Moving to a new country is a daunting challenge. Moving to a new country where you don’t speak the official language when your job is 90% language-based is an even more formidable prospect.
And in 2018, that is exactly what I did. I moved to the Netherlands as a native English copywriter. After taking a few Dutch lessons back in South Africa, I somehow convinced myself that becoming fluent would be easy once I’d made the move. Turns out I was wrong.
Now, two and a half years and many hours of Dutch lessons (including an intensive B2 course) and practice later, I can read fluently and hold my own in a basic conversation. I can happily say that people no longer switch to English straight away when I start speaking with them in Dutch. And to practice my writing and marketing skills in Dutch, I’m working on this blog with a friend. It hasn’t been an easy journey, but so far I have enjoyed the challenge of learning a new language.
My next goal is to gain more confidence in using Dutch professionally, so please feel free to reach out to me if you’re looking for assistance with content marketing in Dutch. I can also help with translating your marketing content from Dutch to English.
Want to get in touch and find out how I can help you with your marketing?