Information About Chris - Rushden teacher - (10 reviews)
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This is how 4 referees rated Chris:
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Languages Taught
Chris offers a discount of 50% on their first / introductory lesson!
Dutch |
Price Guide |
| Beginner | £25.00 |
| Intermediate | £25.00 |
| Advanced | £28.00 |
Personal Description:
I am Chris and, as a native English speaker, I specialise in teaching Dutch to other native English speakers. I learned Dutch from scratch myself and I find that my students have the exactly the same challenges I had.
I lived and worked in The Netherlands from 1989 to 2006. I work in IT support now, providing services to clients in the U.K, The Netherlands and Belgium.
I do *not* have an English accent when I speak Dutch.
Teaching Experience:
I learned Dutch from scratch myself and have been teaching via this site and privately since 2015. My knowledge is hands-on, real-world and up-to-date.
My "Dutch Reference Guides" can be found online. You'll get them for free.
Teaching Approach:
You, as the student, are central and the pace is up to you. I only ever have 2 students due to my full-time job.
There are quite a few accents in Dutch. I teach "ABN" Dutch - a bit like BBC English. Anyone in Flanders or The Netherlands can understand this.
I think pronunciation and repetition are very important, so I'll concentrate on that at first. You will need to work at this and my lessons are interactive from the start.
I try to keep things varied and will do my best to tailor lessons to your interests - and accommodate your learning style.
You'll be speaking Dutch in the first lesson. As things develop, we'll be covering grammar as well of course but I use only 5 or 6 grammatical terms, which I will explain to you.
Most Dutch books and lessons are provided by native Dutch speakers. What I can offer you, as a native English speaker, are the discoveries I made along the way. The English language has some real gems and some great expressions which we can use to learn Dutch and gain real insight into the language. Despite what they say, English also has almost all of the sounds of Dutch - but you need to be a native English speaker to know where to find them and how to notice them. I can show you what many native Dutch speakers do not know.
Tutor Resources: (free to download)
Please login or register to download tutor resources.
Additional Languages: English (British)
Availability: Weekends / Weekdays (evenings)
References Available: Yes (✔ On File)
Qualifications:
- University of life (1989) - Living and working in Holland (Other) (✘ Not On File)
- University of Leeds (1988) - Food Science (Bachelors) (✘ Not On File)
Chris's Feedback
| Total Amount Of Feedback: | 10 |
| Total Positive Feedback: |
The lessons are always really enjoyable, and Chris always comes prepared with material to and speaking exercises that are challenging and enjoyable and applicable to every situation. If you're stuck on something, he offers learning material for everything.
Chris learnt Dutch himself and has also written books on the Dutch language, so he's incredibly knowledgable about what trips up beginners like myself and has a range of mnemonics to aid learning and is great at giving examples that recontextualise the English phrases as Dutch ones.
Most importantly, the lessons are always fun. Learning the harder grammar concepts doesn't ever feel like a slog. Chris is a great guy. If you're looking to pick up Dutch then I couldn't recommend learning with him highly enough.
Through Chris' help, I have gained so much confidence in speaking the language in conversation and am not as self conscious when speaking to Dutch people I have never met.
The range of materials used to enhance language learning ranged from dvds, Dutch morning chat shows, to short stories and novels to more physically 'going round the room and labelling items'. All homework set is based on activities covered in the lesson prior and tailored to bits that may have been challenging.
Chris is 100% invested in your personal progress, and sometimes I forget that I'm at a lesson and rather having a chat with a friend--his teaching style is so relaxed! He's also been very understanding regarding my irratic work schedule; which has been an absolute blessing!
The classes we have done online have been brilliant and I feel like I have progressed lots since first approaching him back at the end of September '22. I have even been asked if I was half Dutch/ half English by a native, which just shows how much the teaching has helped!
I would highly recommend Chris to anyone who is thinking about learning Dutch, he has been excellent with me so far, always providing excellent materials and answering any questions I have and his lessons are always excellent.