I cannot remember the exact questions asked of me for the language part of my inburgeringsexamen in The Netherlands Embassy in Manila last October.

But I remember that this part of the test was divided into five: repeating sentences, answering short questions, detemining opposites, repeating sentences (again) and summarizing short stories.

Repeating Sentences.

The computer through the telephone will say things like: "Anders nog iets?" or "Wat is er gebeurd?" and you have to be able to repeat the sentence correctly. That is why it is handy to familiarize yourself with the Dutch sounds and simple words. Because when you know what is being said, you will be able to repeat it correctly and easily.

Answering Short Questions.

The computer will ask: "Hoeveel banden heeft een auto?" or "Welk is langer, een arm of een been?" If you understand the questions, natuurlijk, you will be able to easily answer these kinds of questions too. For a local, it may be very easy. But for een anderstaligen, it will be difficult because like me for example, the words are nowhere near English.

Determining Opposites.

This is another test of your clear listening skills and good speaking skills. Clean ears come in handy. When the computer says "oud", you say "jong". When the computer says "rijk", you say "arm". Those are the opposites.

Summarizing a Short Story.

The computer tells you a story in about ten sentences. All in Dutch. And you have to summarize it (maybe in five sentences or so) in Dutch. I remember I had a story about two boys who went to the beach with kites. But the wind was so strong that the kites were blown away. No success for the boys and it tells about the weather in The Netherlands.

So now that you know how the test will be (if you have not taken it yet), the next question will be, how to prepare for it? The Naar Nederland pakket does not contain a book to learn Dutch. But there are countless dictionaries and cd's that can be bought to learn it. Some of them are also available through the www.nederlandsalstweedetaal.nl website.

If you do not want an additional hole in your pocket for learning Dutch since the exam already costs a lot -- a whopping 365euro -- you can also learn the basics of the language at www.learndutch.nu.

With all these materials easily accessible to the buitenlander, it only depends on the immigrant if he/she wants to learn the language and pass the test.

When the inburgeringsexamen was introduced, it received a lot of negative comments. But I believe that it is a good way to encourage and challenge immigrants who want to live in The Netherlands.

I guess the first step to learn the language is to accept the fact that Nederlands is the mother tongue of Nederlanders. If we want to succeed in this country, we have to break the language barrier. More than passing the test, we owe it to ourselves to be able to express ourselves clearly in a foreign language. #