Born and raised in Iran, Niloufar left her mother country at the age of 28 with a university background in Education. She is today a committed Farsi teacher for our little Taalhuis students but also a research guest at the Institute of the Royal Netherlands of Arts and Sciences, focusing on Linguistics and Sociolinguistics. Niloufar has planned various cultural events at Taalhuis to denote the connection between language and culture to facilitate learning the Persian language.

Why teaching?

I was born to be a teacher. Since my first teaching experience with kids, I discovered a great passion inside of me. I enjoy the challenges a teacher faces and I combined this passion with specific language knowledge studying Linguistics at the University of Amsterdam which was an initiation for my first job in the Netherlands, Persian teacher.

What is a typical lesson with you like?

For my classes with children I develop materials myself and enjoy receiving feedback from my little students and their parents to boost the learning of the language – which means that I constantly update my materials. I tend to use visual and audio files to entertain students and seize on their different talents.

Both in kids and in adult classes, I highly consider the need of the learners. Some of them aim to talk with grandparents and family abroad, so their priority is improving their speaking skills. Some others might want to learn the language in order to mainly read and write. Based on this, I plan my lessons.

Tips and tricks for parents or caregivers?

My suggestion is going through the materials I provide which focus on the four language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and also using flashcards and small notes around the house to facilitate remembering the new letters and words. I also suggest all parents who want their kid to practice the language to try out our classes at Taalhuis and let your kids enjoy the friendly atmosphere there.

With the new courses starting in the week of September 7, we have an Open Day planned on August 29! Come meet Niloufar and her colleagues in person!