SPOTLIGHTS
- Dutch News on SBS
- Dutch Language Classes
- Book " A Dutch Vocabulary"
- Info from the Dutch Government
- 2016 Census regarding Dutch Speakers
1. Dutch News on SBS Two TV 12:30 -1 pm everyday (via satellite from BVN, in Dutch, no subtitles).
2. Dutch Language Classes
There are a number of Dutch languages classes in Melbourne. Dutch Language in Australia has been set up to assist students and teachers with resources for Dutch language teaching. It lists the various tuition options on its "Where can I learn Dutch?" page. In summary:
- The Victorian School of Languages offers Dutch languages classes as part of the VELS (year1-10) and VCE (year11-12) curriculum. Classes are taught on Saturday morning at the Box Hill campus.
- The Centre for Adult Education offers Dutch evening classes at three levels during the week. These classes are aimed at adults of all ages.
- For young children there are various playgroup and kids classes.
- There are also private tuition classes for children and adults.
What: A Dutch vocabulary book originally written by Bruce Donaldson and completely revised and expanded by Renée Feikema and An Sneyers. It is intended for English-speaking students of Dutch whatever course they are following. It was designed to supplement the limited vocabulary of course books. The units of words have been grouped under broad general topics. By systematically working through this book, and at the same time following a course or a course book, the student should build up a good, everyday functional vocabulary. The book is not a substitute for a dictionary.
Cost: $22.20 ( including postage).
Orders: email papagena@aapt.net.au.
4. Special Info from the Dutch Government
- 27-28 March: Melbourne for passport applications
- New Consul General: Frank van Beuningen (Feb 2018)
- Dutch Nationality Certificate (Feb 2018)
- AOW Age Eligibility (Nov 2017)
- Rembrandt in NSW Art Gallery to 18 Feb 2018
- Voting from Abroad (In Dutch, Oct 2017)
- Maritime Heritage Agreement (Sept 2017)
- Documentary "The World Ended on Mango Street" (June 2017)
- Emergency Passports (March 2017)
- Passport Renewals (Feb 2017)
5. SBS 2016 Census Explorer Tool
See: www.sbs.com.au/news/census-explorer
Some noteworthy results from the 2016 census are:
- There are 33,821 Dutch Speakers in Australia in 2016.
- There are more female Dutch speakers (55.0%, 18,616 people) than males (45.0%, 15,205 people).
- Most Dutch speakers were born in Netherlands (66.9%), followed by Australia (19.1%).
- 88.3% of Dutch speakers recorded that both parents were born overseas, while 2.7% recorded that both parents were born in Australia.
- Most Dutch speakers speak English very well (85.4%), while 0.6% do not speak English at all.
- The percentage of Dutch speakers who identified as Aboriginal was 0.1% (48 people).
- 7.9% of male Dutch speakers were 75-79 years old. 8.2% of females were 65-69 years old. For Australia as a whole the largest age demographic for male people in Australia was 30-34 years (7.3%). For females, the largest age demographic was 30-34 years (7.3%).