Bijlage I: Enquête voor hr-managers

Transcriptie

1 Bijlagen

2 Bijlage I: Enquête voor hr-managers Welkom! Werkt u op de HRM-afdeling van een multinationale onderneming? Vul dan alstublieft deze enquête over het belang van Nederlandse taalvaardigheid voor expats in. Alle informatie wordt vertrouwelijk behandeld. Indien u meer informatie wenst over de behandeling van bedrijfsinformatie kunt u uiteraard contact met mij opnemen. Hartelijk dank voor uw deelname. Eline Kouwets Eline.Kouwets@student.uva.nl Are you an expatriate working for a multinational company in the Netherlands? Please go to Nederlandse taalvaardigheid voor expats 1. Werkt u voor een multinationale onderneming? (Een onderneming die in meerdere landen vestigingen heeft.) - Ja - Nee 2. Bent u medewerker van de afdeling HRM (P&O) en/of hebt u goede kennis van het taalbeleid van de organisatie? - Ja - Nee 3. Voor welke organisatie werkt u? 4. Hoeveel medewerkers telt de Nederlandse vestiging van deze organisatie? - minder dan tot meer dan Hoeveel expats (buitenlandse werknemers in Nederland) werken er in de Nederlandse vestiging van deze organisatie? - geen - minder dan 5-5 tot tot 30 - meer dan 30

3 6. Heeft uw organisatie een taalbeleid opgesteld? - Ja - Nee - Onbekend 7. Welke taal is er in uw organisatie aangewezen als wereldwijde bedrijfstaal? - Nederlands - Engels - Frans - Duits - andere taal - onbekend 8. Welke taal is aangewezen als officiële taal van de Nederlandse vestiging? - Nederlands - Engels - Frans - Duits - andere taal - onbekend 9. Welke maatregelen zijn er getroffen om de interne en externe communicatie in de Nederlandse vestiging goed te laten verlopen? - Vertaling van bedrijfsdocumenten - Vertaling van gesprekken (tolken) - Nederlandse taaltraining voor expats - Cross-culturele training voor expats - Engelse taaltraining voor Nederlandse medewerkers - Aanstellen van taalcoaches - Aanstellen van een taalmanager - Selectie op basis van Engelse taalvaardigheid bij Nederlandse medewerkers - Selectie op basis van Nederlandse taalvaardigheid bij expats - Iets anders, namelijk Wat moet een expat in uw organisatie kunnen in het Nederlands? 11. Waarom moet een expat dit kunnen? 12. Hoe belangrijk is Nederlandse taalvaardigheid voor het goed functioneren van expats in uw organisatie?... de (sociale) aanpassing van expats in uw organisatie? Onbelangrijk Belangrijk

4 13. Welke taal wordt er gebruikt (in een team met expats) in de volgende contexten? Nederlands Engels Frans Duits andere taal onbekend correspondentie vergaderingen interne klantencontact pauze, kantine telefonisch contact bedrijfsdocumenten Hartelijk bedankt voor het invullen van deze enquête. Voor meer informatie over de enquête, dit onderzoek of over de resultaten, kunt u uiteraard contact met mij opnemen. Eline Kouwets Eline.Kouwets@student.uva.nl

5 Bijlage II: Enquête voor expats Welcome! Are you an expatriate working for a multinational company in the Netherlands? You would do me a great favour by filling in this survey about Dutch language proficiency* for expatriates. It will take approximately 15 minutes. This survey was developed for my thesis for the master Dutch as a Second Language at the University of Amsterdam. All the information will be treated confidentially. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact me. Thank you for your effort. Eline Kouwets Eline.Kouwets@student.uva.nl (Are you a Dutch national and are you working for the HR-department of a multinational company? Please go to: * Language proficiency is the ability of an individual to speak or perform in an acquired language. Dutch language proficiency for expats 1. Are you an expatriate working for a multinational company in the Netherlands? - Yes - No 2. What is your country of birth? What is your mother tongue? What other language(s) do you speak? 3. How long have you been living in the Netherlands? - < 1 year years years - > 5 years 4. What is the duration of your international assignment in the Netherlands? - < 1 year years years - > 5 years 5. What is your current position in your company?

