Tuition Services
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Foreign Languages
Dutch language tuition for MVV (Netherlands Multiple Visa)
French
German
English
TUITION
CERTIFICATES
DUTCH LESSONS
- COMPOSITION OF THE EXAM
- OUR HIGH SUCCESS RATE AND COURSE APPROACH
- DETAILED CONTENT OF THE CIVIC INTEGRATION
- EXAM REGISTRATION PROCEDURE
- ASSESSMENT MODEL FOR SPEAKING SKILLS EXAM A1
FOREIGN AND LOCAL LANGUAGES COURSES
We provide tuition for the following purposes and languages: Dutch language tuition for MVV (Netherlands Multiple Visa), French, German, English, Italian, Swedish and Norwegian. The level of knowledge we impart is the Beginner's Level. This suffices basically to pass the Inburgeringsexamen A1, the general German language exams at the A1 level for adult learners, Italian for travelers, Swedish and Norwegian for Travelers and English for Francophones.
Basically, we teach any of the languages in English and French, but depending on the composition of the class (the predominant local language at that moment) it is taught in Akan, and if necessary, with individualized explanations in Ga and Ewe. The lessons start from the Alphabet through to numbers and the basic verbs "to be' and "to have", and the conjugation of other basic verbs and the formation of sentences, through to modal verbs and the perfect tense and the past tense. In addition, copious exercises are given. The whole is done in a fun atmosphere with lots of patience and revisions.
The result is a high pass rate of all course participants and above all, a high level of understanding and retention of the stuff learnt. WE DO NOT CHEW, POUR, PASS AND FORGET!
WE ARE SIMPLY THE BEST IN GHANA, THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN LANGUAGE TUITION.
WITH US, WHY WOULD YOU FAIL?
ALL SHALL PASS!
ONE TOUCH!
THE LANGUAGES AVAILABLE ARE:
• DUTCH LESSONS (FOR MVV-VISA, AND SCHOOLING ETC.)
• FRENCH LESSONS
• ENGLISH FOR FOREIGNERS
• ITALIAN LESSONS
• GERMAN LESSONS (FOR VISA, AND SCHOOLING ETC.)
• NORWEGIAN LESSONS
• SPANISH LESSONS
• TWI LESSONS
• EWE LESSONS
• GA LESSONS
• HAUSA LESSONS
AND ANY OTHER FOREIGN AND LOCAL LANGUAGE UPON DEMAND.
CERTIFICATES
1. LANGUAGE CERTIFICATES
Eg. For German DSH 1 for French DELF (BEGINNERS)
DSH 2 DELF 1 (INTERMEDIATE)
DSH 3 DELF 2 (PROFICIENCY)
For Spanish DSH 1
DSH 2
DSH 3
2. CERTIFICATES OF THE SCHOOL
3. LANGUAGE DIPLOMA OF THE SCHOOL
DUTCH LESSONS
Anyone planning to stay in Holland for more than 3 months (as a student or with a family member-wife, father, mother etc.), needs to apply for an ‘MVV’ (Machtiging Voorlopig Verblijf = Provisional Residence Permit). To this effect, one has to learn for and pass an exam-the MVV exams (Basisexamen Inburgering Buitenland-basic civil integration exam).
The Dutch lessons for the MVV exams (Basisexamen Inburgering Buitenland-basic civil integration exam) are done in English and/or the local languages Twi/Ga/Ewe and comprise grammar, reading, comprehension and basic conversation, as well as tests in comprehension texts, speaking (answering simple personal questions) and multiple-choice questions.
The duration for the DUTCH MVV TUITION is four (4) months, Monday to Friday; two (2) hours per day. Alternatively, an intensive course of three weeks to one month, from 7am till 4pm is done for workers (such as teachers) who can use their holidays or leave to attend classes.
Basically, there are three groups of classes.
1. Illiterates (who are taught in their respective local languages)
2. JHS AND SHS graduates
3. Tertiary level and University graduates
When you are in any of these groups, it takes more than 3 months for the first group and about 4 months for the others and up to 3 months for the last group to prepare for the Civic Integration Exam.
