Speaking Dutch With Colleagues Who Switch to English: What to Say
Polite scripts and strategies to keep the conversation in Dutch without being awkward.
Practice speaking English with Chickytutor - the AI language tutor mentioned in this guide!
Speaking Dutch With Colleagues Who Switch to English: What to Say
If you live in the Netherlands, you might recognize this: you can follow Dutch conversations, but when it’s your turn to speak, you hesitate, translate in your head, and the moment is gone.
Most colleagues switch to English to be polite. Give them an easy script to stay in Dutch.
The 10-minute speaking loop
Use this daily. Keep it small enough that you actually do it.
- Warm-up (1 min) — say 5 filler phrases out loud (no thinking).
- Scenario (6 min) — roleplay one real situation. Don’t stop; paraphrase if you get stuck.
- One correction target (2 min) — fix one thing (word order, de/het, pronunciation, pacing).
- Retell (1 min) — summarize the scenario in new words.
Example lines to practice
- Zullen we Nederlands oefenen?
- Mag het in het Nederlands?
A simple prompt you can use today
Pretend you’re speaking to a colleague/shop employee. Say:
- what you want
- why you want it
- what you already tried
- what you’re asking them to do next
Where ChickyTutor fits
ChickyTutor is a speaking-first AI voice tutor: pick Dutch, press the mic, and speak. It responds instantly and corrects pronunciation/word choice/grammar while keeping you talking.
Try it for free and aim for 10 minutes a day. The goal isn’t perfect Dutch — it’s reliable Dutch under pressure.