6 6. Did you follow a cross-cultural training? - Yes, before departure (in my homeland) - Yes, after arrival in the Netherlands - No 7. Did you follow a Dutch language course? - Yes, before departure (in my homeland) - Yes, after arrival in the Netherlands - No 8. Which language is used in the following communicative situations within the team you are currently working in? corporate documents Dutch English French German other language I don't know correspondence meetings internal contact with customers during the break, in the canteen telephone calls 9. How important is Dutch language proficiency for... unimportant important n/a... functioning in your position?... interaction with your colleagues?... interaction with your customers? 10. On an average workday, which percentage of your communication is in Dutch? - <10% % % % % - >90%

7 11. To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements? Strongly disagree Strongly agree I have a lot of contact with Dutch nationals. I understand the Dutch way of thinking. I miss important information. I feel isolated in the Netherlands. I feel excluded from Dutch society. My Dutch proficiency is sufficient for my stay in the Netherlands. I feel at home in the Netherlands. I use the Dutch language with my friends. I use the Dutch language on the street. I use the Dutch language in shops. I am very well adjusted to interacting with Dutch people in general. I feel like a tourist in the Netherlands. 12. How do Dutch people (colleagues, friends, strangers) react when you speak Dutch? 13. Which of the following statements about language skills resembles your Dutch language proficiency the best? - I do not speak Dutch at all. - I can use familiar everyday expressions and simple phrases. (Beginners level) - I am familiar with frequently used expressions and conversation on routine matters. (Pre-intermediate level) - I can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest and I can briefly give reasons for opinions. (Intermediate level) - I can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible. (Upper indermediate level) - I can use the language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes without much obvious searching for expressions. (Advanced level) - I can express myself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations. (Proficient user) 14. Would you like to improve your Dutch language skills? If so, why? If not, why not? 15. Please fill in your contact information if you would like to receive more information about this research and/or if you are willing to participate in an interview for this research. Name adress Telephone number Thank you very much for your participation. If you have any questions about this survey, research or the results, please contact me. Eline Kouwets Eline.Kouwets@student.uva.nl

