The Dutch Summer School (online): Graduation Day

The 2-week intensive digital summer school seemed to go really fast. I have to say I never thought I would enjoy learning Dutch Grammar so much! The teacher was engaging and humorous and I was lucky enough to be with such a great bunch of students. Now things are relaxing it is likely the Summer School will go back to normal shortly, but I do hope in the future that BLC continues to offer a digital element too! I felt that the digital element fitted perfectly with my busy life and was extremely well organised. 

What is my achievement?

Reflecting upon what I have achieved over the last 2 weeks of intensive language learning (over 66 hours in total). I would like to say that my confidence to speak Dutch has improved. I had struggled to understand sentence structure and had the tendency to try to translate everything. I’ve now learned to accept some things just don’t translate well into English! I feel I now need to take a week all so to consolidate this learning as lessons move very quickly. Then I hope to move on to the next level. 

Forming New Friendship

One thing that I wasn’t expecting to take away from an online course was real friendships, but over the 2 weeks I have shared my frustrations and had a laugh and learned about other students and it has been really lovely. Especially as I have been stuck in the house due to a 3-month long lockdown. It was a breath of fresh air to meet new people and hear their stories and watch their amazing progress in Dutch. It will be great to continue to follow their journeys and see how they get on. I actually miss logging in each evening and seeing my classmates. 

The Last Day 

On the last day, we joined forces with the Level 4 students and had a graduation ceremony with the man himself Bart de Pau. This closing ceremony was delivered entirely in Dutch and I was pleasantly surprised and amazed to understand most of what was being said. Our own tutor said a few words about each of his students and presented us with our completion certifications. I couldn’t help but have mixed emotions, one of excitement for successfully completing the course, but another of sadness at saying goodbye to an awesome teacher and my supportive classmates. 

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