HOW I STARTED

Hi! Ik ben Charlotte!

You might have seen me making videos on Instagram to share some tips and tricks with you, but let me introduce myself properly.  I am an 28 year old Dutchie who loves to travel, surf amazing waves (only in warm water with a view on some palm trees), read books about life, do yoga and have beautiful conversations with people from all over the world. I grew up in the Netherlands and studied Speech and Language Pathology in Rotterdam. After graduating I worked in the hospital in The Hague, but I had always know that a life in the Netherlands was not going to be my path. I wanted to see the world and live closer to nature (and waves to surf), so I started traveling when I was 21. 

It was at that time when I started to teach online Dutch to expats and refugees and I loved it. I’ve worked for many different language schools over the years and it helped me to gain a lot of experience with different methods, levels and sorts of classes.  Three years ago I met my Salvadorian partner when I was traveling in El Salvador and I’ve lived there with him ever since. I had to learn Spanish myself because my partner doesn’t speak any other language. It was so refreshing for me to go through the entire process of learning a language myself again and I realized; I want to make my own courses for people to learn Dutch. 

In September 2023 I finally took the step and uploaded my first video on my Instagram account @your.dutchfriend and within one month I had reached 10k followers. 4 months later I hit the 100k followers and the rest is history. I’m super proud to say that the Your Dutch Friend language school now has a team of 9 amazing teachers and that together we have guided over +1000 students to reach their goals.
let's connect

Why 'Your Dutch Friend'?

I chose the name @your.dutchfriend for my instagram page because it was something that many students called me. During the classes they said; ‘Charlotte, you are more than just my Dutch teacher. You are my Dutch friend!’. 

I truly believe that you need to have some kind of a connection with your teacher to be able to stay motivated and engaged in your learning process. Learning a language is all about communication, so you need to feel comfortable during your classes. 
Besides, as your Dutch teacher I also want to know what kind of person you are. Because I want you to be able to fully express yourself the way you are in the Dutch language, as you are in your mother tongue. 

I’m super proud to be able to say that the Dutch teachers that are working in the Your Dutch Friend-team are sharing that vision with me. 

a bit more personal

Some facts about me

  • I have travelled to 27 countries and 10 of them I visited on my own!
  • I am living in El Salvador with my Salvadorian partner who is a surf instructor at the local beach where we live. Surfing is my big passion too!
  • My favorite Dutch food is ‘stamppot’, which is mashed potatoes combined with different kinds of veggies.
  • I am fluent in Dutch (obviously), Spanish and English and I have studied French and German for 5 years as well. The last two I just don’t use anymore so I forgot quite a lot.
  • In El Salvador everyone calls me ‘Tuli’. When my boyfriend and I met he said to me: ‘Eres una flor de Holanda, eres un Tulipan’ which means: ‘You are a flower from Holland, you are a tulip’. Since that day everyone calls me ‘Tuli’.
Ready? Let’s get started

Team

I could never teach all of you without my amazing team of teachers. Get to know them a little bit better here!

Femke

Femke teaches private lessons and duo lessons

Hi! My name is Femke. I’m 38 years old and I live in Paris! I originally come from a small village between Amsterdam and Utrecht and grew up on a houseboat. When I was 18 I moved to the big city, Amsterdam. There I trained as a primary school teacher. I enjoyed teaching for 12 years, but when I was 30 I quit my job to travel. When I came back I knew that I no longer wanted to settle in the Netherlands and I moved to Paris. A good step, because I always wanted to learn to speak French. Many years have now passed and I have learned many experiences and a new language.  In Paris I give bicycle tours through the city center to friendly Dutch tourists. And I am also a Dutch teacher at ‘Your Dutch Friend’! During my lessons, I find it especially important that students feel at ease. You learn fastest when you feel safe and free to talk. And I think laughter is very important! 

In my free time I walk through the city, I like to sit on the terrace with my boyfriend, I enjoy singing, doing puzzles, making Sudoku’s and shopping. 

Michelle

Michelle teaches private lessons, duo lessons and group lessons.

Hello everyone! My name is Michelle Egbers and I am 33 years old. I love cooking, dancing, getting to know new cultures and teaching. When I was a child I liked to play ‘teacher’. So it was no surprise that I chose a career as a primary school teacher later in life. I taught at various schools for 11 years until I switched to online teaching. 

From the age of 21, I traveled to another country for a month every year, until 2 years ago I decided to leave the Netherlands and emigrate. I now live in Mexico where I enjoy the beach, the culture and the abundance of tacos. In the meantime, I’m learning Spanish here, so I know exactly what it’s like to learn a new language and have to start from scratch.  I look forward to seeing you in classes! 

Romy

Romy teaches private lessons and duo lessons

Hey everyone! My name is Romy. I am a Flemish speaking primary school teacher with a passion for the Dutch language. I taught Dutch at the International School of London, and studied for the training to be a Dutch NT2 teacher in Ghent, Belgium. Since then I was able to teach in a secondary school and adults. In addition, I taught at the International School of Ghent in all of these years. I have been working with international students a lot and love it a lot 😊

 

I teach private lessons at the Your Dutch Friend language school to students who are living in Belgium and I am super happy when I’m teaching! Aside from teaching I love to travel around the world. You can find me in Belgium up to Australia!🌻

Monique

Monique teaches private lessons and duo lessons.

