A0-A2 Dutch courses for beginners

Best Dutch course for beginners

Jump start your Dutch skills with our A0-A2 Dutch language course. Learn Dutch from the start, in a small group with participants of similar level. The lessons at Dutch First focus on active participation to facilitate quick progress in all language skills. Our classroom-based or online Dutch course for beginners is perfect for learning Dutch quickly and efficiently, while gaining a level of proficiency that you can use in your daily work and personal life!

The A0-A2 Dutch course for beginners is ideal for all, whether you are staying in the Netherlands short-term or long term. Based on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) reference levels, our personal and interactive courses with motivated teachers make learning Dutch fun and obtainable.

Your Dutch course will be taught fully in Dutch, no other language proficiency is required. This also means that from the first lesson you will be focusing on practicing your speaking and understanding Dutch from day one. This makes our Dutch courses immersive and efficient and whether you follow lessons online or at our localtion, after the course you will have improved your communication skills in Dutch!

After completing the course, you will be able to:

• Greet and introduce yourself as well as others in Dutch
• Spell your name using the Dutch alphabet
• Count number as well as tell the time in Dutch
• Talk about yourself and your family as well as ask someone about theirs
• Have short everyday conversations in Dutch at the store, the market, at work, a social gathering, etc.
• Talk to the doctor about medical issues as well as understand basic advice and instructions
• Speak about the job you have or would like to have
• Speak and write while using the correct word order
• Use verbs in present and past tense
• Understand the most important information in the news
• Communicate appropriately in formal as well as informal settings

Choose what works for you!

You can choose the Dutch course that best suits your needs and availability. You can attend standard courses with lessons twice a week, or intensive courses with lessons four times a week. Our classroom-based courses have 3 lesson hours of 45 minutes per lesson. Online courses have 2 lesson hours of 45 minutes per lesson.

You can choose to attend classroom-based Dutch courses at our location in Utrecht, or online Dutch courses in our virtual classroom via Zoom. We also offer self-study courses for this level. Curious about which option is better for you? Read more.

Course materials

Course material for classroom-based Dutch courses

The use of books and other teaching materials on the course is obligatory. With our regular classroom courses, books are not included in the cost of the course, but you can buy the required books at our school or in most bookshops. Your instructor will also provide additional material that is not included in your textbook and associated workbook. You will receive homework based on the textbook and workbook used in your Dutch course.

Obligatory materials classroom-based courses:
A0-A1 Level: Contact! Nieuw 1 textbook and workbook
A2 Level: Contact! Nieuw 2 textbook and workbook

Note!: These books are not required for Inburgering or Excellence.

For the A0-A2 full package Dutch course you will need both book sets. The books are available in a paper version as well as a digital version (license 14 months). You can choose to buy what you prefer to use, but make sure to bring your paper or digital books to each lesson.

• Contact! Nieuw 1 (A1): Set hard-copy textbook and workbook including digital license €80,95; or digital text- and workbook combined for €46,95.
• Contact! Nieuw 2 (A2): Set hard-copy textbook and workbook including digital license €80,95; or digital text- and workbook combined for €46,95.

You can buy the books at the publisher, in the store, or purchase them via Dutch First. We will inform you about one week before the course starts about the course materials and how to buy them.

Course material for online Dutch courses
Our online E-learning + virtual classroom courses are all-inclusive courses. Included in your online Dutch course you will get 24/7 access to engaging online digital resources with language trainings such as listening comprehension, pronunciation, reading and writing exercises and Dutch grammar. The materials are accessible during your course and up to one month after your Dutch online course ends. We will activate your student account and send you the instructions before your course starts. About 3 – 4 hours of preparation is required before each lesson (also before the first lesson!). You will have LIVE Dutch lessons in a virtual classroom, with a real teacher and real classmates. No books are required.

Course details

Once you have registered and for a course, you will get access to our online environment for students. Here you can find your session and course details and the exact dates and times of the lessons. You will also be able to find your course certificate and payment receipt here.

Dutch Course Certificate

At the end of your course, you will receive an official course certificate from Dutch First as proof of attendance in the course if you have attended at least 80% of the lessons of your Dutch course. The course certificate will be downloadable from your student account.

Public holidays

Lessons that would fall on a Dutch public holiday in the regular schedule will be rescheduled to take place on a Friday or the course will be moved by one lesson date in case the dates collide. There are no lessons between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day.