COMPOSITION OF THE EXAM
The Civic Integration Exam consists of 3 elements:
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• SPREEKVAARDIGHEID-test
(Spreekvaardigheid = Oral Dutch Language Test)
• LEESVAARDIGHEID-test
(Leesvaardigheid = Reading Test)
• KNS-test
(Kennis van de Nederlandse Samenleving = Knowledge of Dutch Society)
When you sit for your Civic Integration Exam, you are not required to write any of your answers, so you only need to read, listen & speak and click.
However, you must be able to comprehend and speak Dutch at NT2 proficiency level A1, plus your pronunciation and even intonation is required to be very close to that of a native Dutch speaker.
Especially “perfect Dutch intonation” is however not quite easy to achieve-especially outside the “language immersion area”-outside the Netherlands. However, we shall teach you clear and lucid Dutch intonation that has guaranteed almost all our students a pass (with some students, even excellence) in the exams. Because of our vast experience with African students for more than 10 years now-we have had students from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo- you will be able to meet the new strict requirements regarding pronunciation and intonation when you sign up for our course.
In our course, first the grammar is treated; the alphabet and numbers, then vowel, diphthong and consonant sounds and pronunciation of words. Thereafter the first two verbs "to be" and "to have“ are treated and then we move there to the next grammar levels-nouns, articles, pronouns etc, etc, etc.
Alongside, we provide an English version of the picture book.
Again, alongside we learn vocabulary and sentences (colours, parts of the body, names of things, etc) and a lot of grammar, grammar, grammar that is the foundation of our good performance.
OUR HIGH SUCCESS RATE AND COURSE APPROACH
As of 11th November 2014, more components were added to the exam that entail answering questions (aloud) and comprehension, but over the years our teaching method has been practically nearly at that high level already, therefore all, ALL, all of our students have passed with high marks and with the pass mark raised and even with any new requirements, we add only a little more emphasis where needed, to keep ourselves ahead and far above that required of us.
We provide audio and video recordings and books for use at home, on all that is taught.
Our teaching approach depends on the student; we use humour and a style to make the language interesting to all students; basically, our style is that of a thorough and patient approach, with periodic revision of material already treated.
We make it clear to the student that the language is interesting, a challenge and not "difficult". Part of that is achieved by pointing out similarities in Dutch words to English words, of which there are many, even in the supposedly "really Dutch" ones and by treating interesting history, culture and politics and, in general civics, of the Netherlands-again in a manner that awakens the interest of the students to see their course not as a bore or chore.
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DETAILED CONTENT OF THE CIVIC INTEGRATION EXAM
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(1) The first part of your exam will be the SPREEKVAARDIGHEID test. You will get 35 minutes to complete the exam. Note: You must answer yourself. The exam consists of 22 assignments (12 personal questions to answer and 12 incomplete sentences to be completed). Each answer can reach up to 1/2 points. For this exam, you must have obtained at least 6 points for a pass mark. You can earn up to 10 points. The exam is checked by people and not by a computer. The check is done with an assessment model.
Firstly, you will see a video in which someone asks you a question. You must answer this by recording your reply and upon finishing all including the second part, you can listen to all the answers you gave, and replace any you think inappropriate.
The second part consists of pictures with a situation depicted, and incomplete sentences to it. You must complete the sentence using one or two appropriate words of a phrase.
You can correct any answer you think needs to be corrected by re-recording your reply. As said already, this part of the exam will be assessed by human assessors instead of computers. The criteria used for the assessment can be found below. (Assessment Model for Speaking Skills Exam A1)
(2) The second part of your exam will be the LEESVAARDIGHEID test. It comprises two parts:
“One Word/Four Words”: The exam will also be done on the computer. In this "Read words and listen to words" section of the exam, you must have at least 24 out of 30 questions (words) right in order to get a pass mark. You must click on the correct answer.
