When I think about Dutch lessons for children in Turkey, I immediately think of all the different families we have helped over the years.

And there are actually two very different groups of families who often come to us.

There are families who live in Turkey and would love their child to speak Dutch confidently.

And then there are families who have moved from Turkey to the Netherlands and notice that their child could use some extra support with Dutch at school.

Two completely different situations.

But often with exactly the same wish:

I want my child to feel confident expressing themselves in Dutch.

And that is exactly what we can help with at Dutch for Kids.

Learning Dutch while living in Turkey

Not long ago, I spoke to a mother who lives in Turkey with her daughter.

She had lived in the Netherlands herself until she was nineteen and had always spoken Dutch to her daughter at home. At school, her daughter mainly spoke Turkish and also learned English.

So her daughter already understood quite a lot of Dutch.

But her mother felt it was time to take the next step.

She said something that really stayed with me:

“I don’t know if we’ll ever move to the Netherlands. But I want her to have the option of studying there one day.”

And I think that sums it up beautifully.

You don’t need to know today where your child will live or study ten years from now.

Perhaps your family will stay in Turkey. Maybe your child will eventually move to the Netherlands. Or perhaps they will study somewhere else in Europe.

But if your child learns Dutch now and continues developing the language, that door stays open.

And of course, there is another lovely reason to learn Dutch: being able to use it when visiting the Netherlands.

Talking to grandparents, cousins, friends and other family members becomes so much easier when your child feels comfortable speaking Dutch too.

Dutch then stops being simply the language Mum or Dad speaks at home.

It becomes your child’s language too.

Understanding Dutch is not the same as speaking Dutch

We see this all the time with children growing up outside the Netherlands.

A Dutch-speaking parent speaks Dutch to their child, and the child understands almost everything.

Can you put your shoes on?

Can you get your bag?

What would you like for dinner?

No problem at all.

But then Grandma calls and asks:

“So, what did you do at school today?”

And suddenly…

Silence.

Or perhaps:

“It was fun.”

😉

That doesn’t mean a child can’t speak Dutch.

Understanding a language and actively using it are simply two different skills.

When a child speaks Turkish at school every day, plays with friends in Turkish and perhaps learns English as well, it makes perfect sense that those languages come to them more easily.

During our lessons, we therefore try to make Dutch an active language.

We talk a lot. We expand vocabulary, read together and practise making sentences. Depending on a child’s age and level, we also work on spelling, grammar, writing and reading comprehension.

Little by little, Dutch changes from a language I understand into a language I can use to tell my own stories.

Moving from Turkey to the Netherlands

But we also work with many children in exactly the opposite situation.

Families who have moved from Turkey to the Netherlands.

And this can bring up some interesting questions about language at home.

I recently spoke to a mother who had lived in the Netherlands for many years and spoke Dutch very well.

When her daughter was born, however, she made a very conscious decision to speak Turkish with her at home.

And I completely understand why.

She didn’t want her daughter to lose her Turkish.

Turkish is the language of her family. Her grandparents. Her background. A part of who she is.

But now that her daughter attends a Dutch primary school, her mother had started to notice that her Dutch vocabulary was lagging behind a little.

During our introduction, I spoke Dutch with her daughter.

She understood my questions and answered me in Dutch too.

But every now and then, I could see her searching for the right words.

Her answers were short. She knew what she wanted to say, but she didn’t always have the vocabulary to express it fully.

And that is exactly where we can help.

Not by saying:

From now on, you should only speak Dutch at home.

Absolutely not.

Being multilingual is incredibly valuable.

Instead, we ask:

What does this child need to become stronger in Dutch as well?

For this particular child, that might mean building vocabulary, practising longer sentences, telling stories and becoming increasingly confident when answering questions.

So that she can not only understand what her teacher is asking in class, but also confidently raise her hand and explain what she thinks.

Turkish and Dutch: your child doesn’t have to choose

This is perhaps one of the most important things we want parents to know.

Your child doesn’t have to choose.

They can learn Turkish and Dutch.

In fact, how wonderful would it be if your child can grow up speaking Turkish with family in Turkey while also feeling completely comfortable using Dutch in the Netherlands?

That is why at Dutch for Kids we never look only at a test result or ask:

Which year group is your child in?

We want to understand the whole picture.

