Last year, during our 10th anniversary, we were able to hold the official CNaVT exam at De Esdoorn for the very first time, with our own examiners. Aimee was one of the first students to pass, which makes her our very first CNaVT success at De Esdoorn! It’s a lovely milestone and a wonderful result after 10 years of building Dutch-language education, and a fitting finale to our anniversary year. We sat down with Aimee and her mom Sandra, one of the founders of De Esdoorn.
“De Esdoorn is the place where I didn’t just learn Dutch, but also got to know friends and made memories that I still carry with me.” – Aimee
Aimee
What is your first memory of a Dutch lesson at De Esdoorn?
My first memory of De Esdoorn is a small classroom without that many people. It was a bit stuffy and cramped, but that’s exactly what I remember most.
How many years have you been at De Esdoorn?
I’ve been at De Esdoorn for about 10 years.
Why did you want to take the CNaVT exam?
I wanted to take the CNaVT exam to keep my options open for the future. Maybe I’ll want to study in the Netherlands later, and with an official Dutch certificate I have that possibility. I don’t know exactly what I want to do later, but I like keeping that door open.
How did you prepare for the exam?
I tried to make Dutch as much a part of my daily life as possible. I changed almost everything I could to Dutch. My social media was in Dutch, I watched Dutch movies and I tried to speak as much Dutch as I could. That way I wasn’t only studying for the exam, I was using Dutch every day.
How did it feel when you found out you had passed?
I was really, really surprised. Honestly, I hadn’t thought I’d passed. When I heard I had, it felt amazing. I was so happy that I called my mom right away to tell her.
What do you like best about being able to speak Dutch?
What I like best is that I can talk to my family members who don’t speak English. I can communicate with them in Dutch and have real conversations without a language barrier.
Do you have a favourite memory of De Esdoorn — a teacher, a Culture Day, a friend?
One of my best memories of De Esdoorn is meeting Nienke there. We used to do a lot together and made so many memories through De Esdoorn. She lives in the Netherlands now, but we’re still in touch. We talk and text regularly, and every time we see each other, we talk for hours as if we’ve never been apart. I don’t think I would have met her without De Esdoorn.
What would you say to a student who is just starting Dutch lessons?
I’d say: don’t give up right away, even if you don’t enjoy the lessons at first. You never know when you’ll need it later. Learning Dutch can open up a lot of opportunities in the future, like studying in the Netherlands or talking to family more easily. You might not always enjoy the lessons now, but later you may be really glad you stuck with it.
In one sentence: what does De Esdoorn mean to you?
De Esdoorn is the place where I didn’t just learn Dutch, but also got to know friends and made memories that I still carry with me.
Sandra
As a co-founder of De Esdoorn: what led you to start the school, and what was it like to see your own daughter take part from the very first lesson?
I only moved to Canada in my mid-thirties, so my whole upbringing and background are Dutch. I really wanted my daughter to learn to speak and read Dutch, so that she could truly understand and experience the Dutch side of me and my family.
I also wanted Dutch to be more for Aimee than just the language of mom, grandpa and grandma. I wanted it to be a language she could speak with peers and friends too. So we truly founded De Esdoorn with the idea of creating a community for Dutch and Belgian families in the area.
Of course it was very special to see Aimee take part from the very first lesson, and to watch the school and the community develop over the years.
How have you seen Aimee’s Dutch language journey grow over the years?
I’ve always spoken Dutch with Aimee. Fairly quickly, though, especially once she started daycare, she began answering in English. It definitely helped that my Canadian husband also understood and spoke Dutch, so we could keep using the language between the two of us as well.
Sometimes Aimee didn’t enjoy going to lessons, especially after a long day at school. But once she was there, she always loved seeing her friends. Over time she also discovered how much fun it is to have a kind of secret language with me.
Now she’s proud to be multilingual. She also has many friends who speak more than one language. In the end, Dutch has given her new opportunities too, such as the chance to study in the Netherlands.
What does it mean to you, as a parent, to see Aimee pass the CNaVT exam?
I’m super proud of Aimee for passing the exam. She put a lot of work into it and really earned it. With the help and guidance of all her teachers, it feels like a lovely conclusion to her ten years at De Esdoorn.
What would you tell other parents who are considering Dutch lessons for their child?
I would definitely recommend that other parents enrol their child in Dutch lessons. I feel it has enriched Aimee’s life, but also our life as a family.
De Esdoorn offers a really good environment to get to know not only the Dutch language but also the culture, both in person and online. And perhaps even more importantly: children get the chance to use the language with other children and build friendships there.
Many adults I speak to wish their parents had persevered with a second language when they were kids. It is so much easier to learn a second language as a child than as an adult. That has always inspired me to keep going.
What is your favourite memory of De Esdoorn as a parent?
There isn’t one memory that stands out. Mostly I have lots of good memories of the coffee breaks with other parents during lessons, the weekend playdates and the special Culture Days.
The cherry on top for me was the De Esdoorn camping weekend last year. My daughter would have loved it when she was younger. That’s exactly why it was so lovely to see all those other families enjoying themselves together, connected by Dutch and Belgian language and culture.
That is perhaps also what I value most about De Esdoorn: it has become so much more than a place where children take Dutch lessons. It has become a community.