A new item recently appeared in the Welcome Bags from the Holland Expat Center South. It’s small, round and has a sentence in Dutch on it. Can you guess what it is? It’s the “Praat Nederlands met me!” button.
Learning Dutch Is Important
A big part of integrating into a new culture and society means learning the language too. But since nearly 95% of Dutch people also speak English, so it’s hard for internationals to feel motivated to learn it. Even when there’s a strong desire to learn, sometimes internationals feel they lack sufficient opportunities to practice speaking regularly. The “Praat Nederlands met me!” buttons are an effort to overcome that challenge.
Frequently switching to English to accommodate non-native Dutch speakers is common too. “We decided to hand out these buttons because we often hear that locals switch to English when they hear someone speaking Dutch with an accent! These buttons are a way to encourage locals to speak Dutch with internationals! Although their Dutch may not be perfect, practicing is an important way to improve their language kills, and speaking Dutch will help internationals to integrate into society,” says Olivia van den Broek-Neri, project coordinator communications & events at the HECS.
The buttons have been well received among the international community according to Janneke Willems, an account manager at the HECS. “When we pass out the buttons at events the reactions are very nice. [Internationals] are glad that there is something they can wear so they can practice their Dutch. It is very important for the integration in the Netherlands that you can speak the Dutch language. So, we hope with this it will help the international community a bit.”
And, more importantly, the buttons work!
Building Bridges Through Language
“At my kids' school I always force myself to speak Dutch, but they would sometime switch to English to help me. I found that the badge forced us to keep struggling in Dutch, which is the only way to learn at the end of the day,” recounted Meagin van der Westhuizen, a South African, living in the Netherlands for two and a half years.
If you don’t have a button, they’re available at the HECS. Olivia: “Anyone can pick up a free button at our office. The button is included in our purple welcome bag, and we also hand them out at our events. Companies can also contact us if they would like to hand them out to their employees!”
More opportunities to practice Dutch are on the way too. Janneke: “Recently we ordered pens with the text ‘schrijf Nederlands met me’. The sequel to the buttons. And the next step is to make a game special for internationals where they can practice their language with each other.”
But until then just remember, Olivia says, “If you see someone wearing the button, please speak Dutch with them!”
We want to see you wearing them, so tag us if you share a picture of it on social media. #hollandexpatcentersouth
Photo: Meagin wearing the 'Praat Nederlands Met Me' button!