Who are we?

Social integration is an essential part of contemporary society. This integration starts with being able to communicate in your fellow citizen's language. In order to promote this ability, the Flemish Government established the House of Dutch on April 1, 2004. This NPO is represented in each Flemish province alongwith some additional autonomous Houses in the larger cities of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels.

The House of Dutch of Flemish-Brabant has four district offices. These are situated in Leuven, Halle, Vilvoorde and Diest. Because the House of Dutch wants to be available to everyone, we also organise weekly sessions in other municipalities. This way, the House of Dutch attempts to cover the entire province with its comprehensive network. 

The services of the House of Dutch are provided in collaboration with recognized educational institutions. On this page you can see who our partners are.

What do we do?

The House of Dutch of Flemish-Brabant performs three tasks. Firstly, we help non-Dutch speaking adults to look for a suitable Dutch course in their region. The House of Dutch does not offer any courses itself, yet attempts to place the candidates within the wide range of NT2 courses (NT2 stands for Dutch as second language).

When we give advice on a Dutch course, we keep into account the needs, expectations and possibilities of the candidate: the candidate's learning abilities, the cost of the course, the vicinity of the school, the desired time of class, and so on, are all carefully taken into consideration. In an extensive interview with the candidate our consultant probes after the interests and possibilities of the candidate. A learning ability test of the candidate can also take place. Based on the interview and tests, we get a good idea of where the candidate should best take his or her course. We try to provide the candidates with all relevant and essential information. This advice is completely free of any charge.

A swift and efficient placement of candidates requires a good overview of the supply in the region. For this reason, the House of Ducth collaborates intensively with its partners. We always have the most up-to-date overview of the entire supply of NT2-courses in the province of Flemish-Brabant. This close monitoring allows us to quickly locate areas where there's a need for extra courses or additional levels. Whenever this is the case, the local schools and centers are duly notified. This way, our partners can modify the supply more according to demand in the area. Another mission of ours is the diffusion of Dutch courses.

The more starting moments there are, the less long a candidate has to wait for the next course to start. We try to make sure the candidates can start learning Dutch at any time of the year. This coordination of NT2-course supply is the House of Dutch's second main task. We point out voids, areas of friction and possible solutions to the authorities. This is our way of aiding the authorities in social policy.

This brings us to the third task of the House of Dutch: the close cooperation with the provincial reception agency. The reception agency offers newcomers the possibility to take part in an integration course. This course consists of an NT2-course, a course in social education and career assistance in collaboration with the VDAB (Flemish Service for Employment Mediation). The reception agency sends newcomers to the House of Dutch to find a suitable Dutch course together. The procedure for these candidates is identical to that of all other candidates, but the results are also passed on to the reception agency. In that case, they will follow up on the proceedings of the course.

The newcomers take up an important part of our focus group, but of course we are always open to non-Dutch speaking people who have been living in Flanders for a longer time. Our motto is clear and simple: anyone over 18 who wants to learn Dutch is welcome at the House of Dutch.

Who can we help?

The focus group of candidates is very heterogenous: non-Dutch speaking newcomers, migrants who have been a resident in the country for a longer period of time, but also French-speaking Belgians and officials of the European Union. In other words, anyone who wants to learn (more) Dutch is welcome at the House of Dutch for advice.

Let's take a closer look at our focus group:

§         Newcomers:

Thanks to an extensive collaboration with the provincial reception agency, newcomers can enroll immediately for the most suitable Dutch course with the aid of the House of Dutch. This way we can be an important helping hand in their integration process. .

§         Candidates who have been passed on by other institutions:

Municipalities, Social Welfare Centers, employment agencies, schools and other organisations pass on non-Dutch speaking people to the House of Dutch where we look for a suitable course together. The House of Dutch already has a large number of contacts in population services, social welfare centers, and so on. The officials, social workers or social counselors pass on information about the House of Dutch to the non-Dutch speaking candidates. In some population service buildings, the House of Dutch is already permanently represented. Stopping by and asking for some information regarding Dutch courses becomes even more easy this way.

§         French-speaking Belgians:

Most of the people from this focus group have had Dutch lessons during their school education. For this reason we often take a level test. As can be expected, most of the time the test results confirm the general tendency for higher level courses, which are also frequently organised.

§         The international community in the Brussels periphery:

This large group of residents who are part of the international community certainly needs a little push in the back to learn Dutch. They don't immediately need Dutch for professional means and mostly study it out of interest in the region. Of course the House of Dutch also wants to help these people to find a suitable Dutch course for them. We hope to motivate  them to study Dutch, so that they can integrate better into our society. For this, the House of Dutch cooperates with NPO 'de Rand'.