. Course objectives: click here to see the ‘review’ pages at the end of this level in the book.
LEVEL 3 (from A2 to A2+)	Entrance level = A2. You have completed a course up to level A2, where you spent at least 100-200 hours* on studying (including self-study). Preferably, you have some speaking experience in a Dutch environment.Knowledge: you know at least 1500-2000 words. Apart from the required basic grammar as specified for the previous level, you know: separable verbs, reflexive verbs, combinations of verbs and prepositions, the imperative, special verb constructions (‘te’ + infinitive, ‘aan het’ + infinitive), simple past tense, future tense, subclause word order. Skills: apart from the extra required prior knowledge (vocabulary and grammar), the difference with the previous level is that you should be able to apply the basic grammar in speech. So, the knowledge that is specified as required knowledge for level 2, you need to be able to apply actively. Please note the difference between ‘active’ and ‘passive’ knowledge: ‘passive’ knowledge = you’re able to choose the right answer from multiple choice questions; active knowledge = you’re able to use it). Generally, this means that speaking experience in a Dutch environments is required OR the A2 course that you did before included a lot of speaking exercises. Reference 1: For most people it will be difficult to reach the required entry level with only self-study as prior learning. Starting from scratch and only studying online (without interaction with a teacher or Dutch people) will not bring everyone to level A2. Doing Bart de Pau’s online courses #dutchgrammar-1 + #dutchgrammar-2 + 1000 most common words in Dutch will provide you with the required passive knowledge. However, you’ll need to find a way to practise (speaking with Dutch people). Exception: if you’re a talent or native speaker of German or a Scandinavian language, you might reach A2 level with only online learning. Reference 2: If you finished the following frequently used books ‘Nederlands in Gang’, ‘De Opmaat’, ‘Contact’ in a group course (not self study!), you should subscribe for this level. Reference 3: If you have passed all the elements of the ‘inburgering’ exam at A2 level and you managed to keep the level, then this is the right level to book. If it’s a long time a ago and you didn’t speak or learned Dutch after passing the exam, then it’s strongly recommended to do the level test.	Target level = A2+ At this level we’ll cover lessons 1-9 from ‘Het Lesboek-2’. Table of contents + introduction + lesson 1: click here. Course objectives: click here to see the ‘review’ pages at the end of this level in the book.
LEVEL 4 (from A2+ to B1)	Entrance level = A2+. Prior study: you have completed one or more courses with a total study load of at least 180-250 hours* (including self study), and preferably a significant amount of speaking experience. Knowledge: you know at least 2500-3000 words. Apart from the required basic grammar as specified for the previous 2 levels, you know 5 uses of the word ‘er’, the modal verb ‘hoeven’ and more detailed some earlier discussed subjects: (in)separable verbs, reflexive verbs (by accident), exceptions of: adjectives and plural nouns, more detailed us of imperative, modal verbs, demonstrative pronouns, special verb constructions. The main difference between this level and the previous level is that here you should be able to apply all basic grammar (as specified for the previous levels) actively in speech. A person on this level is able to quickly construct sentences (without thinking) and can say things in different ways (though: there still will be a lot of mistakes in speaking). Typically, the student on this level has reviewed the vocabulary and grammar of the previous levels several times. The knowledge has reached the ‘long term’ memory. Good to know 1: Have you previously done a course up to level A2? It might be tempting to choose this level, because ‘A2’ is in our level description. What is important to know is that there is a gap between finishing frequently used books as ‘Nederlands in Gang’, ‘De Opmaat’ and ‘Contact’ and this level. For most students it will be better to subscribe to our level 3, unless you’re very talented or have a lot of speaking experience.	Target level = B1. At this level we’ll cover lessons 10-18 from ‘Het Lesboek-2’. Table of contents + introduction + lesson 10: click here. Course objectives: click here to see the ‘review’ pages at the end of this level in the book.
Level 5 (B1/B2 part 1)	Anyone in the range B1-B2 can participate in this course. The minimum entrance level = B1: to get the B1 level you have completed more courses with a total study load of at least 250-400 hours* (including self study) and you have a significant amount of speaking experience, preferably an equal amount as the amount of study. Knowledge: you know at least 4000-5000 words. You can apply the grammar as specified in levels 1-4. You know more complicated grammar constructions, like the past perfect, the relative sub clause and complicated constructions with multiple verbs. And you can apply all functions of “er” without thinking. You know common expressions. Important to understand: you can’t go from level B1 to B2 in one course! The journey from B1 to B2 is a much bigger step (in time and efforts) than going for example from A1 to A2. This is a course on the B1/B2 level rather than from B1 to B2. In order to reach B2 level you need multiple courses and above all: lots and lots of real life speaking experience (preferably 3-6 months speaking Dutch full time in a Dutch environment from the moment you reached B1 level). That is why we offer this level, as level 5, 6 and R.	Target level = B1+/B2 At this level we’ll cover lessons 1-9 from ‘Het Lesboek – deel 3’. (we’ll add the table of contents later – the book is almost finished)
Level 6 (B1/B2 part 2)	Level 6 has the same entrance level as level 5. The minimum entrance level = B1. But the topics that we discuss in level 6 are a continuation of level 5, therefore this level can only be enrolled if you have completed level 5.	Target level = B1+/B2 At this level we’ll cover lessons 10-18 from ‘Het Lesboek – deel 3’. (we’ll add the table of contents later – the book is almost finished)
Level R (B1/B2 for ‘returners’)	B1/B2. You have completed our previous 6 levels or you have completed courses elsewhere that brought you to a level between strong B1 and B2. Knowledge: you know at least 4000-5000 words. You know more complicated constructions like the passive voice and ‘zouden’. As mentioned above: to reach B2 you need multiple courses on this level (and real life practise). A single course or a single book can never bring you from B1 to B2. There are a lot of students who have gone through levels 1-6 and want to return at a later stage to continue to study with us: to refresh, review and further improve their knowledge of Dutch and to complete the journey from B1 to B2. At this level, it’s not about learning new grammar. It’s all about applying well what we taught (on the levels 1-6). And we’ll cover lots of different themes during the course to build your vocabulary and language knowledge around specific topics. We’ll alternatively use the books ‘Nederlands op Niveau’ and ‘De Finale’ and cover half the book during one course. B2 level corresponds to a total active knowledge of around 10,000 words. In every level you learn around 1000 new words (in a context). Have you completed levels 1-6 and additionally you did the 4 level R courses. And have you spoken a lot of Dutch in your daily life. Then you’re likely to have reached the B2 level!	During one course we’ll alternatively cover one of the following (parts of the) books: ‘Nederlands op Niveau’ – first half ‘Nederlands op Niveau’ – second half ‘De Finale’ – first half ‘De Finale’ – second half Target level if you do all the levels R = B2.

