Whatever your level,

The lessons

are built around you

Whatever your level, Whatever your level, The lessons are built around you are built around you

Materials actually made for youMaterials made for you

I don’t teach from a standard textbook.

I create and choose the materials myself, around your level, your goals and the situations in which you’ll actually use the language.

That means the different parts of the course can build on each other instead of feeling like a collection of unrelated exercises. Everything we see has a purpose, and what comes next depends partly on what you already know and what you still need.

If you’re preparing for a specific exam — Staatsexamen NT2, Inburgering or CNaVT — we can also work with the right book for it where necessary.

The Orbis approachThe Orbis approach

Speaking, grammar and vocabulary don’t live in separate boxes.

A lesson will normally move between them: using language you already know, introducing something new, putting it into practice and stopping to look at the rules when understanding them helps you use the language more freely.

I correct you as we go, explain what needs explaining and adjust the pace depending on what is sticking and what isn’t.

The goal is not just to complete an exercise correctly. It is to understand enough of the system that you can start building sentences for yourself.

Your language matters too

I’ve studied quite a few languages myself, and that changes the way I teach.

When I know how your own language works, I can often connect Dutch or Spanish to structures you already understand: what works in a similar way, what works completely differently, and (often more importantly) what looks familiar but can easily lead you in the wrong direction.

I can’t do that with every language in the world, of course. But with many of the students I teach, I know enough about their mother tongue to understand some of the comparisons they are making in their heads and to anticipate where confusion is likely to arise.

Full attention

Lessons are one-on-one or in small groups, so there is room to actually pay attention to what you are doing.

Think of it like having a personal trainer for language: someone watching what you do, correcting you on the spot, noticing patterns in your mistakes and adjusting the plan as you go.

If something needs more time, we give it more time. If you already understand it, we move on.

Learning Dutch

I learned Dutch from scratch as an adult and later did a Philosophy degree in Dutch.

So I remember very well what it feels like when the language still looks like a collection of weird sounds and arbitrary rules... and what starts to happen once those rules begin to connect.

Most of my Dutch students are internationals who want to use more of the language around them: at work, for the Inburgering or Staatsexamen NT2 exams, or simply to understand more of what is happening around them without everyone switching to English.

Learning Spanish

Spanish is my mother tongue, but I have also studied the language itself seriously: its grammar, syntax, vocabulary and literature.

That means I don’t just know what sounds right. I can explain why it works the way it does.

I teach Spanish as a system you can understand, with particular attention to the things that tend to trip up Dutch and English speakers: ser and estar, the past tenses, the subjunctive, word order and all those small differences that can completely change what a sentence means.

I work with everyone from absolute beginners to advanced speakers who want to refine what they already have.

Location

Lessons can take place in Amsterdam (at your home, office or studio, or at a library or café) or online.