8 Bijlage III: Interviews R1: Man uit Frankrijk, negen maanden in Nederland, beginnend spreker Al 9 maanden in NL Grafisch ontwerper freelance + medewerker fietsverhuurbedrijf Spreekt Frans, Engels Nederlandse vriendin, spreekt NE met vriendin Wil om de paar jaar terug naar Frankrijk voor vrienden - Now, I m more integrated, so I want to stay more. ( ) Integrated means that you fit in the city, you like to be there. I feel great in the Netherlands, because the people are nice. ( ). - Yes, my colleagues are Dutch. We speak English most of the time, it s much more easy to speak English, it s faster. But I have to speak Dutch now with them. Because I want to understand the discussions. The small details, but when you don t understand it means that you re not totally in the group integrated. So it s good to know some elements of language to sometimes understand not all the words but the situation, the context. That s what I like. And also to speak with my family, the family of my girlfriend, I like it. But they speak good English, but it s just to be better. - I don t feel at all like an outsider, because the people are friendly with me. Just that I want to be more, I want to understand what the people said. When I don t understand, when they are speaking too fast for me, they are okay, they can explain in English. I never had any problems with people said it s boring to speak English with you. I really like this. - I use the Dutch language in the beginning of the day, when the day starts Hoe gaat het? Gaat het goed? Met jou? stuff like this How was you re day?. Also for small sentences like Bedankt., Fijne dag. for the customers. Now I m just intermediate, when the customers start to speak Dutch, I m like Oké, sorry, ik spreek maar een beetje Nederlands. Now I understand more and more. So I use my skills.. With this class I am able to understand much better than one month ago. - Yes, Dutch people switch. Even when they think about me, they say: Okay, we have to speak to him today in Dutch., and then after they forget to speak Dutch, they speak English. And even my girlfriend. But I speak French with my girlfriend and I don t speak Dutch with her, so much. I wish I could speak more. - For an important job, I need to know the Dutch language. Because after when you skip the Dutch language you re still an expat who doesn t want to learn the language. You re still apart from the rest of the population. - I know two people, two expats, one French and one English, couple of artists. They are here since two years and they never took a Dutch lesson. So I think it s a pity for them because its always better when you know a few words but they never speak Dutch here. And that s a pity, because here so many people who speak English. And that s good for me when I arrive here, but after you have to speak Dutch to practice. - Yes, I think you need the Dutch language to succeed in your job. Because you are in the team when you speak Dutch and it s not like you stay here for one year or two years. I want to stay more, so I want to learn and understand everything. And also about the culture, we are learning the small sentences like wat leuk. You re in the group when you know those things. - Recently I had a really interesting discussion with one of my colleagues he s Dutch. I told him I took Dutch lessons here. He was really surprised. He said: Don t waste your time to speak Dutch, because there are so many interesting languages to learn. For example Spanish, because Dutch is a dead language. R2: Man uit Frankrijk, vijf jaar in Nederland, beginnend spreker Spreekt Frans, Engels Derde cursus 5 jaar in NE Werkeloos Woont met Nederlandse vrouw en zoontje - My girlfriend is Dutch and my son speaks Dutch. We speak French at home. - The reason to learn Dutch now is that I have some time and it s something I have to do sooner or later. I take some lessons before, but then I realize that if I stop the lessons I don t have enough interaction with Dutch people. So that I m losing the few stuff I ve learned. I need to have the Dutch lessons to keep it coming and to have some motivation to do some homework. But if you don t have the lessons you re not motivated to read something or do something.

