Teaching methods from Marilene

Marilene as an educational author

At the Language School for Refugees, we were responsible for making our own teaching methods. Together with my colleagues, I wrote the book ‘Beter Nederlands’. In doing so, I learned the trade as an educational author and I continued writing teaching methods. I find the combination of being both an author and a teacher very inspiring. The students are my inspiration as I often try out new teaching materials in my lessons.

The last method I wrote is ‘Lezen, hoe doe je dat?’ (‘Reading, how do you do that?’)

This method contains a story about a girl who walked to Twente in the east of the Netherlands during the Dutch Famine of 1944-45. She walked 200 kilometers from Utrecht, where there was not enough food for her anymore. That girl was my mother. I completed the same trip in one week in the summer of 2018. This was covered by newspapers and TV. A photographer from the regional newspaper Tubantia took this photo during an interview.

Photos and videos of my trip

Overview of NT2 teaching methods

For an overview of all teaching methods published at Coutinho

11. NEW: Teaching method nr. 11: Woorden in context

A teaching method on vocabulairy A1-A2, (Coutinho, 2023;

With Dorine de Kruyf

1. Beter Nederlands

A teaching method on grammar for higher educated non-native speakers, in two parts, level B1 t/m C1, (Coutinho, Bussum, 1991; revised in 2017)

With Dina Bouman, Erica Griffioen and Rita Rutten

2. Beter Lezen

Reading texts with exercises for beginning adult readers; textbook and exercise books level A1 (Coutinho, Bussum, 1997; last revision 2017).

With Dorine de Kruyf

3. Verder Lezen

Reading texts with exercises for semi-advanced adult readers; level A1-A2 (Coutinho, Bussum, 2001, latest revision 2019)

With Dorine de Kruyf

4. Leerwoordenboek Nederlands

Basic dictionary for NT2, with a part on study skills; level A2

(Coutinho, Bussum, 2005)

With Dorine de Kruyf

5. Welkom in Nederland

Teaching method for the KNS part (knowledge of the Dutch society) for the integration exam; workbook, website; level A1-A2 (Coutinho, Bussum, 2008; third revision in 2017 with exercises for the integration exam KNM and A2)

6. Schrijf Vaardig

Teaching method on writing skills with grammatical structure for state exam 1 and 2 (B1 and B2) in 3 parts (Coutinho, Bussum, 2012)

7. Beter Nederlands spreken

Teaching method on speaking skills from A1 to B1, Grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation (Coutinho, Bussum, 2012)

With Marieke Goedegebure

8. Lezen, hoe doe je dat?

Teaching method on reading skills from A1 to A2, used in preparation for integration exam

9. IJsbreker deel 1A en 1B

A basic teaching method in preparation for the integration exam, beginner – A1

(ThiemeMeulenhoff Amersfoort, 2018)

Previously published under the title ‘Breekijzer’ with Dorine de Kruyf

IJsbreker Plus

10. For elementary school

In a team with other authors; ‘Lijn 3’, a teaching method on reading for elementary school.
(Malmberg s Hertogenbosch, 2013)

A method on vocabulary

To be published at Coutinho Publishers

Contact

| Endorsement from the publisher (Nynke Coutinho)

Since 1996, Uitgeverij Coutinho has worked with Marilene Gathier and her colleague Dorine de Kruyf on various publications related to NT-2 education.

This first resulted in the book ‘Beter Lezen’. This teaching method for beginners has been very successful and has been widely used for over 30 years now. This publication is regularly reviewed to stay up to date. Subsequently, in collaboration with both authors, we published ‘Verder Lezen’ and a Dutch dictionary.

Marilene wrote ‘Welkom in Nederland’ by herself. With this practical learning method for the KNS part of the compulsory integration exam, she demonstrated once again that she knows how to use her many years of practical experience in NT2 education to write an accessible and didactically well-structured teaching method.

In the 10 years since Marilene’s company De Taalvraag has been in existence, she wrote two more teaching methods. ‘Schrijf Vaardig’ consists of three parts in which students work systematically on their written language skills. The (grammatical) subjects that are required for this are discussed here. Marilene developed Reading how do you do that for reading skills? The starting point for this method is to prepare people integrating well for the reading part of the integration exam, including reading strategies on how to extract the most important information from texts.

She is currently working with Dorine de Kruyf on a vocabulary method based on the previously published Learning Dictionary. We look forward to the appearance of this blended method in 2022.

Marilene Gathier is a very experienced teacher who, like no other, has a good and sharp didactic ability to accurately see what NT2 students need in terms of material. In addition, she understands how these students learn and what the right approach is for this target group.

Nynke Coutinho
Director – uitgever
Uitgeverij Coutinho