“Comprehension”: For the section 'Reading comprehension and answering questions” of the exam, you must also have at least 9 out of 12 questions in order to get a pass mark. You must click on the correct answer.
You will get 30 minutes to complete this second part of the exam.
You have passed the exam in Reading Comprehension, if you have had pass marks in both parts.
This exam will be done on the computer.
(3) The third part of your exam will be the KNS test. You will get to see 30 pictures, which is a selection of 100 pictures from the book “Naar Nederland” you will be studying, so all of these 30 pictures will get very familiar to you. The exam consists of 30 questions. You will get 30 minutes to complete the exam. For Knowledge of Dutch society, you need at least 21 out of 30 questions for a sufficient pass score. (Even all KNS-exam questions will be so very familiar to you: if you learn all questions and answers by heart, you will score 100% for your KNS-test.). This exam will likewise be done on the computer.
With your Spreekvaardigheid test, there are visuals and you will be answering into a microphone. Accompanying questions are spoken and in the second part also written, but you yourself do not need to write anything.
With your Leesvaardigheid test, there will only visible text (comprehension texts) but no visuals in the form of video, and sound for the recognition of words.
With your KNS test, there will be visible text, as well as pictures and sound.
Note: you are not allowed to make personal notes during your exams.
PASS — MARKS:
• The pass-mark for the KNS exam is 6/10 correct answers (6 out of 10 points).
• The pass-mark for the Spreekvaardigheid exam is also 6 out of 10 points (60% correct answers,
which is equivalent to the full-blown NT2 Beginners Level A1).
• You will need to achieve a score of 9/12 correct answers for the Leesvaardigheid test: 6 out of
10 points!
You will agree that you will definitely need professional help from an experienced Dutch language teacher in order to be able to score 6/10 correct answers (= pass-mark).
And since you will need to reach NT2 Beginners level A1*, plus the fact that you will never be able to assess your own pronunciation and required intonation, a thorough preparation is necessary in order to ensure that you will pass this stiff Civic Integration Exam.
* NT2 means ‘Nederlands als Tweede Taal‘: Dutch as Second Language’, a European language quality standard (CEFR-NT2), set by the Council of Europe.
TESTIMONIES AND FORMER STUDENTS
Not only sufficient language proficiency, but also much confidence is required in order to pass this exam. However, our former students can testify that we will be giving you that confidence! Many students (see the link to Student’s Testimony) have been so confident, that they scored 8 and more out of 10 points for the Spreekvaardigheid exam and 10 for the KNS exam. That is a super-score! However, other students scored even higher: they got 10 out of 10 points for all three exams!!.
So, you can also score this high if you sign up with us. The huge benefit of such a high score is that you will be exempted from taking the Spreekvaardigheid again once you would like to become a Dutch PRO or in case you would like to take the next exams to obtain a Dutch passport.
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The worst thing that can happen to you is that you will feel very nervous during your exam, because you feel that you are not well-prepared in some way. Well, there is no need to be nervous if you practice much with us! Our Dutch language teacher will be with you every day to constantly assess your progress. From the onset (2006, which is the year the Civic Integration Exam became effective), all of our students have taken their exam with much confidence. Therefore, our overall scores have always been very high (nearly 90%).
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When you sign up with us for our tried and tested Civic Integration Examination Training Sessions, we guarantee that you will pass, like almost 100% of our uncountable former course participants!
DURATION OF THE CIVIC INTEGRATION EXAM & THE EXAM RESULTS:
The ‘Civic Integration Exam’ consists of 3 different tests:, the Spreekvaardigheid test (this language test takes approx.30 minutes), the Leesvaardigheid test (Comprehensive Reading, which test will take approx. 35 minutes) and finally, the KNS test (Knowledge of Dutch Society: which takes approx. 30 minutes), so in all, the Civic Integration Exam at the embassy will take about one and a half hour.
The exam results will be known to the candidate within three to eight weeks after the exams.
VENUE OF THE LESSONS:
With us, you can fully prepare yourself for the Civic Integration Exam.
