January 22, 2024
HLE Network is thrilled to welcome the Swedish School Association in the Netherlands (Svenska Skolföreningen i Nederländerna) to our network. Swedish lessons for Swedish-speaking children have been running for more than 50 years in the Netherlands, financed by the parents and by the Swedish government.
Above all, we aim to give the children a chance to speak and socialize in Swedish.
-Volunteer at Swedish school
According to the volunteers who run the after-school Swedish programs, the purpose of the lessons is to develop the children's Swedish reading and writing skills -- but above all to give the children a chance to speak and socialize in Swedish. The lessons also give basic insight into Swedish culture and history. The teaching follows the Swedish Education Agency's curriculum that is especially designed for heritage language learners, or what they call "supplementary Swedish teaching."
The Swedish lessons are offered 26 times per academic year, with each lesson lasting two hours. Swedish lessons are currently offered in Eindhoven, The Hague, Amsterdam, and Utrecht. All four groups come together each year for a common Lucia celebration in the winter and again for a school graduation in the summer. At the Lucia celebration, a joint performance is normally organized together with all four groups!
The lesson times are currently:
Eindhoven: Mondays 16:00-18:00
Utrecht: Thursdays 16:00-18:00
The Hague: Thursdays 16:30 - 18:30
Amsterdam: Tuesdays 16:00-18:00
For more details, view the entries in the HLE Network Directory
We wholeheartedly welcome this new language group into our network. The work that they do is extremely important, and we hope to give more visibility and recognition to them through our network's activities.