Dutch Language
How to communicate
Praat Nederlands Met Me
To help encourage and remind Dutch people not to switch to English, grab one of our "Praat Nederlands met Me" (speak Dutch with me) pins at the VVV Leiden Tourist Information Office or at our monthly Meet&Mingles where you can also meet other internationals in the Leiden region.
Why learning Dutch?
Our Dutch Language Partners
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Find additional information about Taalthuis here
At Taalthuis you can follow Dutch courses at different levels both online and face-to-face in a classroom.
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Read more about the services of The Square Mile
The Square Mile (established 2002) is one of the market leaders for business language training in The Netherlands.
Free resources to learn and practice Dutch
Many internationals struggle to learn and practice Dutch due to cost and lack of chances to practice outside of a class setting. Well, we've got you covered! What follows is a selection of free resources available online and in the Leiden region to learn and practice Dutch. Learning Dutch doesn't cost much!
SPOC Dutch&More by Leiden University
The Academic Language Centre of Leiden University invites internationals who are going to live or are living in the Leiden region to participate in the free online course ‘Dutch & More’. In five online lessons, you will learn the basics of the Dutch language and you will get to know life in the city of Leiden and The Hague better. The online course is free and continuously available for all internationals. Students from Leiden University who complete the SPOC Dutch&More course will have a discount for the Dutch 1B course offered by the Academic Language Centre.
NOTE: the discount is available to students from Leiden University only.
Access the online course for free
Free Language Courses in Leiden
BuZz Leiden offers many different language courses and practice opportunities. These range from cheap Dutch lessons to small informal gatherings to practice.
The B + C library organises a weekly Taal café where you can improve your Dutch. A basic knowledge of Dutch is required.
Gilde samenspraak is tailored towards immigrants whom struggle with their Dutch. The course is based on a buddy system. A basic knowledge of Dutch is required.
Easy Dutch
While joining language cafés and conversation groups is a great way to practice your spoken Dutch, there are also many ways to practice by yourself. Here we want to share a list of resources in "easy Dutch", meaning Dutch that is accessible to people who are learning the language. These resources are really useful next to a language course, to keep practicing in your free time.
- NOS Journaal in Makkelijke Taal: a daily news bulletin from the public broadcaster NOS in simplified Dutch. The news bulletin has fewer subject, a slower pace, and gives more explanations also of difficult terms.
- The books from Uitgeverij Eenvoudig Communiceren use also an easier language to be accessible to beginners. Every book is ranked by level, so the more you learn the more you can read
This list is still in the making. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to submit them to sibilla@leideninternationalcentre.nl.
Online resources
Have a look at our selection of useful websites and apps for people learning Dutch.
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De/Het app
De/Het app
If you are learning Dutch you know that one of the hardest things is to remember whether a noun needs the article "de" or "het". This useful app is here to save the day. Just by typing in any Dutch word, you immediately know whether a word is a de- or het- word! The app also includes a fun game to train your knowledge and help you memorising the correct article for each word.
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Zichtbaar Nederlands.nl
Zichtbaar Nederlands.nl
Do you struggle to understand Dutch grammar? This website makes your life easier by visually explaining Dutch grammar rules with clear and fun drawings.
