Who Is Dutchwithjoost NOT For? An Honest Guide

Whether Dutchwithjoost is right for you depends on how you learn and what you want after the exam. It suits self-motivated people who want to actually speak Dutch, need a flexible schedule, and have been let down by memorization-based courses. For several specific situations it is the wrong choice, and this guide names those first.

Why we'd rather talk you out of it now

We would rather talk you out of Dutchwithjoost now than have you realize three months in that it was never the right fit. Most course pages claim they work for everyone. No course works for everyone, including ours. So this guide spends its first half on the people who should walk away, and only then on the people it is built for.

A bad fit costs you weeks you will not get back, and it leaves us with a frustrated learner. Naming the mismatch upfront is better for both of us.

If a course has let you down before, you are right to look for the catch. So we put the catch first. Read these disqualifiers honestly, and if none of them describe you, the rest of the page explains who the course is built for.

Who Dutchwithjoost is NOT for

Dutchwithjoost is not for you if your municipality assigns and funds your integration course, if you can already hold basic conversations at an A2 level and need B1 right now, if you want the accountability of a classroom, if your budget is genuinely zero, or if all you want is to pass the exam and you already learn well by memorizing. Here is the honest reasoning for each.

Your municipality assigns and funds your integration course. When the gemeente (your local municipality) arranges and pays for your course, you usually have to choose a provider from their approved list. Check your own track before buying any course, including this one. If your track requires a specific provider, that part of the decision is already made for you, and a course outside the list will not count.

You can already hold basic conversations at an A2 level and need B1 today. A2 is the basic conversational level on the Common European Framework for languages (CEFR). Dutchwithjoost takes a complete beginner from zero up to A2. If you are already comfortable in everyday A2 conversations and need B1, the next level up, for a job or a deadline right now, this is not your next step. A dedicated B1 course is coming, but until it is out, use a B1 option elsewhere. One important point: if you are a beginner who will eventually need B1, you are still a good fit, because everyone passes through A1 and A2 first.

You want the accountability of a classroom. Some people learn better with a teacher in the room and classmates who expect them to show up. One parent we spoke to said it plainly: she does better in an in-person class, and the interaction with other students keeps her motivated. That is a real need, and a self-paced course does not meet it. A classroom course will serve you better.

Your budget is genuinely zero. If you cannot spend anything right now, free and low-cost resources exist, and you should use them. Apps, YouTube videos, and library materials can get a motivated beginner moving. Dutchwithjoost is a paid course, so if money is the constraint today, start with what is free and come back when your budget allows.

You only want to pass as fast as possible and do not care about speaking afterward. If you learn well by memorizing, a memorization-based course can get you to a pass sooner, and that is a reasonable choice for that goal. But memorizing does not work for everyone. Our own co-founder could never make it stick, and for people like her, memorizing is not the quick route it looks like. Dutchwithjoost is built around using the language, which asks more of you while you study.

Who it actually is for

Dutchwithjoost fits you if you are self-motivated, want to actually speak and use Dutch, and have been let down by memorization. It is built for people who can study without a class pushing them, who need a schedule that bends around real life, and who care more about retaining Dutch than about finding the cheapest or fastest option.

The people who do best with Dutchwithjoost want more than a certificate. They are expats and partners settling in the Netherlands who want to speak with their neighbors and handle their own paperwork without switching to English. For them, passing the A2 inburgering exam (the civic integration exam) matters, but being able to use Dutch afterward matters more.

One self-employed expat we spoke to had an unpredictable schedule and had already worked through grammar exercises in earlier courses. After all that effort, she could still only say "I have a green apple." She did not want another certificate. She wanted to hold a real conversation.

That learner also needed flexibility. A self-paced course lets you study for fifteen minutes between meetings or two hours on a quiet evening, from home, without booking a class. If your week never looks the same twice, that flexibility is the difference between finishing and quitting.

She also valued paying once. One learner told us she was stuck paying for subscriptions she no longer used, because cancelling and re-subscribing would have cost more. If you are wary of another recurring charge, a one-time course removes that worry.

How it's actually different

What makes Dutchwithjoost different is when a lesson counts as finished. A lesson is complete when you can hold a conversation on the topic, not when you have finished the exercises. You learn each word by using it, across all five exam parts, rather than by memorizing lists you forget after the test.

Here is how that works in practice. Each lesson is built around a real situation, like doing your groceries or making a doctor's appointment. You start by seeing how two people handle that situation in Dutch, so you learn from a real example instead of a word list. Then you practice the phrases yourself: you read them aloud, listen and repeat, and write them. Finally you have your own conversation with Joost about that same situation, using the words you just learned. The lesson is done when you can hold that conversation.

When you finish a lesson, you can actually use what it taught you. We are confident enough in that to back the course with an exam pass guarantee. Complete all the lessons, sit the exam, and the guarantee covers the parts you do not pass.

The conversation practice happens at your level. As one learner testing the course put it: "Joost knows your level. He's not gonna use C2 level Dutch to reply to you." You practice privately, at a level you can handle, without anyone switching to English on you.

One course covers all five parts of the exam: reading, listening, writing, speaking, and KNM (Knowledge of Dutch Society). That is 43 lessons taking you from zero to A2, so you are not piecing together separate apps and books to fill gaps. Everything the exam tests, you learn in one place.

The price is €399, paid once, with five-year access. There is no subscription to remember or cancel.

Five questions to ask yourself

Five honest questions tell you whether Dutchwithjoost fits. Answer them for your own situation. If most of your answers are yes, the course is worth a closer look. If most are no, one of the options above will serve you better.

1. Are you self-motivated enough to study without a class pushing you to show up?
2. Do you want to speak Dutch after the exam, or only to pass it?
3. Does your schedule need to bend around work, family, or an unpredictable week?
4. Have past courses left you remembering little of the Dutch you studied?
5. Are you starting at or below A2 right now, even if you will eventually need B1?

Mostly yes means Dutchwithjoost is worth a look. Mostly no means one of the alternatives above fits you better, and that is a perfectly good outcome.

Still unsure? Here's a low-pressure next step

If you are still unsure whether Dutchwithjoost is right for you, you do not have to decide today. The honest next step is to see how the method works and get your specific question answered before you spend anything.

The best way to judge the method is to try it. You can sign up for free and finish the entire first lesson without paying anything, which shows you exactly how it works and whether it fits how you learn. If you are weighing us against a memorization-based option, read our honest comparison with InburgeringOnline, where we lay out when each one is the better choice. If you are still deciding whether any paid course is worth it, that question has its own honest write-up too.

And if something is holding you back, just ask. Use the button in the bottom-right corner of the screen to reach us right away, or email us at hello@dutchwithjoost.com. We would rather help you make the right call now than have you regret it later.