Starterpack - the Beginners' Course

This course aims to provide you with the tools you need to cope with the real-life situations you encounter in your daily life in Holland: speaking on the phone, shopping, filling out forms, understanding traffic signs and going to a restaurant. We provide you with all the necessary language skills which help to build your confidence in communicating with people in your new environment. The emphasis in class is on learning by doing. Basic grammar will be taught but only to support the learning process of active speaking and a good comprehension of the spoken word.

A major focus of the content of this course is on etiquette, behaviour and social norms in the Netherlands. The course aims to provide you with not just language skills, but the cultural information you need to successfully navigate within Dutch society. The cultural differences between your culture and that of the Dutch people are also examined.

The materials used in this course have been specifically designed by Kickstart for expatriates and foreign students. The materials include a folder with practical exercises, a CD and a ‘Toolkit’ which you can carry around with you for ready reference. The folder contains many exercises which will be worked on in class though they are self-explanatory and can also be worked on at home. The CD contains the correct pronunciation of a large number of words. In addition, there are examples of dialogues in shops and restaurants and of different automated phone messages.

The homework for this course takes up 1.5 to 2 hours per lesson.

You can choose between a number of different course formats:
• 12 sessions of 2 hours, once a week; (regular)
• 8 sessions of 3 hours, three times per week; (semi-intensive)
• 2 times 12 sessions of 1 hour (the so called Lunch & Learn option; see Tailor Made Courses)

In terms of the European Reference Charter this course aims to get you to the A1+ level.

Group size: 4 to10 students.

Course fee: € 390 inclusive of all course materials. A special rate of € 330 is available to post-secondary students. We offer you a "Money back guarantee". If you are not satisfied after the first lesson, you can get your course money back (less € 15 administration costs). So, why not give it a try?