{"id":18545,"date":"2025-09-19T22:41:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=18545"},"modified":"2025-09-29T11:33:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T09:33:09","slug":"ukrainian-dilemma-learn-a-language-even-if-you-dont-know-if-youre-staying-in-the-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/18545\/ukrainian-dilemma-learn-a-language-even-if-you-dont-know-if-youre-staying-in-the-netherlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian dilemma: learn a language even if you don’t know if you’re staying in the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
\r\n

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a lot of Ukrainians fled their country to the EU. At first, the thought was that it was going to be temporary; however, the war has been happening for more than three years, and there is no near solution to it. For this reason, Ukrainians are trying to integrate into Dutch society, one of the processes is learning the language.<\/h2>\r\n

Like many refugees, Lina Lomakina <\/span>came to<\/span> the Netherlands at the <\/span>start<\/span> of the war.<\/span> For her, speaking Dutch <\/span>at first <\/span>wasn\u2019t<\/span> a priority. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>I<\/span>t’s<\/span> not about analysing that <\/span>I’m<\/span> not going to learn it, because <\/span>I’m<\/span> not staying here, but because <\/span>you’re<\/span> figuring out things, what your tomorrow is going to be,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Lina said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Later, she attended a Dutch government-provided course. <\/span>Right now<\/span>, she speaks at an A2 level of Dutch, but it took her <\/span>a while<\/span> to <\/span>get there<\/span>. <\/span>\u201cT<\/span>he waiting list was pretty long. I joined in summer 2024, and I took exams in summer 2025,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Lina said. \u00a0<\/span>She also <\/span>adds<\/span> that her life was<\/span> \u201c<\/span>really unstable<\/span>\u201d <\/span>to learn Dutch more quickly. <\/span>\u201cL<\/span>ocations are shifting, people around you are shifting, you <\/span>can’t<\/span> really understand if you <\/span>are able to<\/span> learn something, you should also work,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>she said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"Staged

Staged scenario.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Asked if <\/span>she\u2019s<\/span> planning on staying in the Netherlands even if the war is over, Lina said that<\/span> \u201c<\/span>it\u2019s<\/span> the most complicated question for everyon<\/span>e\u201d. <\/span>\u201cI<\/span> feel like even more connected to Ukraine than when I was living there. I feel like coming back to Ukraine. … Since I look at this as an investment to spend more than 3 years here and having met a lot of beautiful people here, maybe I would do something together with Netherlands, maybe I would live for<\/span> 2 <\/span>countries, if it is possible,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>Lina said. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another Ukrainian, Liudmyla Hoida, took a different step in learning Dutch. At first, Liudmyla took private courses because <\/span>she was influenced by her colleagues<\/span>. <\/span>\u201cI<\/span>t was a first step, because I was absolutely zero about Dutch. <\/span>For me, it was very <\/span>hard<\/span> because there <\/span>are<\/span> some people who already <\/span>have<\/span> a <\/span>bit of<\/span> knowledge of the Dutch language, and I decided to stop <\/span>the study<\/span> there.<\/span> I looked for something different,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>she said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Liudmyla then started learning Dutch at <\/span>Volksuniversiteit<\/span><\/em>.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI<\/span> wanted more professional courses,<\/span>\u201d she adds<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

To her, learning Dutch was a way to <\/span>get<\/span> \u201c<\/span>to know a little bit about culture, about people,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>and try to <\/span>speak<\/span> with Dutch people.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Asked the same question about staying in the Netherlands, L. Hoida said that if it were<\/span> \u201c<\/span>possible to stay and wor<\/span>k\u201d,<\/span> she would do that. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Another <\/span>interviewed<\/span> Ukrainian, Mykola Tryfonov, who is from Mariupol, said that his job <\/span>provided<\/span> language lessons. <\/span>\u201cI<\/span> had a teacher, I had an individual course. My work organised a course for me and for my friend,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>he said.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Now M. Tryfonov is planning <\/span>on getting<\/span> the B2 level of the Dutch language.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\"Staged

Staged scenario.<\/p><\/div>\r\n

Asked about reasons for learning Dutch, he said that he needs <\/span>Dutch<\/span> for work and also for his sons, <\/span>because<\/span> they <\/span>go to<\/span> a Dutch school. <\/span>\u201cS<\/span>ometimes at home I speak Dutch, because my son sometimes changes language at home and speaks Dutch,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>he adds.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When <\/span>talking about<\/span> the future, M. Tryfonov said that <\/span>he\u2019s<\/span> not planning to go back to Ukraine. <\/span>\u201cM<\/span>y home destroyed, part of my family killed in Mariupol,<\/span>\u201d <\/span>M. Tryfonov said. <\/span>He adds that he might go to another European country, but coming back to Ukraine is<\/span> \u201c<\/span>very difficul<\/span>t\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a lot of Ukrainians fled their country to the EU. At first, the thought was that it was going to be temporary; however, the war has been happening for more than three years, and there is no near solution to it. For this reason, Ukrainians are trying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3771,"featured_media":18557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cbj","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUkrainian dilemma: learn a language even if you don't know if you're staying in the Netherlands - International Journalism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ukrainian dilemma: learn a language even if you don't know if you're staying in the Netherlands - International Journalism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a lot of Ukrainians fled their country to the EU. 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