9 - I use the Dutch language sometimes with the parents of my wife, to understand all the conversations and speak a couple of words here and there. I m not like talking in Dutch. They speak French, they speak English. So I use it as much as I can, sometimes, just to speak a little bit. It s really not mandatory at all. That s the reason as well, why I never went into it, because I never had the need of it. So I never was with Dutch people. - I have to learn it sooner or later, because if I m living here and my son is going to speak a language, I need to understand. That s mandatory for me, that s the most important thing for me. And then the other thing is that for the everyday life I m trying to create a company but I can t do it myself. Because if I go to the KvK I don t understand shit about what is written there, the formula to create a company I cannot fill in. so all these side things you need to speak Dutch, for everyday life you don t need it at all, but for some specific things it s mandatory, no choice. - I have a couple of Dutch friends, we speak English. - I feel far from my country. I feel like a stranger. I don t feel like I m in a country where I belong to. The problem is cultural differences. The language is not a big barrier, because you don t need the Dutch for shopping or to speak to anybody. A lot of people speak French, a little bit. People are more likely to speak with you with the small French they have than listening to you speaking the poor Dutch you have. - You don t need Dutch for working in the Netherlands. It depends on the work you do. I worked four, five years in the Netherlands, never needed Dutch. But now, if I want to start a business with Dutch people, I need it. R3: Man uit Rusland, drie maanden in Nederland, beginnend spreker Russisch, Engels, Nederlands A1 3 maanden in NL Werk voor multinational Enkele jaren nog blijven Partner komt nog naar NL uit Rusland - After one month I started with the language course, just for fun, because I don t need it for work. But I ve been to some celebrations, events, and they were all in Dutch. So I understood that I want to live here, then probably I need to at least learn some Dutch. Yes, everybody speaks English, but still you ll be an outsider if you at least don t understand something of even can speak a little Dutch. Ideally fluent, but that s many years from now. - If you want to make friends with Dutch people, my personal opinion, I heard the same things from other expats, that Dutch people are quite open to a certain extent. You can t make close friends, because then they'll just ( ) And it's even more difficult if you don't know the language, don t know the culture. It s not about the language only, it s about the culture as well. - I would not call them friends, but I ve been here only for three months, so I have some good acquaintances among Dutch people, but more among expats. It s just easier, because expats are seeking for friends. - I feel quite comfortable because I can communicate easily. - I m trying to practice my Dutch but it s also a bit complicated because my vocabulary is very small so far. I try to start communication in Dutch with my colleagues then I switch to English because I don t know something or they will switch once they see that I feel difficult to proceed. - I absolutely don t need Dutch for my work, I don t have a single colleague here. All my colleagues are somewhere around the globe. It doesn t make sense for me to speak Dutch for work, everybody speaks English. R4: Vrouw uit Brazilië, een jaar in Nederland, beginnend spreker Brazilië Spreekt Portugees, Engels Werkt in StayOkay in A dam Woont er 1 jaar Partner is expat, web development - He received a job offer. He works with web development. He came and I decided to come together. He speaks just English. He wants to learn, but it s really busy for him, the work. After a while maybe. But he s learning at work some words, because there everybody speaks Dutch. - In Brazil I learned English, but there we just speak Portuguese we don t have places to practice. So when I arrived here I was learning English so I thought in the beginning it was too much to learn two languages. So I decided English, because I can do my stuff at work with my English. And Dutch I can learn it and it s a plus. Now I can be more comfortable speaking English, that s why I decided to start the Dutch lessons now. - I work at the ontbijt in the hostel. Sometimes we have some Dutch guests and they want to speak their language and not English. So they get a little bit mad with that. They try to ask in Dutch and I have to call my friends to help me. Sometimes when they ask for spoon it s easy, but sometimes they want to talk and I can't understand.

