Do you have New Years resolutions? Emily Everts does. The Rotterdam native born in Curaçao wants to obtain a language diploma in 2026. For this, she attends Dutch lessons every week through the municipality.

Emily moved to Rotterdam 27 years ago. She worked for a long time in childcare. In 2025, the law changed. Link opens an external page: anyone working in childcare must have language level 3F or B2. If you do not have a Dutch school diploma, you must obtain a separate language diploma.

Emily does not have these diplomas. ‘At school in Curaçao, Papiamentu was the main language. I speak and understand Dutch, but not well enough for my work.’ With a grin: ‘The Netherlands is a country of rules, papers, and diplomas.’

Emily now has another job but wants to return to childcare. She is therefore working towards her language diploma at Sagènn. At this language organization, residents of Rotterdam-Zuid can obtain a language diploma. Link opens an external page. Every Monday, Emily has Dutch lessons from “Mr. Wim.” ‘Mr. Wim encourages me to keep talking, even when I am unsure about my Dutch.’

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Mr. Wim

Mr. Wim is Wim Otterman. He teaches for Sagènn in Rotterdam-Zuid. Wim has been teaching Dutch as a Second Language (NT2) for 10 years. ‘These are often people learning Dutch for their integration course.’

Emily is in an NT1 class. That is for people with Dutch as a first language. They already speak Dutch but find reading and writing difficult. Wim: ‘Often these are women who have lived in the Netherlands for a long time but did not attend school here.’

‘Through the lessons, they learn to read and write better. For example, I ask them to bring a difficult word each week. Recently, someone brought the word psoriasis. How do you explain that… Something with skin? Then I google it. That way, I learn something too,’ Wim says with a smile.

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Family Reunion

Emily’s classmates Dalin, Fadime, and Nadia also did not grow up in the Netherlands. Now that their children go to school, they work on their own education. The class loves “Mr. Wim.” ‘He is funny and teaches in a positive way,’ says Fadime.

On a digital board, Wim writes the word “family reunion.” The women have to guess what it means. ‘With two dots on the u?’ asks Nadia. ‘Then it must be German!’ The group laughs. ‘It means coming together,’ Emily finally says.

Wim gives a compliment. ‘I think they will all pass their exams and get their diplomas this summer. But first, we will work through the entire textbook!’

More information

If you want to improve your language skills, check out the municipality’s course offerings. Link opens an external page. There you can see if there are lessons that suit you.

Did you know that 1 in 3 Rotterdammers struggles with basic skills? They have difficulties with reading, writing, arithmetic, or digital matters. The municipality also offers lessons for other basic skills. Link opens an external page.

This story also appears in the City Newspaper. Link opens an external page.