Speaking Dutch boosts expat work and social life

Even if you’ve studied the Dutch language in your home country before you arrived, it’s best to continue studying once you’re there.

Fluency in the language of your new country of residence isn’t just about getting by at work in a combination of English and Dutch, it’s about socialising and learning to use casual speech and its quirks and slang. The fact that English is the world’s second language, especially for professionals, doesn’t allow expats to get out of the chore of gaining some degree of fluency in their new country’s official tongue. In the main, European languages are the easiest, but colloquial speech is very different than the language used in the workplace.

Many new arrivals in the Netherlands have found they can communicate well on a business level after studying Dutch for a while, but when the conversation becomes social they’re left out in the cold. It’s not intentional on the part of work colleagues, it’s simply the way the language changes due to different topics of conversation or situations. Not being able to join in can have an adverse effect on your self-confidence and work satisfaction as well as frustrating your efforts to build good social relationships with your co-workers. In addition, it can hinder your chances to show your knowledge of other projects, meaning you get left out.

Learning any new language is daunting at first, with Dutch not the easiest of the European tongues, and finding time to study when you’ve just arrived in a new job takes a high degree of organisational skills. Basically, language-learning only becomes fun once you’ve acquired a few quirky colloquialisms and a selection of local slang, both of which will go down well with your colleagues and help your inclusion into the work environment. At this point you’ll begin to understand the part language plays in the culture of the Netherlands and you’ll begin to see your new home in a different, even more positive light.