Dutch between classes: From class discussion to everyday Dutch with Nederlands in actie

Q: Which textbook edition does this guide use?

This guide is based on the 4th revised edition of Nederlands in actie, published in 2022. It focuses on the themes of chapters 1, 6 and 11. If you are using an older version of the textbook, you can still use the same practice steps. Simply find the chapters in your table of contents that match the themes of identity, education and art.

You leave a Nederlands in actie class with a question still in your head. Perhaps you could follow a discussion about school systems, but you could not quite say why you preferred a specific option when your teacher asked for your opinion. That is a normal part of the process of moving from reading comprehension to active speech. It also gives you a practical starting point for the days before your next lesson. You can take a topic your class has already covered and try to formulate one complete answer of your own.

This guide uses 3 chapters from the 4th revised edition of the textbook, published in 2022 by Uitgeverij Coutinho. Your coursebook, its official audio and your teacher's assignments remain the core of your study. What you can do between sessions is add short spoken exercises to make the textbook vocabulary more familiar.

To help with this, you can use the original conversations in our Nederlands in actie companion courses. These courses are completely separate from the publisher's material and follow related conversational themes.

A flexible routine for between-class practice

According to the official publisher's page for Nederlands in actie, this textbook is designed for language learners working from level A2 towards level B1. On our platform, the companion courses label chapters 1 to 5 as level A2 and chapters 6 to 11 as level B1. These labels describe the difficulty of the conversations. They do not guarantee a specific outcome, because every person learns at their own pace. If you are using an older edition of the textbook, check your own contents page first to see where the chapter titles match our examples.

To build a reliable routine between your weekly classes, you do not need to spend hours studying grammar rules. Instead, you can use a simple 5-step process that fits into 15 minutes a day. You can use this method with a classmate, with the publisher's own audio, or with the companion courses.

Listen for the situation: Play a short audio clip. Do not write anything down yet. Focus on the relationship between the speakers. What are they trying to decide or explain?
Replay and pause: Play the audio a second time. Pause it immediately after a speaker asks a question or makes a statement that matches your current chapter.
Say your own answer: Do not read the script. Say a direct, personal response aloud. If the character in the audio says they dislike the wind, say what actually annoys you in your own daily life.
Change one detail: Repeat your answer, but swap one detail. If you first said you moved to the Netherlands for a job, try saying you moved because of your partner, or because you wanted to study. This teaches you to adapt sentences on your feet.
Write down your questions: Note down the exact moment you got stuck. Was it a verb position after a conjunction like omdat? Was it a missing noun? Take this specific question to your next group class.

By focusing on what you want to say, rather than trying to memorise the textbook dialogues word for word, you prepare yourself for spontaneous conversations. Let us look at how you can apply this specific routine to 3 chapters from the coursebook.

Focus on personal identity in chapter 1

Chapter 1, Identiteit, focuses on personal background, character traits, daily annoyances and future plans. In our companion course, Interview for the local paper, a volunteer named Wouter visits a resident named Priya at her home in Enschede. He is writing a column about new neighbours for the local wijkkrant. They use the informal je register from their very first sentence.

This opening lesson introduces the placing verbs staan, zetten, hangen, zitten and stoppen. It also uses basic main clauses and simple conjunctions.

Here is how you can use this scene to practise between classes:

Step 1: Listen to the short exchange. Notice how Priya uses the subordinate clause structure with omdat .
Step 2: Pause after Wouter asks, Waarom Enschede?
Step 3: Answer the question for your own situation. If you live in Utrecht, say: Omdat ik hier woon... or Omdat ik hier studeer... Keep the verb at the very end of your omdat clause.
Step 4: Now try to use the conjunction want instead of omdat. Remember that want does not change the word order: Ik verhuisde naar Utrecht, want ik kreeg hier een nieuwe baan.
Step 5: Write down a sentence about your own house or neighbourhood using one of the placing verbs, such as er staat or er hangt. For example, describe a picture on your wall: Er hangt een schilderij in de gang. If you are unsure whether to use staan or liggen for an object on your table, that is your question for your teacher in the next class.

By comparing the word order of omdat and want using your own background, you make the grammar rules of chapter 1 physical. You can try this with a study partner by taking turns being the interviewer and the new neighbour. Do not stick to the exact script. Ask about real objects in the room or actual reasons for moving.

Discuss the school system in chapter 6

In chapter 6, Onderwijs en wetenschap, the textbook introduces the Dutch educational system, school subjects, and relative pronouns combined with prepositions. In the companion course, At a school open day, two parents named Ellen and Rafael meet in the hallway of a secondary school in Hilversum. Their children are in their final year of primary school (groep acht), and the parents are looking at secondary options.

