French-speaking staff from nursing homes in Brussels receive Dutch lessons

I step into the entrance hall of the residential care centre and immediately hear voices coming from a small room. ​“Is this the right place for Dutch lessons?”, I ask. ​“Ja, c’est ici”, replies Cécile. She is the head nurse and one of 7 employees at the Arcade residential care centre who have been taking Dutch lessons since September. Every week, on Tuesday afternoon, at CVO Brussels. But also in the care home itself every few weeks. Teacher Esther is visiting them today in their day-to-day surroundings. ​“The nice thing about this care home is that people from all levels are following the classes. The director, care providers, kitchen staff, etc. — they are all taking part. The standard is still low, beginner’s level, but there is no shortage of motivation”, she says.

After counting, the group learns to read prices. How do you ask how much something costs in Dutch? And what do you answer? “€1.40 is expressed as one euro and forty cents. €1.50 as one and a half euro. And always euro, never euros”, explains Esther. The group splits into pairs and simulates a discussion in a shop. ​“How much does a pineapple cost? How much are the apples?” Esther observes and helps them along. 

The residential care staff don’t only learn numbers; during the lessons they also focus on certain words specific to a residential care centre. A genuine tailor-made training program that the Brussels welfare institution Iriscare has developed with the Dutch Language House and CVO Brussels for 137 rest and care homes. They all joined the process with the same goal: to make sure that residents, visitors and colleagues can understand each other easily in Dutch. 

Nurse Martine is already feeling the effect of the lessons: ​“Some of our residents speak Dutch. I now understand more and more of what they are saying. Speaking and answering in Dutch is still difficult though. But the fact that I can already understand them is satisfying, not only for me but also for the residents”. Cook Loubna now prepares her menus in both languages: ​“We used to display the weekly menu in French, but now we make bilingual weekly menus. It’s the little things that make a big difference.”

The lessons are not just confined to learning theory. No, the aim is to use practical exercises so that participants start using Dutch during working hours. That is why Arcade staff is organising a ​“fruit market” on the fourth floor of the residential care centre today. They are selling fruit to rest home residents, in Dutch of course. So the numbers they have just learned will be very useful. 

Apples, pears, oranges, etc. — all kinds of fruit are on sale. And the nursing home residents have been informed. Soon, two friendly residents come to look around the market. ​“Hello”, says Nadia, a general member of staff at the residential care centre. ​“Welcome to the market”, adds Cécile. They guide the residents to the fruit stalls, with Esther teaching them the Dutch names for all types of fruit on sale in the meantime. ​‘Une banane’ becomes ​‘een banaan’, ​‘des poires’ becomes ​‘peren’, ​‘des oranges’ becomes ​‘appelsienen’. A lot of sales take place and the participants do their best to translate the prices. Esther looks on with satisfaction. 

The news obviously spreads quickly, because the fourth floor soon fills up with care home residents who would like to buy some fruit and, in particular, see first hand what is going on. One of the residents says that she had a Flemish mother who spoke with a bit of a Bruges dialect. ​“Doete e ké vo min”, was her favourite phrase, says the resident. ​“Sorry?”, the residents answer. ​“Say that to me again in the Bruges dialect”, jokes the resident. Another resident is a true resident of Brussels and yells ​“Oe lawate?”. Once again, there are a few puzzled faces in the room. ​“What time is it, in Brussels dialect”, says the resident. Even Dutch speakers need to think twice with so many dialects, let alone beginners. But it results in a lot of laughter and fun at the fruit market.

The residents return with their bags of fruit, and Esther spends the afternoon with the group. What did they think? What have they learned? Which words did they not yet know? ​“Une balance (scales)”, I hear. ​“Een weegschaal!”. I am impressed by the group dynamics and the group’s will to master Dutch. ​“We would sign up again straight away”, concludes Théodore. And that seems more than sincere to me. I drive home with a good feeling and would like to come here again in a year’s time. They will no longer be beginners by then. Keep it up!