All necessary teaching aids will be provided by us, so you don’t need to buy anything.
Venue, date & time, course fees of our Civic Integration Exam Training Sessions:
Our MVV-Training Sessions are conducted exclusively at our MVV Training Class at the premises of Languages Translation and Interpretation Agency, adjacent CUA House, at the South Liberia Road/Jones Nelson Road intersection in Adabraka, since all computer aided audio-visual test facilities for private & group training sessions have been installed there.
Our venue is a very convenient location, because you can easily reach it by taking public transport (trotro) towards Accra from “Circle” or within walking distance from the Children’s Park/the National Theatre.
From there, CUA House is just 3 bus stops away, when you alight at Roxy Cinema and walk towards “Kingsway”. Upon reaching the “Farisco” traffic lights, you turn to the left and walk to the next traffic lights, which is where we are located. We are right adjacent CUA, opposite the small Goil Filling Station there.
From the Children’s Park/the National Theatre, it is basically a straight bee-line to the small Goil Filling Station after Coral Paints.
Very convenient indeed!
Date & Time:
Even though there are structured lesson times, and intakes (first Monday of every month), it is also by personal arrangement (= a series of appointments), so please call the numbers ‘0277 811 473 or 0277 331 585 OR 0289 557 335’ (Language Course Coordinator Mr. Ameko) to check our availability.
Before you make your appointment with the Embassy, please make sure you have already reserved sufficient time in order to attend our MVV training sessions. Please be advised that you should reserve at least 4 months in order to attend our lessons and to study at home. If you are able to take 2 lessons PER DAY EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, you may reserve only 12 weeks or 3 months instead.
If you would aim to take our complete course within one month, please note that this would be a very exacting schedule (3 to 4 lessons PER DAY EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK). It is better to reserve at least 7 weeks.
* Please note that (depending on our available tuition slots and actual number of MVV applicants) we may form a (small) MVV training group:
In principle, your MVV training sessions are small class size lessons, but they are not private lessons at all times, since our Course Coordinator may add 1 or 2 more students if necessary up to a maximum of 10 students — with regard to our availability.
So, in case of limited availability of tuition slots and increased demand, 1 or 2 or more new MVV students may actually join in order to practise together with you. We reserve the right to arrange such joint lessons.
NB: this will in no way affect the effectiveness of your MVV course; practising in a group is actually more effective; you can compare notes with your fellow course participants and you can even organise additional practice sessions with each other.
INTENSIVE CLASSES
An intensive course of three weeks to one month, from 6.30am till 3pm is done for workers (such as teachers) who can use their holidays or leave to attend classes.
• To enable you to prepare yourself thoroughly in the shortest possible time, we also provide intensive Civic Integration Examination Training Sessions, which are either private lessons or group lessons, (depending on the actual number of applicants plus our available time slots) consisting of:
• (1) a professional speed course Dutch to reach NT2 proficiency level A1 plus intensive reading skills training and perfecting your Dutch pronunciation close to ‘natural Dutch’. All necessary teaching aids to learn sufficient Dutch for this purpose are provided by us.
• (2) a focused ‘hands-on’ memory training, based on the official teaching aids ‘Naar Nederland’ (‘Knowledge of Dutch Society’).
• Most of our students already bought Naar Nederland* prior to signing up for our MVV course. However, students can also get this material directly from us**, if they have not been able to buy it beforehand.
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COURSE FEES:
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The fees for our complete Civic Integration Exam Training Course of
200 hours (100 lessons of 120 minutes each),
inclusive of all necessary teaching aids, is 300 Euros i.e. Gh ¢ 1,800.00 for Ghanaians and is 350 Euros i.e. Gh ¢ 2,100.00 for Foreigners, subject to change
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Please note that an advance payment in full is required, in cash or by cheque (payable to Languages Translation and Interpretation Agency) at the beginning of your very first lesson. (Please note that payments made are non-refundable and non-transferable.)
