Language & Entrepreneurship

After Daniela de Barros Mertens Machado arrived in the Netherlands five years ago, she quickly started looking for a Dutch course. Because she wanted to become an entrepreneur, she took the Language and Entrepreneurship course at TopTaal after the Language for Beginners course. It brought her so much that she is currently selling her own Brazilian cheese bread.

Daniela speaks pretty good Dutch, but would like to improve her knowledge even further. Preferably at TopTaal. 'Everyone speaks English well here. That makes it easy to feel at home, but it is still important to be able to speak Dutch. In the supermarket it is nice if you can ask for something or thank you. Letters that you receive at home are always written in Dutch. To understand that, you have to master the language, "says Daniela, who only moved to Almere with her husband Alexandre, daughter Sofia and their dog.

If I follow a course again, I will definitely be back at TopTaal

Through the municipality Amsterdam Daniela ended up at TopTaal. She first followed the Language for Beginners course, which she is very enthusiastic about. 'It was a nice course and we had a very nice group. The teacher Ingrid explained very well; I got a lot out of that. During the Language and Entrepreneurship course that I followed afterwards, I business language learn to speak. To start your own business, it is very useful. " During the 26 lessons Daniela learned everything she needed to start a business in the Netherlands. She practiced vocabulary in class and was introduced to bodies such as the Chamber of Commerce and the Tax Authorities.

'With practical assignments we worked towards our own business plan. At the end we gave a presentation of the company that we wanted to found. That was very nice. I graduated in Marketing and want to open a cafe with Alejandre in the future. At the moment I bake Brazilian cheese bread myself. It is a well-known Brazilian specialty that you do not see much in the Netherlands. I expected that mainly Dutch people would be my customers, because you eat a lot of bread. But now my clients are mainly Brazilians. "

School
When her daughter is a little older and the move is over, Daniela wants to pick up the lessons again. Preferably with TopTaal. 'I don't know if I can say this, but the teachers at TopTaal are so much better prepared. The students at TopTaal are also very nice. If I follow a course again, I will certainly come back to you whether I get it from the municipality or whether I have to pay for it myself.

In the meantime, Daniela is enjoying her time in the Netherlands. "I am very happy here. Here we can just walk outside with our dog and with Sofia. At a certain point in Sao Paolo that was no longer possible, because it became too dangerous on the street. At home, Daniela and Alejandre speak Portuguese, but as soon as their daughter is a little older, they also want to be able to communicate with her in Dutch. "When Sofia goes to school, I really want to speak the language. I must be able to help her with her homework, right? " Daniela concludes.

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