Netherlands. Do you have to learn the language to KEEP a contract?

[KentPhilip]

I am working in the Netherlands at a company that has English as its "official" language. But most of the people there are Dutch (some English). I am 3 months through a 6-monther.
At least once a week they (co-workers and one slightly senior person) ask whether I am learning the language.
I don't want to. But I'm just wondering whether it is a hint that I should.
I can do the job perfectly fine without speaking Dutch, and have no communication problems with anyone else (The Dutch speak excellent English mostly).
Does anyone know whether refusing to speako the linguo has any significant adverse effect on contract extension likelyhoods?
Just wondering.

Perhaps I'll start wearing clogs to the office, smoke a bit of hashish, and find a dyke I can stick a thumb in. That'll please them

Cheers

[MrMark]

To be honest most of us would be cheesed off working with someone in the UK who refused to learn English.
Learn the lingo you idle waster - or give the job to someone who is prepared to learn!

Dank U !


Joking aside, it may help you get future contracts elsewhere in NL. You may feel that you won't want further work there, but currently there's very little in the UK. Don't burn your boats.

[Moscow Mule]

Almost every Dutch person I've ever met can speak English, as have most of the Russians, hungarians and other nationalities I've worked with. That said, I consider it an advantage to at least try to learn the basics as it helps you rub along a bit better. I also find you get involved in the office banter a bit more.

Why don't you want to learn Dutch?

[sweetandsour]

I am working in the Netherlands at a company that has English as its "official" language. But most of the people there are Dutch (some English). I am 3 months through a 6-monther.
At least once a week they (co-workers and one slightly senior person) ask whether I am learning the language.
I don't want to. But I'm just wondering whether it is a hint that I should.
I can do the job perfectly fine without speaking Dutch, and have no communication problems with anyone else (The Dutch speak excellent English mostly).
Does anyone know whether refusing to speako the linguo has any significant adverse effect on contract extension likelyhoods?
Just wondering.

Perhaps I'll start wearing clogs to the office, smoke a bit of hashish, and find a dyke I can stick a thumb in. That'll please them

Cheers

It's this attitude that makes all us Brits look bad in the eyes of Johnny Foreigner.

If you are in Holland would it really kill you to spend a couple of hours per week trying to pick up on a few words?

Let's face it, you are not going to be able to speak the language to conversational level in the space of six months but there is no reason not to make the effort to understand the signs that you see, newspaper headlines, captions on the TV.

You should never under-estimate how much foreigners appreciate people attempting to speak a few words of their language.

[Moscow Mule]

Let's face it, you are not going to be able to speak the language to conversational level in the space of six months

Disagree.

[sweetandsour]

Disagree.

I will accept that it is possible, with enough effort.

I don't think the OP needs to try that hard but I do think he should make some effort.

[Brussels Slumdog]

Lucky to find work in the Netherlands

I am working in the Netherlands at a company that has English as its "official" language. But most of the people there are Dutch (some English). I am 3 months through a 6-monther.
At least once a week they (co-workers and one slightly senior person) ask whether I am learning the language.
I don't want to. But I'm just wondering whether it is a hint that I should.
I can do the job perfectly fine without speaking Dutch, and have no communication problems with anyone else (The Dutch speak excellent English mostly).

Cheers

You must have IT skills that the Dutch cannot find locally otherwise they
they would not have even looked at your CV. They first select Dutch speakers who speak English and then English only speakers.
I have never found a contract in Belgium or Netherlands due to the fact that I speak reasonable Dutch.
All jobs that require you to speak Dutch are advertised as "Native speaker"
or "Mother tongue"
Learn some Dutch just for fun then they will leave you alone. If you do manage to learn some Dutch they will reply to you in English anyway.


Does anyone know whether refusing to speak the linguo has any significant adverse effect on contract extension likelyhoods?
Just wondering.
Cheers[/QUOTE]

They may replace you with a Dutch speaker but not because you refused to
learn the lingo

[Brussels Slumdog]

IT Conversational level

It's this attitude that makes all us Brits look bad in the eyes of Johnny Foreigner.

If you are in Holland would it really kill you to spend a couple of hours per week trying to pick up on a few words?

Let's face it, you are not going to be able to speak the language to conversational level in the space of six months but there is no reason not to make the effort to understand the signs that you see, newspaper headlines, captions on the TV.

You should never under-estimate how much foreigners appreciate people attempting to speak a few words of their language.

Disagree.

I can speak French,Dutch and German at normal Conversational Level.
IT Conversational Level is a new dimension as most IT documention is in
English.
The last time I worked in France everyone switched from French to English
when the topic turned to IT.

[KentPhilip]

It's this attitude that makes all us Brits look bad in the eyes of Johnny Foreigner.

If you are in Holland would it really kill you to spend a couple of hours per week trying to pick up on a few words?

No it wouldn't kill me, but it is a bit of a pfaff to do that.

I understand the attitude bit, but logically it doesn't make sense to learn a language when they have already learned it the other side (Dutch to English). Its a bit like crossing a road to help an old lady on the other side only to find she's crossed the road to your side already.

Danke veld for your answers (that means thanks)

[Joe Black]

You must have IT skills that the Dutch cannot find locally otherwise they
they would not have even looked at your CV. They first select Dutch speakers who speak English and then English only speakers.
I have never found a contract in Belgium or Netherlands due to the fact that I speak reasonable Dutch.
All jobs that require you to speak Dutch are advertised as "Native speaker"
or "Mother tongue"
Learn some Dutch just for fun then they will leave you alone. If you do manage to learn some Dutch they will reply to you in English anyway.

They may replace you with a Dutch speaker but not because you refused to
learn the lingo

Don't know about the Netherlands as I haven't worked there, and there's always the somewhat [self]promoted idea that they're more tolerant/liberal.

As for Belgium, well, I'd concur with Slumdog here. Don't ever remember getting a contract because I spoke the lingo (well, one of them anyway) even though it wasn't a case of an hour a week, but 10 hours a week, 30 hours a week in the summer, CVs in Dutch, and at least a few certificates from one of their top universities.

Whenever it's come down to the line, in my experience, it's more or less been a case of one of theirs first. Certainly if the manager's the same nationality, or the prefered supplier is a local one...hence one or two arguments over the years where it's been a case of being automatically disqualified due to not being a local, despite the role specifying fluent English, the end-client being a UK/US multi-national, and...well, I think you get the picture.

Fortunately I've been lucky at times to either have had a much needed skill, or found myself put forward by those much despised bastions of UK contracting, CF, Progressive, Huxley & Co, who either didn't give a damn where I came from as long as they got me in the job, or hadn't gone native enough to start demanding the equivalent of "English people only", "native speakers only" and such like.

All I can say is welcome to the EU. Freedom of movement and all that...