10 And also, we can communicate in English, but when we are in free time at work everybody wants to speak Dutch, so I m the only one that doesn t understand. So I want to understand what they are talking about. - Like in the meetings, all the meetings they do in Dutch and they just do a resume for me. So yes, I would like to understand everything, not just want they want to tell me. Or in the meeting sometimes I want to say something, I don t know if anybody already said, because they are speaking Dutch. So maybe I ll say twice the same thing. - I am trying to practice my Dutch at work. They help me. I say this easy stuff I try to say this about the weather. At my work I have a colleague who speaks Portuguese. So she explains me in Portuguese some words and phrases. I can learn it really well with her. - They try to speak Dutch, sometimes I mix. - It s strange, because I m learning Dutch but I m more secure with English. So I know that everybody speaks English here, so I keep afraid to try. So it s easier to just go and order in English. If I didn t know English it would be better and easier to learn Dutch, because I wouldn t be afraid to try. - I work in the ontbijt and I don t want to work in the ontbijt. In Brazil I graduated in accounting, but I can t find a job here without a good English or a good Dutch. That s a reason also for learning Dutch, I want a better job. - We are meeting new friends here, most of the time they want to speak Dutch. They talk with you in English, but sometimes they just don t think and start talking in Dutch with each other. R5: Vrouw uit Hongarije, drie maanden in Nederland, beginnend spreker Leeft alleen Spreekt Hongaars, Engels, Spaans Sinds 3 maanden in NL - Then you arrive here, you are totally lost, so you are so attracted to join all these expat things. Because you want to meet people. And then you start meeting them, and then you realize for my biggest surprise there are people there who have been living here for five six years and they still go for expat events. And then I was really surprised because I thought that everybody would be new there. So I wondered why they are still going to these events, they should have their own life here. No, they don't. And why? Because they don t speak Dutch. This is what I found out. In the first events I was joking around in Dutch a bit, they asked me why I did that. I want to study Dutch, they said: It s good that you re enthusiastic, but it s not going to work. It s very difficult. Because of the English you will not go through the barriers. This is what we experienced. I came here, because I like Dutch people. I don t want to get stuck on this level of repeating why I don t speak Dutch. I decided to start courses, if possible a bit intensive, I really want to boost it really quickly. What I also believe in, that if you come here it s so easy to speak English. You live here, you ve got your home, you are in Amsterdam, and then you think that you are living here, but if you are in English in fact you are not living here. You are just having your place here, you go out with some similar people who also think they live here and then you share that kind of experience. But you are not in the Netherlands. If I really want to know who the life is in the Netherlands, there s one way to do it is to speak Dutch. The Dutch people they don t let you in if you don t speak Dutch. It looks like it in the beginning, because you are kind and open, we chat, and then it s ciao, have a nice time. The Dutch people are not very much caring, like politely caring about others. Everybody s got their own life, their own purposes, you can do a lot of things, but don t interfere into my things too much. If I don t speak Dutch I m not going to get in to here. That s for sure. I met someone in the café, he spoke Dutch, first I thought he was Dutch, but then I found out that he was from Spain and he lives here for twenty years. - I started immediately after arrival, because I thought I need it. I thought the quicker I start, the quicker I get to that. I m working with Dutch people together, we do it in English, and I also work with a lot of international people. I can do everything in English if I want to, at work as well. But as soon as it s not about all of us or even in a meeting then they speak Dutch a little bit in between. And if they want they translate it to English, and if they don t want they don t. Then you are a bit dependent. You don t know exactly what s going on, you hope the best. I don t like it if I don t have the control. - I need the Dutch for my social life. If I don t want to get stuck with foreigners. And when I go to a pub or to somewhere, I hear that Dutch people starting to get a bit annoyed by people not speaking Dutch. - Actually, I need Dutch for organising as well. I m receiving letters from the UPC, from the gas company, and I don t have a clue what I should do. If it s a bank story, then maybe not everything you want to share with colleagues at work. Could you please help me to translate it? There could be something personal on it. - I know two Dutch persons, not linked to my work, they live in The Hague. - People react normally positive when I speak Dutch. Actually, a lot of people speak Dutch to me. When people say that Dutch people switch to English very quickly, I think that s a very good cover story for everybody who doesn t speak Dutch. I think that if the people see you really would like to, they do it in Dutch. The only thing is that few people have the sense, the knowing that they should to speak to you simple. Normally they start in their own Dutch level, they don t notice that they should use expressions that are simple. Go. Sleep. Children language. So they start speaking and then it stops, because then I get total lost. It s difficult for people to

