Guest blog by Luc Boeke

A new job, a new country

Besides the excitement of moving abroad, a new job or challenge in your career, there are undoubtedly a lot of ‘must do’ things on your check list:


  • A nice place to live
  • How to move about
  • A phone, your internet connection at home, utilities
  • A bank account, insurance


And what about your partner, your children maybe? All of this is about the essentials in daily life.


What about the language?

And that way, it might not come as a surprise that learning the language of your destination is not on your first list. And that would be a missed opportunity, just think of how to organize yourself on all the aforementioned challenges. And yes, English will certainly be helpful to a certain extent, in most European countries you will be much better off speaking the local language. 


There are a lot of (yes: plausible) reasons to postpone your foreign language training. There is a lot to say to advance it, as to make a smooth start in your new home country. Speaking the language at the basic level will open a lot of doors for you: at work, in your neighbourhood, on the phone, in a restaurant. Never a second chance to make a good first impression!


What does a language course take?

Let’s face it: what does it take to learn German, Dutch, French, Italian or Spanish at the basic level? 


Even for full-time employed professionals in busy careers, we have found out that by doing one class per week, plus 2 to 3 hours of self-study, motivated learners can make it to the basic (aka A2) level in 20 weeks’ time. Some will even do it faster, for example because they have acquired a foreign language in the past.


Why not…?

Start as soon as you can, preferably before you move abroad, while still being in a situation that is familiar to you. And where a lot of things just ‘work’, because you know your way out. 


We know a party that provides (amongst others) Dutch tutoring sessions. Their online teachings vary from 1 or 2 day sessions for support, to full-fledged language courses. If you are looking for quality courses by certified native speakers who have experienced life as an expat first-hand, we recommend ExpatLanguageSchool.net. 


If you want to be well-prepared, let them know. They know their way in foreign language land, as they are not only language tutors, but expats themselves. They would be most happy to hear from you, to share the excitement of your new home and country and discuss your requirement for a personalized language course. 


You can email them -no strings attached- to get a better idea of what they can do to support you. Or you can visit their website.