“Everyone here speaks English!” — so your dutch keeps waiting.
Real life in the Netherlands happens in Dutch. I help expats close that gap — private, one-to-one lessons built around your goals.
Certified NT2 teacher • 10+ years’ experience • CEFR A1–C1 • Free trial lesson
10+
years experience
390+
students taught
9-10
Average rating
Dutch for work and daily life
Living and working in the Netherlands often means getting by in English. But connecting — with colleagues, neighbours, your kids’ school, the huisarts — happens in Dutch.
I’m Berend Bonsema, and I teach Dutch to expats who want to start actually taking part — at work, at the “borrel”, in daily life.
Whether you’re:
- settling long-term and want Dutch for work and home,
- here for a few years and need practical Dutch to get through daily situations and the office,
- here as a partner and building a life outside the expat bubble,
lessons are shaped around your role, your goals, and pace.
How the lessons work
We connect every lesson to your actual life — a work conversation, a school meeting, an appointment, or just holding your own at dinner.
You’ll speak from lesson one. We build vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation at a pace that challenges you enough, but not too much!
Many of my students notice the same thing after a few months: conversations stop feeling like effort. You still make mistakes, but speaking starts to feel more natural.
We work within recognised NT2 levels.
About your teacher
Hi, I’m Berend! Language has been the constant thread through everything I’ve done — I started writing prose as a teenager, studied literature in my twenties, and trained at the Royal Academy for Performing Arts in Antwerp. Standing in front of people and communicating clearly has always come naturally to me.
At 30, I did my CELTA teacher training in Amsterdam — and quickly realised teaching was where those two things came together. Holding a room, reading what someone actually needs to hear to feel confident, and coaching them there: what I learned on stage turned out to be incredibly appropriate to helping people master Dutch.
English or overwhelm aren’t your only choices.
Getting started
- Intake conversation — We talk through your background, goals, and current level.
- A starting point — Based on the intake, I recommend a level and approach — an NT2 framework or something more flexible, depending on your situation.
- Regular lessons — We meet consistently, adjusting as your needs change.
-
Real progress — You notice it yourself — in meetings, in the supermarket, in conversations you’d have avoided before.
Practical details
-
Lessons run online
-
Individual or small-group formats available
-
Language training is VAT-exempt (BTW-vrij)
-
Employer-sponsored? Happy to coordinate directly with them
Start with a conversation
If you’re weighing up learning Dutch, the best first step is just a conversation — no commitment.
We’ll talk through where you’re starting from, what you’d like to be able to do in Dutch, and whether I’m the right fit to help you get there.