Who is Marieken?

Marieken is the owner of The Dutch Club, an online language agency offering Dutch lessons to individuals and companies. Landa and The Dutch Club collaborate regularly on language training and creative language projects.

Who is Marieken?

“According to Insights, I have a yellow personality; according to my colleagues, I’m an ‘open, extroverted, and friendly lady’; and according to myself, I’m a rich personality with interests in many areas: from playing the saxophone and a love for digital things to philosophizing about life and personal development. I see myself as an artist, a creator, an entrepreneur, a singer, a team player, an innovator…”

What drives Marieken to give language training?

“Languages have always been one of my passions. Learning new languages to discover new cultures and worlds has always inspired me. With a bachelor’s degree in Teaching English, French, and Computer Science, and a then-boyfriend in Spain, I ran English language camps in Catalonia. Later, I moved to Spa in Wallonia to teach Dutch at a renowned language center to business leaders, diplomats, and other professionals. In short, my motivation has always been my intrinsic curiosity to explore other people’s worlds.”

What makes her such a good and enjoyable language trainer?

“When I teach Dutch, it’s a way for me to get to know the person behind the learner. I see every lesson as a blank canvas on which we paint your world together, but with words. My lessons are a creative process in themselves. We work with what comes up and what is important at that moment. This way, you learn to speak spontaneously and gain confidence. Of course, everything is structured so that we never lose sight of the goal.”