This topic can be challenging because of the specific terms for Dutch school levels and the relative clauses using prepositions, such as met wie (with whom) and waar... naartoe (where to).

To practise this at home:

Step 1: Identify the relative clauses. Notice how Ellen says de mentor met wie we net praatten and Rafael says de school waar hij naartoe kan.
Step 2: Pause the recording after Ellen explains the three secondary levels (vmbo, havo, vwo).
Step 3: Try to explain the school system of your own home country in 2 or 3 simple Dutch sentences. Use relative clauses if you can. For example: In mijn land gaan kinderen naar een school die... or De leraren met wie ik praatte...
Step 4: Compare your own school days with your present life. State 1 subject you loved as a teenager and 1 subject you found difficult. Use past tense verbs: Toen ik jong was, vond ik geschiedenis interessant, maar ik had een hekel aan wiskunde.
Step 5: If you are confused about how to split words like waarop, waarnaartoe or waarmee in a question, write down your attempt. For instance: Waar luister je naar? (What are you listening to?). Show this list to your teacher to verify the word placement.

This exercise helps you move beyond simply reading about Dutch education. You are using the structures to describe your own past, using vocabulary from the chapter.

Chapter 11, Kunst, explores creative expression, reviews and public art. In the companion course, A new artwork in town, two neighbours named Milan and Gerda stand on a public square in Apeldoorn. A new steel sculpture has been installed where an old chestnut tree used to stand. Milan thinks it is beautiful, while Gerda thinks it is an eyesore.

This lesson uses irregular verbs in the past tenses and expressions for strong agreement or disagreement, such as Totaal niet! (Not at all!) or Of ik hem gehoord heb! (And how I heard it!).

You can adapt this conversation to practise your speaking skills:

Step 1: Pay attention to how they express their opposing views directly but politely.
Step 2: Think of a public change in your own town. It could be a new building, a closed street, a local park or an exhibition.
Step 3: State your honest opinion about this change. Use verbs in the past tense to describe how the place used to look: Vroeger stond er een... (Previously there was a...).
Step 4: Challenge yourself to defend the opposite view. If you love the new park, pretend to be a neighbour who misses the old parking spaces. Use phrases like: Aan de ene kant is het mooi, maar aan de andere kant... (On the one hand it is beautiful, but on the other hand...). This gives you a chance to use different vocabulary and complex sentence connectors.
Step 5: Note down any past tense irregular verbs that made you hesitate, such as vinden/vond/gevonden or hangen/hing/gehangen. Bring these to your next class so your teacher can help you practise their rhythm.

Practising both sides of an argument prevents you from relying on the same 3 or 4 comfortable words. It stretches your vocabulary and prepares you for real discussions where people have different perspectives.

Bring your specific questions to your next class

The goal of practising between classes is not to speak perfectly or to complete every exercise in your workbook alone. The goal is to discover exactly what you want to say, and where your current vocabulary limits you.

Instead of writing long paragraphs, keep your notes simple:

The number of the chapter you are practising.
One personal question you tried to answer.
One phrase you checked in the dictionary.
One specific grammar question for your teacher.

This approach makes your homework highly practical. When you arrive at your next group class, you will not have to search for something to say. You will have a real experience, a concrete sentence, and a specific question ready for your teacher.

If you want to hear more original dialogues that match your weekly classwork, the Nederlands in actie hub provides links to all 11 companion courses. Focus on the chapter your class is currently studying, rather than trying to complete the entire list at once.

HearSay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Uitgeverij Coutinho. Nederlands in actie is a trademark of its owner. These are our own conversations, written around each chapter's themes.

FAQ

Which textbook edition does this guide use?

This guide is based on the 4th revised edition of Nederlands in actie, published in 2022. It focuses on the themes of chapters 1, 6 and 11. If you are using an older version of the textbook, you can still use the same practice steps. Simply find the chapters in your table of contents that match the themes of identity, education and art.

Do I need to use the companion courses to follow this routine?

No. You can apply this exact 5-step routine using your teacher's class materials, the publisher's official audio tracks, or conversations with a classmate. Our companion courses are entirely optional resources designed to give you extra listening practice on the same topics.

What should I do if I cannot form a sentence without reading?

If you get stuck, look at the Dutch text first. Read a short sentence aloud to get the rhythm of the words. Then, close your book or look away from your screen, change one small detail (like a noun or a city name), and try to say the modified sentence from memory. Bringing these specific points of hesitation to your teacher gives your teacher a specific point to discuss in your next class.