• Which language do you speak at home?
• Which language does your child use at school?
• Was your child born in Turkey or in the Netherlands?
• Has your child attended a Dutch school before?
• Does your child understand Dutch but find it difficult to speak?
• Are you considering moving to the Netherlands one day?
• Or are you already living in the Netherlands and would like your child to feel more confident at school?

Only when we understand those things can we decide what your child actually needs.

How do Dutch for Kids lessons work in Turkey?

Our online Dutch lessons are one-to-one. Your child has their own regular Dutch teacher and follows the lessons from home.

So whether you live in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya or somewhere completely different in Turkey, your child can join us online.

During the lessons, we focus on exactly the areas your child needs.

That might include:

• speaking Dutch and learning to make longer sentences;
• expanding Dutch vocabulary;
• learning to read in Dutch;
• spelling and grammar;
• reading comprehension;
• writing;
• academic and school vocabulary;
• preparing for a move to the Netherlands;
• extra Dutch support alongside a Dutch primary school;
• or maintaining and developing Dutch with a possible future in the Netherlands in mind.

We teach preschoolers, primary school children and secondary school students, all the way through to the final years of Dutch secondary education.

This means we can grow alongside a child for many years.

• A young child might start with songs, games, conversations and new Dutch words.
• A few years later, we might be working together on spelling and reading comprehension.
• And several years after that, we could be helping that same student with Dutch at secondary school level.

That is one of the things I love most about what we do.

Online Dutch lessons from anywhere in Turkey

Because our lessons are completely online, it doesn’t matter where in Turkey you live.

Your child simply logs in from home via Google Meet and has a one-to-one lesson with their teacher.

There is no large online classroom where your child barely gets a chance to speak.

Because the lessons are individual, we can constantly adapt them.

Is your child nervous about speaking Dutch? We’ll build their confidence gradually.

Does your child already have a large vocabulary but struggle with spelling? We can focus more on that.

Are you moving from Turkey to the Netherlands soon? Then we can work on the Dutch your child will need in their new classroom.

Or perhaps you already live in the Netherlands and your child needs extra help with vocabulary or reading comprehension.

Then that becomes our focus.

Our starting point isn’t simply your child’s age. Our starting point is your child.

Perhaps studying in the Netherlands one day

For families living in Turkey, we hear this reason quite often:

We don’t know what they will want to do later, but we want the Netherlands to remain an option.

I think that is a lovely way of looking at it.

Because speaking a little Dutch at home doesn’t automatically mean that your child will later be able to study comfortably in Dutch.

Academic Dutch requires different skills.

Understanding the vocabulary in textbooks. Reading longer texts. Writing reports. Giving presentations. Explaining and supporting an opinion. Understanding instructions.

That is why our lessons change as children get older.

With younger children, the focus might be mainly on speaking, vocabulary and enjoying the language.

As they grow older, we can increasingly work on academic language, reading, spelling, writing and grammar.

Not because every child has to study in the Netherlands one day.

But because it would be a shame if Dutch were the reason they had to rule out that possibility.

Dutch lessons for Turkish-Dutch families

No two families who come to us have exactly the same story.

One child lives in Turkey, speaks Turkish all day and hears Dutch from Mum at home.

Another lives in the Netherlands, speaks Turkish at home and Dutch at school.

Another child may have lived in the Netherlands for years before moving to Turkey with their family.

And perhaps your family has lived in the Netherlands for generations, but your child could simply use some extra support with Dutch vocabulary, reading or writing.

That is why we always start with the same questions:

• What can your child already do?
• Which languages are part of your family?
• What is your child finding difficult at the moment?
• And where would you like them to be?

From there, we find the teacher and approach that suit your child.

Because ultimately, it doesn’t matter to us whether your child logs in from Turkey or the Netherlands.

On the other side of our screen is simply a child we want to help reach that wonderful moment when they realise:

Hey. I can actually say this in Dutch.

And that is exactly what we want to achieve.

Free introduction with Dutch for Kids

Do you live in Turkey and want your child to become more confident speaking, reading or writing Dutch?

Or have you moved from Turkey to the Netherlands and noticed that your child could use some extra Dutch support at school?

We would love to get to know you.

During a free introduction, we talk about your family and your child’s language development. Which languages does your child speak? Where do they go to school? What is already going well? And what would you like them to achieve?

Afterwards, we can arrange a free trial lesson with a teacher who suits your child.

That gives you the chance to meet us first and discover what your child needs.

Whether you live in Turkey or the Netherlands, we can help Dutch become a language in which your child feels increasingly confident and at home.