Even with loads of experience, you always learn something new on a Roeland training day!

5 years' experience as a group leader in the KSA youth movement, 4 years as a coach at FreeTime, 2 years as a trainer at a summer school, and in between also helping kids with their homework and now coaching at Roeland vzw: Maud and Sarah (both 25 years old) have quite the career when it comes to working with young people. "We've done so much! And yet we still learn a lot on Roeland's training days."

Last summer, Maud and Sarah were first-time language coaches at an NT2 camp, a Dutch-language day camp for children with a migration background. "We relied on the years of experience we already had, we talked a lot about how we would approach the language workshops and observed the others in our team. It was a fantastic, educational camp for the participants and for us."

And yet you still decided to follow a training day at Roeland vzw. Why?

Maud: "Why not, if you get the chance? At first, I thought it was going to be a very hands-on day, where I would pick up a few hints and tips. But then I ended up in Tom's didactics workshop and I was immediately blown away by how he develops his language workshops. I learned so much."

Sarah: "At the same time, we also discovered that we were already doing a very good job in our language workshops. Tom's workshop inspired us to make some minor changes, such as including more repetition, focusing more on grammar, etc."

It is now the second summer that you are coaches at an NT2 Dutch-language camp. What do you do differently now compared to last year with the tips you received on the training day?

Maud: "Together with the children, we prepare a dessert and by following the recipe we teach them key words such as first, then, when, finally ... For example, we ask them to put the words in the correct order. Last year I would’ve shied away from teaching this exercise and I would have focused on the vocabulary of the ingredients only."

Sarah: "The training day has inspired us to tap into the children’s linguistic flair more. For example, tomorrow we're going to play a game with go-carts and teach about verbs they may be unsure about, such as want, can, may, etc ."

"Tom gave us a lot of inspiration and input to help us do our thing. We really feel that he trusts and supports us. Sometimes he gives constructive feedback and we learn a lot from that. That framework at Roeland vzw is unique."

What stood out for you the most during the training day?

Maud: "We have a lot of experience working with young people, but not necessarily with teaching languages. Language teaching adds an extra dimension to our approach. I really appreciated that we weren't treated like rookies during the training day because we didn’t have a lot of teaching experience."

Sarah: "Thanks to the professional approach to its camps and the support provided to its volunteers, Roeland can ensure quality."

Maud: "It was also very nice to get to know volunteers from other camps."

Sarah: "And we also took the opportunity to recruit new volunteers for our Dutch day camps!"