Public Interface - Katarina Zdjelar

Katarina Zdjelar

Katarina Zdjelar organized six conversationclasses in Buro Leeuwarden. Immigrants were linked to personal counsellors who had knowledge of the Frysian or the Dutch language. On forehand the immigrant could inform the personal counsellor about what he or she wanted to learn. Grammars, the understanding of definitions, writing, the first principles of a language etc. From the personal needs and in an informal way the languagecourse took shape.

Dani Adonis (Chechenia) followed, for example, some Frysian courses. Together with his personal counsellors he unraveled several connections between the Frysian language and other languages. Abbas (Iran) focussed on writing Dutch and on the understanding of definitions. Anna (China) wanted to learn the first principles of the Dutch language, especially related to her practise as an beautician. Hartem (Armenia) got some answers answer considering filling in the forms of the tax authorities etc.

The personal counsellors learned also a lot. By coaching the immigrants they were confronted with the complexity of their mothertongue they normally take for granted, they got concious of the alienation that migration brings along and they learned to understand specific things of other cultures.