11 translate from Dutch to English. But some of them have the skills to speak to you as to children. But then you feel like a child, that s another thing, and then you would like to be an adult and speak like a normal person. You want to express your thoughts in an appropriate way. In Dutch you cannot, it really feels like you re going back to the age of ten. But that s about patience, because it is improving every day. - People are really positively surprised normally. I keep explaining to everybody that I will continue at this. Because a lot of people are thinking that you just do it because it s fun. I really study, it s not temporarily. I need to train the colleagues as well. Now I m in the training period and when I speak better Dutch, I have to say: Okay, this is the moment. And now no English anymore. And it s not so bad, you can speak Dutch, and I can drop in English words. If I don t know it in Dutch, I just say it in English and I continue in Dutch. May times Dutch expressions don t have an English translation. R6: Man uit Griekenland, vier jaar in Nederland, beginnend spreker Al 4 jaar in NL Beginner (20 lessen) - I followed twice around of ten courses, but that was two or three years ago. So I forgot almost everything. And the reason is because I didn t practice at all, because I didn t need it for my business because of my network. - Still I try to find the time, because I think it s important at the end, even if you think you don t need it for your work or to make friends because you have an expat network with friends, you still need the language. Because if you re able to understand, if you re able to read the paper, understand when the Dutch talk, when the Dutch laugh about something. And you understand and you ll feel like you take more from the life here. So you don't speak the language, like you miss a big part of the life here. So this is what we advice also to a lot of expats that come to our website, they ask if they need Dutch. I mean, you can survive without speaking Dutch. This is what makes this country so friendly for expats, and that s what should be remained. It s a big benefit of Dutch people that they are speaking so well English and that they are willing to talk to you in English. But still, this doesn t mean it s not essential or not important for expats to try to at least reach a basic level. - I am basically very busy and work 70 hours per week. So I really don t have the focus now to learn Dutch. - I think it s a disadvantage that I don t speak Dutch. - I have a few Dutch friends, but that is because of what I do, I always mingle with expats. Most of our clients are Dutch, but because they deal with expats, they re most interested in speaking in English, so they don t really mind. So I don t get a lot of motivation. - When I m in a group with a lot of Dutch people and they all speak Dutch, and they have to switch to English for me, then I feel a little bit embarrassed. And regarding the paperwork, like a lot of papers from the gemeente and from all these tax authorities. When you have a basic level, at least you understand. - All expats, by default, feel homesick. You cannot delete this fact. Take this for granted, I believe the Netherlands is a very good place to live, to do your business, to be with your family, away from your country. Feel like home? I won t say this. I would say it s a very very expat friendly place. R7: Vrouw uit Colombia, met onderbreking een jaar en twee maanden in Nederland, beginnend spreker Heeft gestudeerd in NL, Engelse master Wil voor altijd blijven Nu 2 maanden in NL - I came here by myself, only to study. And I didn t have any connections with the country besides the university, besides the studies. First of all, I didn t have enough time to study the language and second of all, I didn t feel the need to do so, because my program was in English and my friends were all international students. During my year I met my actual partner, he is Dutch. And now I m back in the Netherlands because of him. And now, since I m with him I have the need to learn the language. Because when you share with someone that is from the country, then you start to go out with his friends, and then everybody speaks a little bit of Dutch. They switch to English. But you have the social need to understand a little bit Dutch. And also because I want to find a job. Although I think to obtain the level to be able to work in Dutch will take time. It s nice to know the language, I think. When you have a link or a direct connection to someone that is from the Netherlands. - You don t have the need in social life, you re able to communicate in English. But first of all, it s nicer if you also speak the language if you plan to stay. I see it also as a personal challenge. I think it s nice to be able to communicate in Dutch. - People, in general, appreciate a lot that you try. If you go to a restaurant or a café and you try to order in Dutch, they like it. They know that it s a difficult language and they appreciate it. - I am looking for a job, so I think if I already know a little bit of Dutch then it s easy. - It s a matter of respect for the people somehow.

