Having lived in the Netherlands for three years, I find myself navigating daily life in a language that still feels foreign in many ways. My kids are fully immersed in Dutch schools, and I work part-time in a Dutch-speaking superstore, which means I can handle a lot in Dutch. Yet, without formal classes, I’ve noticed gaps in my grammar and vocabulary that hold me back from fluency.
This blog is my attempt to gather and share my experiences in learning Dutch without the help of a teacher. Attending a structured class isn’t possible because of a busy schedule that includes juggling my children’s needs and part-time work. Instead, I learn around my family’s schedule and my responsibilities as an online entrepreneur, where I develop online portals and design greeting cards and invitations.
Knowing my limitations I still think it will be beneficial to follow a textbook even on my own. But here comes the question – where to start? I know how to greet people, how to introduce myself or make an appointment at the doctor or dentist. But I still feel like I might have missed something from the A1 level and maybe have some pieces of A2, but still with gaps. To clarify which textbook to choose I first need to figure out my actual dutch level. To do so, I looked for a free online level evaluation test.
A little search got me to the language level test of the University of Amsterdam. You can find it HERE
I chose the dutch test, determining I am a beginner. The test takes a few minutes – it is not too long and my result was A1.2 Basic User
I kind of expected that result but still wanted to confirm it from another place and the University of Amsterdam looks like a good place I can trust to assess my level.
Dutch Level tests online
There are a lot other tests you can try. Here is a list of the tests i did and my results
NedLes – 22/26 points placing me just in A2
TheDutchOnline Academy – the test is free online and you get result in your email. I got 21/42 points placing me at the top range of A2 (13-22)
NTI – not exactly what i expected. Still did the test and got “7 van de 10 punten”. It recommends a course on B1 level but my feeling is I am not there yet.
Nederlandse Academie – A long test, requires review because you have to speak and write. Then you send the test and get results via email. Honestly did the test but got interrupted and did not send it. WIll have to do it again.