Information
This Building Block consists of two courses. One course consists of 10 classes of 1.5 hours each, adding up to 15 hours of teaching per course.

Aim of this Building Block
In the first Building Block you will learn the basics of the Dutch language for everyday situations. For example: introducing yourself, greeting someone, ordering in a bar or restaurant, going to the market, shopping, arranging a meeting and both giving and asking for simple information. Numbers, countries and nationalities, verbs in the present tense, articles, plurals and prepositions are also covered in this Building Block.

Prior knowledge
This is a Building Block for students who have not studied Dutch before.

Building Block level
By the end of this Building Block you will be able to reach level A1, according to the CEFR (Common European Framework of References for Languages). When you have reached level A1, you can formulate simple sentences and reply to simple questions about familiar topics. You can introduce yourself, explain where you live and describe people you know. Also, you can understand and use simple phrases related to your needs or specific everyday situations. You will be able to speak and write in Dutch about simple subjects in a society where Dutch is spoken.
You will also understand the main point of simple written messages and you can write a short email to your friends and colleagues.

Teaching method
Teaching is mainly done in Dutch and the courses focus especially on oral communication. We start with practical situations. You will work in pairs and also with the entire group. You will actively take part in class by practising Dutch in everyday situations. We work with simple dialogues integrating grammar and vocabulary.
Homework consists of reading short texts, doing vocabulary exercises and writing exercises.

Building Block material
The textbook we work with is: Nederlands in gang. Authors: B. De Boer, M. Van der Kamp and B. Lijmbach, published by Coutinho.