News & tips

HOW THE DUTCH SHOULD NOT SPEAK ENGLISH This is an article for native Dutch speakers, who were used to speak Dutch at work, but because of international colleagues, need to speak English, at least at all team meetings. Although most of

Why and how should you learn Polish?” WHY LEARN POLISH? Come on, the reason to learn ANY language is to broaden our horizons, challenge our brains and talk to people representing different cultures. So let’s rephrase the questions thus: if

SOME OF MY STRATEGIES AND JOYS OF LEARNING MULTIPLE LANGUAGES’ LEARNING VOCABULARY “How can you remember so many words in so many languages?” Remembering individual words is hard, especially in your fourth, sixth,

JE MAINTIENDRAI! ‘Heb je je bagage? Ik neem de paraplu wel. Even mijn portemonnee pakken. De chauffeur wacht op ons!’ This is just an ordinary conversation in Dutch between two people travelling. Or isn’t it ? Taking a closer look

LEARNING THROUGH THE CORONA RETREAT Dear language learners. This post is about fun in learning, for all of you out there studying a foreign language. Think about the long-term and stay strong in these difficult times of the Covid-19.

DUTCH SLANG FOR TEENS Every linguistic community has its own slang. Funnily enough the Dutch mainly use slang from other languages. In Highschool they flourish like nowhere else. Here are a couple of teenage slang words for your youngster

BITING THE BULLET My student Gabor, from Hungary, is just starting to get familiarized with Dutch expressions. He’s been living in Amsterdam for ten years and has taken several Dutch courses. He is at an Intermediate level but has forgotten quite

MAGIC AND THE FLOWENTLY METHOD I wish Flowently was around when I was learning Dutch. Their method focuses precisely on the aspects of the language that caused me trauma when I came to this country. Take the nightmare called

My vocabulary was like the Hulk’s Niala Maharaj discovers foreign language anxiety ‘What’s wrong with you?’ a friend asked as we came out of a bakery. ‘What?’ ‘You became another person in there, a shy, timid woman talking very softly so

Representing Flowently at Expat Family Market, tutors and international families shared their experiences. The visitors are all expat-families looking for reinforcement to feel more comfortable and confident with the Dutch language in social interactions

A CALL WITH ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS Many years ago I was living in Amsterdam and was about to end a long telephone conversation with one of my best friends who I hadn’t seen in 6 months. We had talked for at least 45 minutes and I had

FEELING AT HOME, EVEN WHEN YOU ARE IN BETWEEN HOUSES As a language institute, Flowently offers the opportunity to connect people, to feel at home in the Netherlands through language proficiency, even when they are not yet installed

WHY HIRING FOR CULTURAL FIT DOESN’T HAVE TO UNDERMINE DIVERSITY Although most managers would agree that it is important to hire people who fit in, the idea of hiring for culture fit has become controversial (1). Our work suggests

WHY EXPAT PARENTS SHOULD LEARN DUTCH Let’s assume you’ve arrived in the Netherlands with your family. Now everyone feels happy and overwhelmed by all new impressions! Living in a new house, town, a new language and culture

LET’S GO DUTCH! The Dutch are one of a kind. They are highly educated and most of them speak English. Expats love this fact. What expats don’t realize is that this prevents expats from really integrating in Dutch society. Moreover, ever noticed

RECOGNIZE THIS? You’ve moved to the Netherlands, started learning Dutch because you live here and really want to take part in society? You use every opportunity to practice your Dutch language skills but every time you

Maybe you need to learn Dutch for your work, or you are moving to the Netherlands, or you have fallen in love with a Dutch person, or maybe you just always fancied getting your tongue round some quite frankly unpronounceable word

If you’re a parent in Amsterdam, you’re going to want to do what the locals do and transport your children by bike. Whether you’re a mama or a papa you’re going to need what is known in this country as a moederfiets, or mother’s bike.