Level 6 • Modern Languages

Course Description

The objective of this course is to develop reading, speaking and writing skills of students in the Dutch language, supporting integration and employability in Brussels and Flanders.

Course Objectives

Dutch I is an introductory course designed for beginner level and assumes no prior knowledge of the Dutch language. In this course, basic conversational skills are introduced, which include greetings, introducing yourself, asking how someone is doing, basic knowledge of adjectives, classroom discourse, days of the week, interrogative pronouns (who, what, which) as well as expressing there is/isn't, there are/aren't. Students will develop elementary level language skills (CEFR A1).

Key Concepts

1. Greetings, introductions and asking how someone is doing.
2. Personal pronouns, the alphabet, numbers.
3. Demonstrative and interrogative pronouns, plural forms, countries and nationalities.
4. Present tense of "zijn" (to be) and "hebben" (to have).
5. Negation with "niet"/"geen", question formation, imperative sentences.
6. Present tense conjugation. Days, months, seasons.
7. Possessive pronouns and noun phrases.
8. Prepositions of place: waar? waarheen? vanwaar?
9. Future tense with "gaan" and "zullen".
10. Telling the time: wanneer? hoe laat?

Course Outline

Learning Outcomes

1. To be able to speak beginner level Dutch, producing sentences for introducing yourself, carrying on meaningful conversation, shopping or asking for assistance.
2. To develop listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in the Dutch language.
3. To construct knowledge of Dutch grammar.
4. To be familiar with the general social aspects of life in Belgium and Dutch-speaking culture.
5. To be able to write short compositions, dialogues, simple letters and other creative pieces of approximately 50-100 words.
6. To be able to develop basic grammatical forms of simple present tense, interrogatives and negation.
7. To be able to understand classroom discourse including classroom objects and verbs commonly used in the classroom.
8. To be able to ask and talk about physical characteristics of people and objects using adjectives.
9. To be able to engage in short exchanges of greeting and asking how someone is doing.