12 R8: Vrouw uit Chili, twee maanden in Nederland, beginnend spreker Heeft een Nederlandse vriend Leven in NL als experiment, het weer is een nadeel 2 maanden in NL - Of course I m learning Dutch, I like the idea of, if you re being here, to be able to communicate like a local and not being a foreigner. I don t like the idea of being here ten years and not be able to speak Dutch at all. At least understand and speak and be able to ask things and go to the supermarket. - For me it s something that I like to be able to speak Dutch with my boyfriend, his family, and also to develop myself. I I really want to live here, for me it s necessary. - It s nice to learn a new language. Not just Dutch, also would like to learn French or other languages. R9: Vrouw uit Indonesië, twee maanden in Nederland, beginnend spreker Getrouwd met Nederlander 1,5 maand in NL - On our vacation back in Indonesia with the friends of my husband, they were all Dutch. And sometimes when they drink too much, they forget that I don t speak Dutch, and they keep talking, faster, in Dutch. I found it very annoying to be at the table, that everybody just forgets that I don t speak Dutch. It hurts me a little bit and that motivates me. When I live here and I stay here, I must be able quickly to speak Dutch. So there is the first main reason why I m very excited to learn Dutch. The second thing is I think it s a very good point if I start working here and I speak Dutch also. I m looking forward to go further in my Dutch, to go to intermediate and then advanced and I will have a good career path here. R10: Vrouw uit Polen, acht jaar in Nederland, vergevorderde spreker Spreekt vloeiend 8 jaar in NL Getrouwd met NE man Coach voor hoogopgeleide vrouwen Dochter gaat naar NE se school - Nee, eigenlijk heb ik de taal niet nodig voor mijn werk. Vroeger had ik een baan bij een groot internationaal bedrijf en een paar jaar later heb ik besloten helemaal iets anders te doen. En ik heb bij de Nederlandse academie voor psychologie een eenjarige opleiding gedaan, coaching en counseling, in het Nederlands. En dat was wel het moment dat mijn Nederlands enorm verbeterde. Ik moest schrijven, praten, coaching doen in het Nederlands, lezen. Ja, dan werd ik echt gedwongen om te taal te leren. - Bij het internationale bedrijf had ik Nederlands alleen nodig bij het lunchen, maar niet om mijn werk te doen. - In het begin, toen ik nog geen Nederlands sprak, ja, dat was heel stressvol en ik had ook heel veel ruzies met mijn partner. Bijna iedereen in Nederland kan heel goed Engels. En toch, dan heb je een groep met Nederlandse mensen en een buitenlander, dat was ik. In het begin gaat iedereen vijf minuten Engels praten. En daarna switcht het en gaan ze alleen maar Nederlands praten. Kan je een keer zeggen: Kan je het vertalen? of Kan het toch proberen in het Engels?, maar ja, het feestje gaat door en mensen vergeten. Nu denk ik er niet meer aan, maar dat is ook de reden waarom het nu in Nederland veel beter voelt dan een paar jaar geleden. Omdat ik de taal ken en ik kan de mensen volgen. Ja, ik heb ook een paar goede Nederlandse vriendinnen, daar praat ik Nederlands mee. - Nee, ik voel me geen Nederlander. Toen ik net in Nederland kwam en ik moest reizen voor mijn werk en dan moesten we altijd een introductie van jezelf doen. Daarna heb ik beseft dat ik altijd zeg: Ik ben Dorotha en ik ben Pools. Dus ik ben niet Nederlands. Maar een paar maanden geleden zei mijn moeder tegen me: Don t be so Dutch. Dus ik zie wel dat je heel veel dingen overneemt en dat je heel kritisch kijkt naar je eigen cultuur, je eigen land, je eigen gewoontes, maar ik ben opgegroeid met sommige dingen en dat gaat nooit veranderen. Ik doe heel veel dingen nu anders. - De Nederlandse dames die ik leerde kennen, dat was eigenlijk via mijn dochter. Eerst werd mijn dochter geboren, en daarna heb ik voor de opleiding gekozen. Ik leerde die andere Nederlandse moeders kennen. - We hebben gekozen voor een Nederlandse school voor mijn dochter. We wonen in Nederland, dus ik wilde haar niet naar een internationale school sturen. Ten eerste is het heel duur, dat is de belangrijkste reden. Maar ik praat Pools tegen haar. Als ze vijf is, gaat ze naar een Poolse zaterdag- of zondagschool, een paar uurtjes om een beetje de taal, de cultuur te leren. Alleen met mij praten is niet voldoende voor haar om goed Pools te leren. - Ik denk dat het enorm helpt om de taal te spreken. Nu denk ik er niet meer over, omdat ik de taal ken. Een paar weken geleden gingen we bijvoorbeeld naar een uitje met andere medewerkers. En dat zijn alleen maar

