After I finished secundary school I studied archeology in Leiden. During these years I volunteered to work with children at the refugee centre, and to help children with their schoolwork. After my graduation I followed another study in Breda, to become a primary school teacher. I wanted to teach refugee children, and so I did, at different schools and with a lot of pleasure. I was also a teacher at regular primary schools and I worked as a remedial teacher as well.
Furthermore I was a ‘language buddy’ for several adults who moved to the Netherlands and wanted to learn Dutch (as a volunteer). After a while I had a group of women I taught weekly. I did an additional study in NT2 at Nijmegen University. During and after this study I worked at the ISK in Waalwijk (a special school to teach 12-18 year olds Dutch before they transfer to regular schools), and at different language schools for adults (Breda, Tilburg).
Students regularly asked me if they could follow private lessons. And I enjoy making my own lessons and helping people to improve their Dutch. This is how I got the idea of starting my own language school. I named it ‘Dit is Nederland(s)!’ because I want to teach people more not only about the language but also about the country.
