Learning Dutch through Poetry

What is the benefit of learning Dutch trough poetry in the age of AI? We reflected on this question together with Ruud Hisgen, the managing director of our partner, language school  Direct Dutch Institute, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on World Poetry Day on 21 March 2026.

Direct Dutch Institute is all about language, and they consider language to be more than just communication. To celebrate the beauty of the spoken and written word, they launched an international poetry collection for their anniversary: ''Dicht Nederlands met mij!'' The book presents poems from around the world, translated into Dutch by their students and friends. Many people joined to celebrate this milestone, including students, teachers, and former staff members from the early years.

To learn more about the background of this special project and the work of Direct Dutch Institute, keep reading the interview below.

Where did the idea for ‘Dicht Nederlands met mij!’ come from and why did you choose poetry?

Our previous anniversary book was published in 1998, when we celebrated our twelve-and-a-half-year anniversary. In that book, we primarily collected experiences from students regarding learning Dutch. Now that we have been around for forty years, we thought we must do something new. We have had a thriving reading club for non-native speakers for about fifteen years. And by reading Dutch literature, non-native speakers learn a great deal of vocabulary and idiom, as well as much about Dutch culture. Let's turn things around, we thought. We will ask the students to introduce others to their favourite poem from their native country. In this way, both the Dutch and people from other cultures learn a lot about a culture they do not know. 

Can you tell us more about what participants actually did? How did they translate the poems?

The assignment was: choose a beautiful and characteristic poem and translate it into Dutch. Please do not use AI or Google translate. Send it to us. The editors carefully reviewed the translation and asked the translator questions if there were any ambiguities. This led to discussions that ultimately resulted in a translation that both the translator and the editors were satisfied with. Sometimes it was a lot of work, but it was very rewarding for both parties.

Was there a moment during the project, a specific poem or student, that stuck with you?

Absolutely! We were often very surprised by the intense and emotional charge of the poems. Many Dutch poems are notoriously complex. The translations of the non-Dutch poems we received touched us very directly right from a first reading. Many poems also reflected the translators' states of mind. You could often see that when the translators read their translations aloud.

What do you think is special about translating poetry in this way rather than just letting the apps do it? 

Translating a poem or a short text is a great learning process. You don't only learn to understand the poem itself better, but you also learn a lot of idiom. You learn that you have to put yourself in the Dutch reader's shoes. How do you make a complex concept clear in simple language...? If you use an app, you learn absolutely nothing. A waste of your time. Moreover, apps also make silly mistakes that you often overlook. And when you have translated a poem well, it gives a great deal of satisfaction. 

You have been running the schools for 40 years, how have the motivations of internationals to learn Dutch changed since the development of new technologies such as ChatGPT?

ChatGPT can be a very useful tool, but it is also very dangerous. Before you know it, you become dependent on AI. You learn very little by using AI. If you find yourself somewhere without AI, you’ll notice that you have difficulties expressing yourself. Moreover, nothing beats a real teacher whom you can look in the eye and who motivates you to communicate. They say for a reason that a fresh pair of eyes compels. Only humans can make lessons entertaining. Machines are boring and make you lazy. They haven’t got the capacity to motivate internationals.

You started The 'Spreek Nederlands! Met mij!' campaign because Dutch people often switch to English when they hear an accent. Has that changed at all in the past years?

Since we launched the campaign in 2013, we have heard that students benefit greatly from being able to point to their badge in a shop when the salesperson starts speaking in English. The salesperson then knows immediately that he or she needs to speak calmly and patiently in Dutch. The message on the badge prevents a lot of awkward explanations and questions. Around 50,000 badges have now been distributed, and other language courses also use a similar badge, so in and around The Hague it is quite clear when a non-native speaker wants to practice Dutch.

If you could get one message to every international in the Netherlands who has decided Dutch is optional what would you say to them?

''It is worth investing some time and money in studying Dutch. Dutch is not that difficult to learn at all. Without a knowledge of Dutch, you will always remain an outsider and, what’s worse, you will feel left out. You will miss out on a lot of the local culture and history. You won't be able to understand the Dutch jokes. You’ll be sorry that after you have left the Netherlands, you will have missed the unique chance to be part of Dutch culture.''

If Ruud Hisgen's words have sparked your curiosity, visit the Direct Dutch Institute website to discover their full range of well curated programmes, courses, and initiatives.