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jaargang 42, 2 maart 2000 English page

Please Speak Dutch! Dutch language courses for foreigners in the Netherlands are straining at their seams. Language schools say they can only just keep up with demand for beginners courses. TUE’s ‘Centrum voor Taal en Techniek’ (CTT) currently teach three beginners classes. This time last year only one class of twenty could be filled. A second group was started for the first time in October of 1999. “In January our waiting list was still so long that we decided to start three beginners courses,” says teacher drs. Nelleke de Vries. ÒYou want to be able to react to whatÕs going on around you,Ó says Dutch language teacher drs. Nelleke de Vries. Photo: Bram Saeys Increasing Interest This growing demand is not only apparent at TUE, where the increase of foreign students and staff is encouraged as a general policy. More foreigners in the Netherlands are interested in learning Dutch than ever before. “We are only just keeping the lid on,” says Mr A. Poelman of Jeroen Bosch Talencentrum in Den Bosch. “We have been seeing increasing interest in NT2 or ‘Dutch as a second language’ courses for about a year. I can’t give you a reason for this, but I can tell you that I’m sure the trend will continue.” Other language schools in Eindhoven, Helmond and Tilburg told the same story: increased demand for beginners and intermediate courses and extensive use of language labs. “Our language lab is almost continually in use. We’re extremely busy,” says Jolanda Bogaers of Bogaers Taleninstituut. Incidentally, Jeroen Bosch Taleninstituut was the only school in Cursor’s short survey with a special discount for students. Nelleke de Vries thinks it’s only natural to want to learn the language if you live abroad. “I too am frustrated when I’m on holiday and I can’t communicate. Here at TUE talking about work in English is not a problem. If you’re a foreign AIO or TWAIO, your colleagues will usually speak good English. The frustration occurs in ordinary social situations. Out on the street, in a shop or at a party. You want to be able to react to what’s going on around you.” Amazed “Some of my students pay more attention to speaking correct Dutch than their ‘native’ colleagues. I’m often amazed at the progress they make. A Russian student of mine was telling me about her daughter’s bout of chicken pox in more or less fluent Dutch, when she has only just finished my three-month beginners course. This fluency is her own doing, my course will get you talking about fifteen subjects in a limited way. This was a student who worked hard in our language lab and tried to get her colleagues to speak Dutch to her.” “Colleagues who want to show off their English or are too lazy to listen to halting Dutch are some-times a bit of a problem. Here’s someone taking the trouble to speak the language, getting over his or her own shyness, and no one wants to listen. So, to all Dutch readers of your piece I say: please speak Dutch to people who are making the effort to learn our language!” Immersion During a CTT Dutch for beginners course only Dutch is spoken, with English as a support language. “Our method of teaching Dutch as a second language is based on the way children learn language. Learning first words and phrases and then sentence structure. Repeating things that go wrong, but correctly. It’s actually a lot of fun. We try to play with language. Students learn a lot from each other, hearing someone else with the same difficulties gives you courage to speak up.” Courses at CTT start a beginners course with classes of two hours twice weekly for fifteen weeks, which comes down to 30 classes. CTT also have their own intermediate course up and running for the first time this year. TUE’s Stan Akkermans Instituut offers even more intensive training with a month-long, full-time, full-immersion course. REC, or Regionaal Educatief Centrum, also offer courses in Eindhoven. Their most advanced course will gain students entry to Dutch universities and colleges. These courses are subsidized or free in some cases. Most schools use the same textbooks and materials. CTT offer individual training at their language lab, with special equipment for students to practise their skills in private./.

Outsourcing Unpleasant Surprise for Departments Involved Last Monday Bureau Berenschot made known how they want funds freed up for education and research by reallocating service budgets. Berenschot proposed ‘outsourcing’ for a number of services, which means that staff and activities of the service in question are to be placed with an external company. At ICT Servicebedrijf and Systeemhuis, branches of the former Rekencentrum and both nominated for ‘outsourcing’, staff were surpised that TUE want to get rid of these kinds of core activities. Henk van der Meijden, head of the University Press (to be outsourced), feels that this will entail a great loss of knowledge and experience. At Bouw Technische Dienst (BTD) there is still a lot of confusion about which part of the department is to be outsourced. Virus Forced to Move The Virus executive board have been ordered to move to a new location by the city of Eindhoven’s environmental services. Virus is a cultural festival organised anually by students in Eindhoven. Last year there were more than one hundred complaints about noise on the day of the festival at the services’ special complaint line. The complaints were mainly from staff at Diaconessenhuis (a hospital) and inhabitants of the flats flanking Montgomerrylaan and Kennedylaan. However, the rules about noise levels were not broken, according to environmental services’ measurements. This year, the festival will take place on May 21. Phone by PIN Code An end to ‘ghost’ charges on your phone bill, by way of the Picobell. This machine registers the exact cost of your call. No calls can be made without entering a PIN code in the phone, with a maximum of fourteen users. Student house Luck Luik in the Jan Luikenstraat in Eindhoven tested the machine this week and decided to buy a Picobell for 250 guilders. “We will save that amount in seven months,” says house supervisor Merijn Burgers. This house has fourhundred ‘clicks’ that are not quoted on their phone bill every two months.

Mathematician TUE Wins Gossip Prize Six ladies each have one morsel of juicy gossip. How many conversations are needed to spread the six tales to all the gossips? This was one of the questions in the Dutch National Science Quiz, late last year. Eight, was the right answer. Quite a few people got it right. But in many cases the mathematical reasoning supporting the answer was missing. This should have been 2n-4. NOW, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (organisation for Dutch scientific research), who organise this quiz annually, were not happy with this oversight. NOW turned it into an extra question, for which the full solution could be sent in. Dr.ir. C. Hurkens, Mathematics lecturer at TUE, was the only one able to found his answer on a formula (of three pages). Noble Winners at TUE Symposium Noble Prize winners prof.dr. Martin Veltman and prof.dr. Gerard ‘t Hoofd will lecture Friday March 17 at the Physics, Chemistry and Business symposium. This will be held in the TUE Auditorium at the initiative of the Nederlandse Natuurkundige Vereniging (Dutch Physics organisation). TUE professor prof.dr. Daan Schram will also lecture. Parallel lectures may be followed on various subjects. There will be talks and discussions on optics, new materials, and fuel and solar energy cells. Sign up with congressoffice@tue.nl. More information at NVV’s website: www.nnv.nl. Admission is one hundred guilders. AIOs will be admitted for 25 guilders a day. The English page in Cursor is written by journalist Paula van de Riet. She can be reached at extension 4441. Email: engcur@stud.tue.nl