Interior designer and Istanbul native Esin Karliova started Dutch lessons at Taalhuis shortly after moving to the Netherlands with her partner and daughter in 2019. “I believe to understand a culture, language is key, otherwise you’re always an outsider,” she says. “Also, it’s more respectful to make an effort to integrate.”

She became such a fan of Taalhuis’ courses that she’s now doing their marketing. “I’m passionate about the school, not just the marketing itself,” says the 46-year-old language lover, who also speaks Turkish, German and English. “It’s ingrained in me by my mum, who went back to college at the age of 50 and is now a linguist. It’s come back full circle to me now. I like helping people learn languages, just like her.

Esin loves the “small, fun and interactive” classes, the friendly teachers and community-feel of the school and its emphasis on speaking.

But it was a class outing to Schiermonnikoog, one of the Friesland islands, that took her Dutch to another level. “I couldn’t even say the name of the island before the trip,” says Esin. “My one goal was to be able to pronounce it!”

Over the course of three days, some 10 students had daily Dutch lessons, shared a house and cooked together in its communal kitchen. They took bike excursions, enjoyed pub quizzes and spoke only Dutch with the teachers, each other, and those they met on the island. By the time Esin returned home to Amsterdam, she was taking her yoga classes in Dutch instead of English.

“The point is to use a language in a native location,” says Esin. “It had a huge impact on all of us, and it helped us gain confidence.”

She’s been studying with the same group of people for six semesters now, going from the A1 to B2 level. “We’re all there to learn the language because we live here, not just to pass an exam.”

Total immersion

Immersive class trips are one of the activities that set Taalhuis apart from other language schools. But there are more.

In a unique combination, Taalhuis Amsterdam also offers language classes from the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including Greek, Turkish, Italian, Hebrew, Arabic and even Latin.

In fact, Taalhuis co-founder Myrte Jansen started her school in 2013 teaching Greek, which (along with Latin) had been her field of study. “Mediterranean languages are close to my heart, and it’s a wonderful area that connects Europe, the Middle East and North Africa,” says the linguaphile.  “And of course we teach Dutch, because we are here.”

Taalhuis also offers immersion trips to Italy, Greece and Egypt, where you not only take classes, but also cooking workshops in Perugia and Rome or visit local markets in Athens and Naxos.

Thirty-year-old Dutch producer and journalist Ignace will be starting his third Spanish course in September.

“I was travelling in the north of Spain, and I loved it. But at a train station, I ran into a 70-year-old woman who was speaking to me in Spanish, and I had no idea what she was saying!” says Ignace.

He loves the small groups at Taalhuis, the “very good and patient” teachers, the “informal, joyful and playful classes,” the extra boost the school supplies if you want it (Ignace’s teacher arranged a language buddy for him, a Chilean who wants to learn Dutch) and the class’s inclusiveness.

“I meet people who I wouldn’t have met in my normal bubble, including police officers, IT specialists and a 60-year-old woman,” he says. “We all get along well, and I really enjoy that. It’s a festive atmosphere, and I can now have conversations about colonialism in Spanish!”

Children’s classes

Like Ignace, Myrte says many of her students love to travel and learn the language of the places they visit most. Learning the language of a partner, for a profession or for culture are other reasons why students flock to Taalhuis.

And then there are the “heritage speakers”—those who come from culturally mixed families and want to learn—or want their children to learn—the language of their forebears.

“The second and third generation of people from Turkey or who come from Arabic-speaking nations sometimes want to speak two languages with their children at home or want their kids to be able to speak to grandma when they visit, so it’s nice to have classes for them,” says Myrte. “We want to cater to the multi-lingual kids that live in the Netherlands.”

To that end, Taalhuis offers Spanish, Arabic, French, Hebrew, Turkish and English to toddlers, pre-schoolers and children up to the age of 14.

Open Days

This Sunday, September 1, Taalhuis will have an Open Day where potential students can speak to one of the school’s 80 native-speaking teachers, take a trial lesson or even an intake session to determine their proficiency in the language of their choice. Both the lessons and assessments are free—and you can take as many as you want—as long as you sign up for them.

An Online Open Evening—Taalhuis also offers online courses—featuring the same programme will be held Wednesday, September 4. And if it’s Italian you want to learn, a special Italian open day will be held on September 7.

With Taalhuis’ new class season starting mid-September, now is the perfect time to, like Ignace, make the commitment to learning the language you’ve been dreaming about. “It’s so rewarding to guide others to take the next steps in the magical process of learning a language,” says Myrte.