Our story
The Dutch Language House Brussels opened in 2003. Since then, thousands of visitors have come here every year to learn Dutch. The House also organises Dutch practise opportunities and is the language partner for many Brussels organisations, companies, schools and training courses.
Establishment
The Dutch Language House Brussels was founded in September 2003. In 2004, it received its own decree together with the Dutch Language Houses in each Flemish province and the cities of Antwerp and Ghent.
Their main assignment: not to provide lessons themselves, but to determine which course or pathway is best suited to adults who want to learn Dutch.
From the outset, the Dutch Language House Brussels has 3 additional tasks:
- Language promotion: Encouraging inhabitants of Brussels to learn, practise and use Dutch
- NT2 support: Matching Brussels language courses and other initiatives to the people and the city of Brussels
- Language policy: Supporting Brussels services, organisations and companies with questions about Dutch in their operations
200,000 customers over 20 years
The Dutch Language House Brussels welcomed its very first customer on 15 September 2003. The service provision for Brussels residents looking for a Dutch course got off to a flying start. By its third anniversary, the Dutch Language House Brussels had served 20,000 customers. And by its twentieth anniversary, this total had risen to over 200,000.
Socio-professional engagement of non-native speakers
How can we quickly teach non-Dutch speakers to use Dutch in situations that are important to them? Already in the early years, the House together with the education sector went looking for methods of working on language while learning a profession. The central question: how do you give Dutch a place in your study programme in a multilingual context? This marked the start of the House's cooperation with work experience organisations and training courses.
The objective was to strengthen the socio-economic position of Brussels residents by increasing their language skills.
Targeting professionals
The Dutch Language House Brussels began targeting professionals with its 'Les commerçants bruxellois se mettent au néerlandais’ (Brussels traders go Dutch) campaign in 2005. The first step involved 200 retail sales staff taking Dutch lessons. Not in the classroom, but in the workplace. The campaign was later expanded to include hospitals, the hospitality industry and Brussels municipal authorities. Today, the House offers a wide range for organisations, schools and companies. This includes advice on language policy, training and coaching for employees.
Language promotion and practice opportunities
The Dutch Language House Brussels believes that practising opportunities are essential to learning a language.
From the outset, it launched actions to introduce Brussels residents to sporting, cultural and other activities in Dutch. Today, our Allez:NL event attracts around 3,000 students to activities at 60 organisations every year.
In 2014, thanks to the merger with vzw Bru-taal, the House started to organise its own practise opportunities: the Babbelut conversation tables. The House expanded thanks to dozens of Dutch-speaking volunteers for the conversation tables.
From eight Dutch Language Houses to one Dutch Language House Brussels and three agencies
2015 was an important year for the eight Dutch Languages Houses. Seven of the eight Houses disappeared due to mergers with the admission offices, integration services and social interpreters. 3 large agencies were created:
- the Flemish Integration and Naturalisation Agency
- the Ghent-based Amai Agency
- the Antwerp-based Atlas Agency
The Dutch Language House Brussels continued in Brussels. The Dutch Language House thus remained the place to go for all Brussels residents who want to learn or practise Dutch.
Motivation research
On 1 June 2023, the Dutch Language House Brussels presented the conclusions of its research into the motivations of learners of Dutch as a foreign language. The study confirmed that people learning Dutch in a multilingual city such as Brussels— in relation to work, children or leisure — have to make extra effort to speak the language. It demonstrates again the importance of the role that the Dutch Language House Brussels and its partners can play in this context.