You finish your Nederlands in gang homework, then wonder what to do before the next class. Another app? A podcast? A new vocabulary list? Start with the chapter already open on your desk. Pick something you might actually want to say, then take it away from the page.
This keeps your teacher's assignments as the core. You’re adding extra practice around those same topics, using audio you already have to build answers that belong to you. Introducing yourself, describing a room, or telling a colleague what you’re working on each give you a different angle to try.
Quick answer: Pick a topic from your current chapter. Listen to a short dialogue, replay a useful line, and say it aloud. Swap in your own details to make it personal, then note down any questions for class. Use your book's audio or an extra conversation on the same theme, but keep the task small enough to repeat daily.
Start with the chapter you're studying
This guide follows the revised fourth edition of Nederlands in gang, published in 2026 by Boom uitgevers Amsterdam (ISBN 9789024473250). The publisher describes a beginner course leading towards A2. The book has 16 chapters, numbered 1 to 16, with A1 as the approximate halfway target. Remember that these are course targets, not a guarantee of your level the moment you finish a page.
The textbook includes its own online materials, audio, and exercises. Start with those alongside your teacher's homework. HearSay's conversations are separate, original recordings written around the chapter themes. They work as optional extra practice, not as replacements for the publisher's own dialogues.
The examples below focus on chapters 1, 8, and 15. Don’t try to do all three at once. Choose the chapter closest to what you’re studying in class, then use this same approach when you reach the next topic. If you use an older edition, check your table of contents to match the topics.
A small routine you can repeat
Pick a short exchange you mostly understand. Listen for the main point: a spelled-out name, an answer about rent, or advice on a presentation. Replay a single line you could use yourself. Look at the text if you need to. There’s no prize for staying confused.
Repeat the line aloud after the recording. Once you can say it easily, swap out a detail. Use your own name, describe your actual room, or say what you’re really working on. Try answering without reading the text, then look up any words you forgot. Finish by writing down a question for your next class.
This is a simple routine, not a strict rule for how many minutes you must study. Keep it brief. On busy days, stick to a single question and answer instead of adding material you may not have time to revisit. If speaking aloud is awkward right now, listen and save your spoken answer for later.
There is a clear reason for that last step. In vocabulary research, recognising a word and recalling it are different tasks, with active recall the hardest task in that study (Laufer & Goldstein, 2004). Another experiment found that continued retrieval improved delayed recall of foreign-language vocabulary (Karpicke & Roediger, 2008). While neither study tested this specific Dutch routine, they give a reason to try remembering an answer as well as recognising it on the page.
Chapter 1: give your own details
Chapter 1, In de cursus Nederlands, covers the basics you need when meeting people in class: your name, where you come from, and where you live.
In HearSay's Signing up for class, Tomasz meets Lotte at a registration desk in Leiden. Listen for when she asks him to spell his name. Pause the audio and spell your own name using the Dutch alphabet. Check any letters that trip you up, then try again.
Next, answer the questions about where you come from and where you live using your own details. Keep these answers distinct, as your home country and your current town might be different. Write down a quick prompt if you need to, then hide it before you speak.
If you have a classmate, take turns asking for these details and writing down what you hear. Read the name back to verify it. This forces you to listen closely, and gives you a specific question for your teacher if certain letters keep confusing you.
Chapter 8: describe a room you know
Chapter 8, Bij een bezichtiging, focuses on housing. In Viewing a flat, Marta visits an apartment in Amersfoort with Jesse. They talk about the rooms, furniture, rent, and the local area.
Listen for something specific, like whether a piece of furniture stays in the flat. After the audio, look around your own room and describe one object and where it is. A simple sentence works: De stoel staat naast het raam. (The chair is next to the window.)
Try describing another object, then add a preference or a question you would ask during a real viewing. You might ask if the room is quiet or if the furniture stays. Stick to the vocabulary your class has covered, and check any new words before trying to memorise them.
If you’re practising with a partner, describe your room without letting them see it. Ask them what they pictured. Any misunderstanding shows you exactly what to clarify. You can repeat the description with that new detail, rather than rushing into a brand-new exercise.
Chapter 15: say what you're working on
Chapter 15, Op het werk, covers chatting with colleagues and explaining what you’re doing. HearSay's Small talk at work follows Ines and Maarten at an office coffee machine in Eindhoven. Ines is preparing her first client presentation and asks for advice.
Listen for what Ines is doing, then describe an activity from your own day. Use the zijn aan het pattern with an infinitive to describe an action in progress: Ik ben een e-mail aan het schrijven. (I am writing an email.) If you don’t work in an office, talk about studying or cooking instead.
The advice part of the dialogue offers a different exercise. Pick a small problem you can explain using words you already know, and ask a classmate what they would do. Listen to their suggestion before you reply. Keep your first attempt short, then try it again after looking up any missing words.
Repeating a spoken task has been studied in English language classrooms: students who repeated the same short speeches kept their fluency gains on later tests (de Jong & Perfetti, 2011). While that study didn’t look at short Dutch exchanges or HearSay, repetition here gives you a chance to refine the answer you wanted to give.
Bring a specific question back to class
Write down exactly where you get stuck. Maybe you could describe your room but didn’t know whether to use dit or deze. Or perhaps you understood Ines but couldn’t adapt her phrasing to your own job. Bring that specific example to your teacher, along with what you tried to say.
You can then start your next practice session with the corrected phrase. You already understand the context, so you can focus entirely on getting the words right.
For optional extra listening practice for your current chapter, visit the Nederlands in gang course hub.
HearSay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Boom uitgevers Amsterdam. Nederlands in gang is a trademark of its owner. These are our own conversations, written around each chapter's themes.
FAQ
Which edition does this guide follow?
It follows the revised fourth edition of Nederlands in gang, published in 2026, ISBN 9789024473250. The examples refer to chapters 1, 8, and 15 of that edition. If your class uses an older edition, compare the topics with your own contents page rather than relying on chapter numbers alone.
Do I need HearSay to use this routine?
No. You can use your book's audio and practise with a classmate or on your own. The HearSay links provide optional, original conversations on related themes. Keep following your teacher's assignments and use the publisher's materials for the textbook exercises themselves.
What if I can’t answer without reading?
Look at the text, check the meaning, and try a shorter answer. You can keep a few reminder words nearby and gradually use fewer of them. If you’re unsure about the sentence itself, take it to class before spending more time repeating it.
References
Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabulary knowledge: Size, strength, and computer adaptiveness. Language Learning, 54(3), 399-436. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0023-8333.2004.00260.x
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 319(5865), 966-968. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
de Jong, N., & Perfetti, C. A. (2011). Fluency training in the ESL classroom: An experimental study of fluency development and proceduralization. Language Learning, 61(2), 533-568. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2010.00620.x