Discover the informal spoken language

Learn Flemish with Sofie!

Sounds familiar?

😕 You feel like the Dutch you learned in school isn’t helping you to really understand Belgian native speakers and to express yourself in informal situations.

😕 You want to sound more like a native speaker and less like a news reader when talking to your Flemish friends, family & colleagues.

😕 You want to feel more comfortable when surrounded by Flemish native speakers at work, at a family party or with friends.

😕 Flemish people keep on switching to English or French whenever you talk to them. It’s so frustrating!

Would you like to

Understand more, even when people are having informal discussions?

Sound more like a native speaker and use typical phrases and expressions smoothly?

Feel more comfortable when surrounded by Flemish native speakers and really connect with them?

Get more opportunities to practice and more positive reactions?

Finally be able to understand what they are saying in Flemish movies & series?

Hi, I am Sofie!

Nice to meet you! As the founder of Goesting in Taal, I am very happy to welcome you on our website! Who am I?

Experienced language coach and teacher (Check out my LinkedIn profile for testimonials from my students)
Language lover with a passion for informal language (as a teacher, but also as a student!) In the past years, I have been specialising in teaching Flemish informal language because I realised how important spoken language is not to feel like an outsider and to express yourself fully.
Someone who loves Belgium in all its diversity and complexity
Author of Wa zegt ge? Vlaamse spreektaal voor anderstaligen and multiple survival guides to learn informal Flemish language

If you have any questions about the Goesting in Taal project, feel free to contact me!

✨Our self-study resources✨

All of our books come with audio and were developed for self study. Our survival guides will help you express yourself in situations with native speakers. Our book Wa zegt ge? will allow you to build on your knowledge of official “classroom Dutch” and help you understand native speakers better and sound more like one.

Our n° 1 bestseller

If you have been learning Dutch for a while, and you have reached an intermediate (B1) level, then this book is probably the best option for you! This is our most complete & rich learning resource to discover informal spoken Flemish, or what we call “tussentaal”.

Testimonials about this book:

Must-have for ‘anderstaligen’ in Belgium 🙂 I can’t recommend this book enough to all language enthusiasts – it’s a dynamic, immersive, and essential companion for venturing into the world of Flemish. – Oleksandra

THE missing link! This should be taught at school. I fully recommend it, I learned a third of the book during 2 professional years in Flanders, looking forward to saving 4 more years! – Lionel

It’s more than a book! I’ve been in Belgium for 18 months and already passed NT2 A1-A2 but still could not understand the people so well. I understood only standaardtaal but never heard tussentaal. “Wa zegt ge” makes me figure out what the people express more. I was hopeless till I found this book. There are a lot of exercise to practice. I’m continuing practice listening as much as I can. – Kate

Our survival guides

If you have a beginners to intermediate level, or you are looking to explore informal Dutch key phrases for specific contexts, our survival guides are what you need!

Our e-books

If you already have our books, and you would like some additional learning tools, or you prefer digital e-books to physical ones, check out our e-books! They are complementary to the books, so you could definitely combine them if you are a really curious learner like me! 🤓

Testimonials from our users

I think learning informal language is really important. If you can use and understand spoken language, you come across a lot more natural. And people look at you differently right away. It’s less artificial, less stiff. I can tell from my colleagues’ reactions. I regularly get compliments that you almost don’t hear that I’m from abroad anymore.

– Karolina (Poland)

I start to understand people around me! It changed my life in Belgium for the better. Earlier I was frustrated that I studied AN for 2 years and could only understand people in Holland. Thanks to this book I understand most Flemish people as well which was the most important for me.

– Kirill

Thanks to Sofie & her books, I can finally understand the real “Flemish”. Her materials are practical, concrete, funny and motivating. I feel a lot more confident now.

– Anne-Christelle (Brussels)

This book helped my students to bridge the gap between the official language and reality. It was really useful to them and boosted their confidence. I’m still amazed how students from an advanced level still learn something new from each page. We’ve had so many “aha”-moments together.

– Kelly (Dutch teacher)

Goesting in Taal really helped me to understand my colleagues better!

– Ibrahim (Brussels)

I had already learned Dutch at CVO, but I was frustrated because I couldn’t understand people on the streets. It was hard to talk to friends fluently. I discovered Goesting in Taal and the book “Wa zegt ge?” through a friend and it was like an amazing new start to understand people around me better.

– Ana

Why learn informal language?

I know from experience how uncomfortable it can be if you don’t understand or speak informal language. After studying Arabic for years, I still had trouble understanding and talking with my Lebanese family-in-law. And then I discovered how learning just a little bit of informal language can change your life! Suddenly, you are no longer an outsider.

This inspired me to create the Goesting in Taal project, to help people in Belgium to have the same positive experience!

What is this so-called "tussentaal"?

If you have been studying Dutch in Belgium, you might have come across the term “tussentaal” or “in-between-language”. This informal language is what we want to help you discover. But what is this “tussentaal” exactly?

Discover the informal spoken language

Learn Flemish with Sofie!

Sounds familiar?

Would you like to

Hi, I am Sofie!