Method
You might be curious to know what the lessons are actually like. So here’s an inside look at the method behind NedConnect – the structure, the feedback loop, and real homework examples from real students.
What a single 90-minute class looks like
This is one possible outline – flexibility always comes first. If more speaking or review is needed, the plan adapts.
We start with an easy warm-up, sometimes just a game – things like Two Truths and a Lie or Twenty Questions. Beginners might describe what they see in a picture, while more advanced students chat about their weekend. The conversation flows freely, with only light correction, so you can ease into speaking Dutch.
Next, we revisit what we’ve covered, both recently and further back, using flashcards or by building example sentences with key words and grammar. This is also the moment to raise any questions or uncertainties about the homework or the feedback you got on it. Anything you’ve found tricky comes back again and again, lesson after lesson, because repetition is what makes it stick.
This is where new material comes in: new vocabulary around a topic, a new verb tense, or whatever fits your level and goals best. Total beginners often spend more of this time on basic grammar and word order.
The longest stretch is dedicated to speaking, usually building on your homework. At lower levels, we might roleplay everyday situations together, like meeting someone for the first time or buying vegetables at the market. At intermediate levels, you might prepare a short presentation on a topic of your choosing. At advanced levels, you might prepare for a debate, arguing for or against a position. At any level, this time can also be used to just speak freely about whatever we like, laugh together, share stories, and gain real experience conversing in a foreign language.
We bring everything together, tying in what’s new from today with what we reviewed earlier, so it all clicks into place before you leave.
We plan the next lesson around both our schedules and decide together what goes into your homework – if you have a topic you’d like to focus on, we build the homework around that.
Emphasis on speaking
- Lots of actual speaking time in Dutch – not just during warm-up and speaking
- Reviews and new material are contextualized with natural speech examples and mini-assignments too
- Speaking in Dutch typically makes up about 75% of total class time
- Prefer to spend even more of the lesson speaking? That’s fine – students have also made great progress that way
Structured repetition
- Past content is reviewed regularly and systematically
- Not just the last lesson – material from further back comes back too
- Things you keep forgetting are prioritized until they stick
- Built on spaced repetition
The Homework-Feedback Cycle
Homework and feedback are shared as simple online documents – freely accessible to you whenever and wherever you like. Here’s how the cycle works:
Lesson
Speaking, learning new grammar, and reviewing homework and vocabulary from the previous lesson.
Homework & flashcard deck uploaded
Based on the vocabulary, sentences, grammatical structures and topics covered in the lesson. May also include reading, listening, a written assignment, or preparation for a speaking task like a short presentation.
Student finishes homework
The student lets the teacher know once it’s done, so feedback can be prepared before the next lesson.
Feedback uploaded
The teacher reviews the homework and provides feedback, showing the student exactly which aspects need more attention.
A few things to know about the homework
Flashcards & vocabulary exercise
After every lesson, we build a flashcard deck from the new words you covered – and homework usually includes a fill-in-the-gap exercise using those same words, so they really stick.
Practice sentence structure
It also usually includes a translate-the-sentences exercise, so you can practice building natural sentences and using grammatical structures correctly.
No pressure
Although it’s most efficient to finish the homework in its entirety, it’s not a big deal if you don’t manage to do everything – it won’t derail the lesson.
Tailored to you
Homework is tailored to your needs and interests – never just a generic worksheet. The B2 example above is a good illustration: because that student cared about health and quitting smoking, the listening, writing, and speaking tasks were all built around that one theme.