Tips from a mother of trilingual children in Australia

One of our readers of Dutch Australian has some great tips to share about raising bi/trilingual children.  Though Dutch is not one of these languages, the tips she gives are applicable as well, and her websites and facebook page (scroll to bottom) are a great resource for those raising bilingual Dutch/English speaking children.  Are you … Continue reading Tips from a mother of trilingual children in Australia

Dutch TV Episode: Becoming a Mother in Melbourne – Brighton

Dutch TV is a weekly television program on community TV Channel 31 in Melbourne and Geelong (Australia) and Foxtel Aurora (Australia wide). We have been broadcasting for 4 years.  The program is about Dutch people living in Australia and is presented mostly in Dutch with English subtitles so that we can connect to everyone who has a … Continue reading Dutch TV Episode: Becoming a Mother in Melbourne – Brighton

Raising bilingual Dutch Australian children

I remember once, long before I became a mother, I went to a party at a friend's house in Delft.  Her children greeted me in Dutch, but when they heard me speaking English, they switched.  They were completely comfortable in both languages and I remember remarking to my husband how cool it would be to … Continue reading Raising bilingual Dutch Australian children

Betty and Cat: Bilingual Dutch and English books

These books are amazing.  Author Hennie Jacobs kindly sent me review copies last summer and the girls and I loved them.  We have bookshelves filled with both English and Dutch language kids books - but these are the only ones we have with BOTH languages in the one book. Hennie was born in The Netherlands … Continue reading Betty and Cat: Bilingual Dutch and English books

Is it The Netherlands or the Netherlands?

Question of the day..should it be: The Netherlands or the Netherlands? Until now, I believed that you should always capitalise "The" regardless of where in the sentence you were writing "The Netherlands".  I can't remember exactly how and why I do this but "the Netherlands" just looked wrong and I believed it was due to … Continue reading Is it The Netherlands or the Netherlands?

Raising Dutch Australian children – Let it Go/Laat het los

If you have a young daughter, or have been anywhere near a young girl in the last few months, it's highly likely you've heard them belting out "Let It Go" - the most popular song from the Disney movie, Frozen. http://youtu.be/moSFlvxnbgk In our local playground here in The Hague, I recently heard a few young Dutch … Continue reading Raising Dutch Australian children – Let it Go/Laat het los

Five dutch songs our Dutch Australian children love

Our girls are now aged four and six and if you've followed this blog for a while you'll know that they are little bi-lingual Dutch Australians. If you're new - welcome, you might like to read about us. I thought I'd share five of their favourite dutch songs.  You may be a Dutch Australian family … Continue reading Five dutch songs our Dutch Australian children love

Ondersteuning van de Nederlandse Global Nomads!

Renee vroeg op zes januari 2014 via twitter of mensen nog tips voor haar hadden om haar Nederlands te verbeteren. Ik weet weinig van Renee of van haar niveau van Nederlands. Omdat ik het wel altijd leuk vindt om mee te denken hoe leren/ontwikkelen leuk gemaakt kan worden en de "global nomads" zeer interessant vind … Continue reading Ondersteuning van de Nederlandse Global Nomads!

LearnPractice.com – Website with free exercises for those learning Dutch

I recently received an email from Burak Bilgin who let me know about his website LearnPractice.com for the Dutch Australian links page. After trying it out myself, I thought it was worth a blog post to highlight this great tool for those learning Dutch. It's quick and easy to sign up for a free account … Continue reading LearnPractice.com – Website with free exercises for those learning Dutch