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EXAM REGISTRATION PROCEDURE: Below please find the procedure for (MVV) Civic Integration Examination registration you need to follow:
You first need to register yourself, your partner, or another person for the Civic Integration Examination by clicking here. This is the very first necessary step.
Total procedure:
1. After registration online (via https://apps.duo.nl/aib-gui/#/ambassade or http://www.inburgeren.nl/apps/aanmelden/?taal=EN) you first need to pay the examination fees (= €150/-) into the bank account of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. How? —> After your application, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send you an email containing a unique reference number, and information on how to pay the €150 examination fee. Caution: for several reasons, you can best use a Dutch bank account for payment, rather than a time-consuming (and chargeable) international remittance.
3. IMPORTANT: together with your payment you MUST STATE THE UNIQUE REFERENCE NUMBER, which is stated in the confirmation email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That is another reason why you can best use a Dutch bank account for payment. When you would opt for international remittance, there could be a chance that your unique reference number will get lost.
4. Please be advised that this has happened before, and when it happens, the bookkeeping department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not be aware what the incoming payment is referring to, which will lead to lengthy delays (according to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
5. In such case you will need to make a new payment. An annoying experience, of course! However, this can all be prevented by using a Dutch bank account for payment, and by stationing the unique reference number as your specification.
6. Once your online application plus payment has been completed, you will first need to pass the Civic Integration Exam at the Dutch Embassy in Ghana before your MVV can be issued. (This is the second necessary step.)
7. In order to sit for your Civic Integration Exam, you will need to send an e-mail to the Embassy to make an appointment. Please note that it would be wise to only do so after you have registered with us for your MVV Training Course. You do not need to buy any teaching aids from The Netherlands. We have all necessary multi-media teaching aids readily available for you.
Please call the Dutch Embassy in Ghana
on 030 22 14 350
for enquiries, or to make an appointment for your examination day.
You can either contact by e-mail the Dutch Embassy at 89 Liberation Road, Ako Adjei Interchange in Accra.
The Embassy is open from Monday to Friday:
9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.
SUMMARY:
once you have finalised the online application plus payment of € 150 (step 1), you need to e-mail the Dutch Embassy to set a date for your Civic Integration Exam (step 2).
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• Please note that you will have to wait for your MVV sticker in the country of origin (thus Ghana), which means that you cannot travel to Holland once your MVV application is running. Waiting in The Netherlands will not be possible, according to the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Department.
• The reason why you can’t get a Tourist Visit pass once your MVV application is running is that waiting for the MVV sticker is part of the procedure of getting access to The Netherlands. This means that such running procedure cannot be disrupted by starting another procedure at the same time in order to enter (thus a Social Visit visa procedure).
• Conclusion: the smartest thing to do (in case you need to travel to Holland after you passed your Civic Integration Exam) is to wait with your MVV application. You are allowed to wait for a maximum of one year after you passed your exam, before you put in your MVV application, so why would you hurry?
By the way, the crucial moment for an MVV application to be running is not the registration procedure for the Civic Integration Exam, nor fixing the exam date at the Dutch Embassy, and also not the moment the MVV applicant has passed the Civic Integration Exam, but the application procedure will start running after you have started an application procedure following the passing of the Civic Integration Exam.
So: registration for the Civic Integration Exam is different from applying for an MVV-Visa. These are two very different steps! Once you have applied for an MVV-Visa, it comes with evident immigration restrictions (until the moment the IND has made a decision).
Be aware that — according to the official rules — someone who passed the Civic Integration Exam can still enter The Netherlands on a social visit visa, provided he or she did not enter The Schengen-area less than 180 days ago, and provided he or she did NOT start the MVV application procedure yet.
Of course, in case a previous Social Visit visa has not expired yet, this visa can still be used to re-enter the Schengen-area, but travellers are advised not to attempt to overstay (more than 90 days after date of issue). A traveller may not notice any consequence at first once he or she leaves the Schengen-area, but it is quite likely that the Dutch Immigration authorities will get to know about overstaying later on, with all the consequences involved.