13 Nederlanders. En tijdens het diner praten ze alleen maar Nederlands. Dus nu hoor ik erbij. En ik kan me uiten en ik snap het en ik snap de grappen. Ik voel dat ik erbij hoor omdat ik de taal ken en het begrijp. Het is wel belangrijk om jezelf thuis te voelen, om de taal te zijn. Ik heb ook een vriendin van de school van mijn dochter, en die woont hier vier, vijf, zes jaar. Ze spreekt geen Nederlands en haar man is Pools. Zij wonen alleen maar in een Poolse community. Dus het hoeft niet voor ze. Soms spreken ze Engels. - Ik heb het Nederlands nodig bij het bellen van de belastingdienst, bezoek aan de huisartsenpost. Misschien kan het ook in het Engels, dat weet ik niet. R11: Man uit Cuba, 19 jaar in Nederland, gevorderde spreker Al 19 jaar in NL Spaans moedertaal Engels geleerd op Cuba - In the beginning I wanted to know some other places; I was a young person and a bit curious. After a while here I realized that this country respects developing myself. Making a career, starting working, having your independence, enjoy freedom. That s why I decided to settle down here. - Well, I do speak Dutch even though I have never followed a course. When I came here, things weren t quite organised for foreigners. I learned it myself, I didn t go to school. I learned myself in a very incorrect way and that s what I ve been using for the last years. Sometimes it helps me. But when I have to do some serious things for clients, then it might not sound really nice. But for the day to day life it does help. I can communicate in the general way with the Dutch people. - The Dutch language helps you. When you want to find a broader mart, I mean the working mart. Because of course you speak the language, you don t have speak it perfect, you speak the language just a bit. I speak even some English as well, my other languages are French and Spanish, it s going to help you in the market. Because actually the employers of today in the Netherlands, with this globalisation, they re not looking only for Dutch people who speak Dutch. If they can find somebody else who speaks a bit Dutch and also something extra, it s going to be a big good for his part. - When you speak Dutch, and you contact clients, you re in the Netherlands, it s some sort of presentation in front of the clients. When you have to explain something, sell something or do something, in Dutch it might sound sometimes a little nicer. It s just a matter of presentation. - It depends on where I go if I need the Dutch language for social life. I am quite diverse, what refers to: I don t go to just only one kind of place to have fun, I just go to different places. In some places some people have the tendency to be more homey, more like I want to speak the home language and I want to feel home. In some other places people don t feel it that way, it depends on where I go. Also, that depends where you live. If you live in Amsterdam, it s a bit easier to communicate in foreign languages. I lived in different places, Tilburg, Hilversum, Bussum and now in Amsterdam. In some places you speak more English, in some other places you speak less English. You are accepted in some places more than in other places. - I would love to improve my Dutch skills. I have to be honest, it depends on what the market asks. Along the way, when you talk to companies you will see that people are looking like You speak Dutch?, they listen to you, it s enough. If you speak English, that s more important for this company. Dutch is important; I would love to speak it as perfect as possible. After while you get in love with the language if you ve been living here for a long time. So much contact that you get in love with it. - I have different types of Dutch friends. But the Dutch friends I have more foreign friends than Dutch friends. Most of my friends are foreign. Amsterdam is an international city as well, it s very easy to get in touch with foreign people. - For people from my culture it s quite easy to get in touch with the Dutch people. It s no that difficult., When we are from, we are funny, we love to have fun, do crazy things. When we come together with the Dutch people we live, we have fun. I feel welcome in this country. Even you can hear a lot of things that people are sick and tired of foreigners, sometimes you hear comments like that. But I don t feel like that. I have talked to other colleagues of my country and they don t care about these comments and they don t feel like that either. It varies from person to person. - I have my complaints, for example the climate; it s something you guys have to work on. R12: Man uit Groot-Brittannië, zes maanden in Nederland, spreekt geen Nederlands Directeur van internationale scholen Geschat verblijf: 4/5 jaar - Why should I learn Dutch? I worked in Bangkok and learned Thai. We left and I never spoke Thai again. Only to show off in Thai restaurants.

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