Carina D. : Dutch

My name is Carina, I am 57 and a professional teacher from Belgium, currently living in Finland. I'm native Dutch and Flemish (Flemish is the Dutch that is spoken in Belgium), and I am also fluent in English, French, Norwegian and Finnish.

I am passionate about both teaching and learning languages, and I am available all afternoons and evenings, including weekends. Besides teaching I also learn Portuguese. I like swimming and nordic walking. With every new language I learn, the world is getting a little bit bigger and more interesting.

I have studied the Dutch language at the Language School in Antwerp and Norwegian language at the University of Oslo. In 1997 I started teaching at evening classes and as soon as the internet became more common, I started also teaching online.

I have been teaching Dutch, Norwegian and French and I have experience teaching from A1 to C2, at all ages between 16 and 85 years.

Besides the lessons, I always send some homework. I will send a book that we will follow, and the rest of the material is sent, by me, via e-mail. As soon as it is possible, I advise my students to start reading books in the language they learn, and from the very beginning to start listening to the TV. It is a way of being surrounded by the language.

I always insist a lot on the accent, and this helps. I have students with a perfect accent. Listening to the language also helps to open the ears to the sounds, making it easier to understand. From the very beginning I also start with small conversations in each lesson. Together we can see what your needs are and how fast you want to learn. Samen kijken we wat jouw behoeften zijn en hoe snel je wil leren.

I hope to see you soon. Ik hoop je gauw te zien.