Hi, my name is Monique and I am 44 years old. I’m a Speech-language Pathologist, teacher in Dutch Sign language and an Autism Coach. I love working with people and languages, because life is all about communication 🙂 When I’m not teaching, I love to travel the world, see my family and friends, read books and take long walks with my dog. Maybe we will see each other in class! 

Jim

Jim teaches group lessons from Spanish to Dutch

In 1986 I graduated as a second-degree Dutch teacher in Tilburg. As a Dutch citizen of Antillean descent, I quickly started to delve deeper into NT2, Dutch as a foreign language and intercultural communication. I started at the language institute in Vught with a group of 5 expats from different European countries. Despite the fact that in secondary school I was mainly student-oriented instead of language-oriented, the Dutch language to non-native speakers continued to fascinate me.

In Curaçao you are well prepared at primary school for the multilingual Caribbean coexistence with Spanish and English and that is now my advantage. I also love Spanish culture, language, humor and everything that comes with it. That is why I joined your Dutch friend because I love teaching Dutch in Spanish and English. In addition to being a Dutch teacher, I am a father, actor, singer, wedding official, trainer, presenter, discussion leader and freelancer. I find customization, humor and, above all, action very important in my lessons. 

Milou

Milou teaches the SpreekZeker-group lessons

Hi there! My name is Milou, and I’m 33 years old. At the moment I’m a proud resident of the beautiful city of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is also the place where I grew up and studied to become a primary school teacher! Besides my work as a teacher, I’m more than happy to say that I’m a member of the Your Dutch Friend team. I lead the SpreekZeker groups to help students to become even more confident and fluent in speaking Dutch! I’ve lived in the Caribbean for a couple of years and while learning the native language ‘Papiamentu’ it was beautiful to discover again that language can lead to beautiful connections.

So, that’s what we are heading for in the SpreekZeker groups, all while having fun discovering new ways of using the Dutch language! I really love to be outdoors in the fresh air. I spend a lot of time in my garden to make bouquets and meals with my own grown food and flowers. Besides that you can find me dancing salsa and bachata, making music or listening to music or with my friends and family. I’m really looking forward to connect with you in the SpreekZeker groups, and speak in Dutch about the things we love and want to learn! 

Kimber

KIMBER TEACHES GROUP LESSONS, PRIVATE LESSONS AND DUO LESSONS

Hi, I’m Kimber a very happy member of the Your Dutch friend team. I’m 28 (ik denk 29 voordat het online is) years old and I divide most of my time between Italy, Chili and the Netherlands. I love being on the beach, walking, swimming, exploring. I love yoga, live music, climbing, aerial yoga and circus tricks. When back in NL I love to cycle, like a real Dutchie. 

After my studies I started to travel and noticed how much you learn about a culture, the people and the place with a little knowledge of the language and that’s where my passion for languages begin. I love the Dutch language and I like to share that with you. In my classes I like to accommodate your needs, speaking about topics, the grammar, language-, social-, and culture concepts that are important for you. I think our time together should be fun and makes you feel excited to discover more about the Netherlands and the Dutch language.  I look forward to teaching you Dutch and becoming your Dutch friend 🙂

Imani

Imani teaches private lessons, duo lessons and group lessons.

Hi, my name is Imani, a member of the Your Dutch Friend team. I’m 31 years old and I move between the Netherlands and Mexico City. I am a journalist but in the last 5 years I have been teaching; I have become a primary school teacher and I’m a teacher for adults as well. 

When I was little, I made my own dictionary with ‘Dutch’ words that I invented myself and I liked to read the dictionary in the night to look for the most crazy Dutch words. Now, I like to run and do races, I do aerial silks and I love to hike in nature. I also make product pictures and portraits. I am looking forward to learning Dutch together. In my teaching, I like to make you feel confident to express yourself in your new language and to show you my culture!

Mariëlle

Mariëlle teaches private lessons, duo lessons and group lessons.

Born in The Hague but later settled in the warm and welcoming province of Brabant, I’ve been working in education for over 10 years now. My experience mainly lies in teaching young people and adults, and for the past two years, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying teaching online NT2 (Dutch as a second language) lessons. Currently, I live in the beautiful Algarve, Portugal, with my husband and our two daughters, aged 6 months and 4 years. We’re passionate about traveling—we even took a year-long trip around the world and spent extended time exploring Europe in a camper van with our eldest daughter. Who knows where life will take us next! When I’m not teaching, traveling, or spending time with my family, I love long walks on the beach, reading, and exploring my creative side. Oh, and of course, I’m learning Portuguese as well. So I know better than anyone what it’s like to emigrate and immerse yourself in a new language and culture. In my opinion a foreign accent is a sign of bravery. I’m really looking forward to meeting you in class!

Black Friday Sale

Learn Dutch for Less!

From Friday to Sunday only:
• Self-paced video courses: €250 → €199
• Ebooks: €12.50 → €9.99
 
Don’t miss out on my biggest sale ever —start your Dutch learning journey today!
To the self-paces courses
to the e-books

The  free  'Your Dutch Week Planner'

Start learning Dutch with the Beginners Week Planner that gives you Daily Vocab, Texts & Conversations for the first week of studying.

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