* the amount of hours of study: based on higher educated learners, who have experience in learning foreign languages; if you are a slow learner, if you have never learned a foreign language, if you didn’t have grammar education in school, it might take a higher time investment to reach the mentioned level

Course results & target level

Under ‘level descriptions‘ the 7 levels of BLC’s Dutch courses are specified:
– the required entrance level of a course and the target level of a course using the CEFR framework (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and further specifications
– the learning objectives and the course content

Certificate:
The certificate will be issued based on attendance: being present at least 80% of the lessons and having completed at least 80% of the self study materials (online videos and exercises). There is no exam at the end of a course.

Example:

Target level:
The target level is not the guaranteed end level at the end of the course. If you attend all the lessons, you do all the homework and you know everything you’ve learned during the course, then your level will likely correspond to the achieved level. Nevertheless, it depends on your efforts and personal factors:

Positive factors
– you know the German language (or a Scandinavian language)
– you are talented in learning foreign languages
– you speak a lot of Dutch outside the classes
– you attend all the classes and do all the homework
– you spend extra time on reviewing the materials after the course (learning a language is not only about learning new things, you also need to review the things you learned before!)

Negative factors:
– you don’t do the homework
– you skip class
– you don’t have the right entrance level at the start of the course (the course is too intensive to close the gap!)
– it’s a significant time ago since you studied Dutch (you might have previously acquired the right entrance level, but forgotten a lot since then)
– you never studied another foreign language before
– you’ve never had grammar instruction at school (in your own language)
– you don’t meet the student requirements
– with intensive courses: you have too much hassle in your daily life that you don’t have the right focus (don’t book an intensive day course to combine with work at the same time!)

If you plan to book more levels after each other:
The above mentioned factors are extra important if you plan to book more than one level after each other! Especially with intensive courses. If you book the next level without a break to review the materials, it is extremely important that you reach the target level at the end of the course. This might not be a problem if the above mentioned positive factors apply to you. A general advice: take a break between levels and review the materials first!

Good to know:
– we’ve planned the course dates of our virtual classrooms with a short break between two levels.
– intensive courses: doing two levels in a row is usually doable; but 3 or 4 levels can be huge challenge; please take into account that the intensity is high; many students will have an ’empty battery’ after 4 weeks …
– redoing a level is not a failure but sometimes a very wise decision: with a language you learn more by reviewing than by progressing too fast; if you feel your plan was too ambitious, contact us in time to see if it’s possible to re-do a level instead of doing the next level.