You are cycling home from the school gate.

Halfway down the street, it arrives. The perfect answer. The funny comment you could have made. The question you wanted to ask that other parent. Every word is there, in Dutch, in the right order.

Twenty minutes too late.

If this sounds familiar, you are in good company. The reason has less to do with your Dutch grammar than you might think.

Understanding is not the same as speaking

You understand your Dutch colleagues at lunch. You can write an email, and thanks to all the AI tools, it looks great. But at the school gate, when someone asks, “Hé, hoe is ’t?”, all you can say is: “Goed, en met jou?”

You want to say more, but the conversation stops. Something happens in your head and in your body. You want to connect with people, in Dutch, but somehow it doesn't work.

What have you done so far? You may have completed a Dutch course or even passed your inburgering years ago. Yet, when you have to speak, you still struggle to find the words. 
After two sentences, you run out of things to say. At the coffee machine. At the school gate. Or when you have a chat with your neighbours.

Suddenly, you find yourself speaking English because it’s easier, faster, or because the other person has already switched.

How about you? Because you don’t want to make mistakes, sound stupid, feel rejected or lose control of the conversation, and your mind starts racing: Is this sentence correct? Is it de or het? Do I sound weird?

Your body reacts too. You feel warm, or maybe your neck turns red. While you’re trying to get your thoughts and body under control, the conversation has already moved on. Probably in English.

Because knowing what to say and being able to say it in the moment are two different things.

How often do you cycle home thinking, “Oh, shoot! I should have said this or that!”? Or replay the conversation in the shower, finding brilliant answers long after the moment has passed?

That’s the foundation of my work as a Dutch language coach. I help you work on both the Dutch you need and what happens when you actually have to use it.

My three step method: PREPARE, PUSH, PRACTICE

PREPARE 
Get your mindset and the words you need ready before a conversation.

PUSH 
Learn how to start and keep a conversation going.

PRACTICE 
Use your Dutch in real life and reflect on what worked, so you know what to do next time.

Instead of focusing only on grammar rules and vocabulary, you learn in the Speak Dutch with confidence training how to work with your thoughts, find your words and keep speaking, even when you feel uncertain.

I’ve put this method into a free ebook, filled with practical examples from everyday life.

Would you like a copy? You can get it here for free!

Let’s get you talking!

Sometimes, the key is hidden somewhere you didn’t even know to look.
As one of my former clients put it: 
“For me, remembering my ‘why’ makes the rough journey doable for the investment involved. Doing the work is key but with a coach who is there to show you how to jump the hurdles, you find your synergy.”

You already know more Dutch than you think. Let’s find out what’s holding you back and help you put your Dutch into practice.

Maayke