Helping low-literate people with Dutch language lessons

The group consists of twelve students who are taught on Tuesday evenings in the building of the Clusius College in Hoorn.

A large proportion of the students have attended special education in the past. Some because of an intellectual disability or ASD and others because of a general learning delay. A few students have a non-Dutch language background.

What most students have in common is that they are insecure, sometimes fearful of failure and have low self-esteem. A lot of attention is paid to this in the group by focusing on what is going well, by giving many compliments and by ensuring a good and safe social atmosphere.

In the group are two young students who would like to follow further training afterwards. The other students want to increase their language so that they can increase their independence and self-reliance. For example, they want to learn to better understand their mail or the newspaper and how to write good letters / e-mails to authorities and application letters.

Tasks of the volunteer:

Helping students with assignments, clarifying questions

Help correct writing products

Help students start up the computer, provide support on the computer

Reading assignments with small groups

Give lots of compliments and approach students in a positive way.

The volunteer must also have a good command of the Dutch language and be able to handle computers.