Lisa (19) from Aalden wants to use picture books to help foreign children overcome the language barrier. “The book creates understanding, respect and trust”

It worked so well that she sent the script to an editor. Located now The little lion in a big new world in bookstores.

Overcome language gaps and prejudices

With the story, the writer from Aalden wants to kill two birds with one stone. “As it is a Dutch story, foreign children can learn the language by reading the booklet. And Dutch children learn through history, taking into account that it is not always easy for foreign children to understand. All in all, an educational story that can overcome the language gap and prejudice.

When she emigrated from Uganda to the Netherlands with her parents and her brother Benjamin in 2010 – her sister Rachel was born in Aalden a year later – the language barrier was quickly overcome. “Although we lived in Uganda until 2010, we returned to the Netherlands every year for holidays. So we were brought up in both Dutch and English, but that is of course not so obvious for many children.

Difficult to learn Dutch

Through a conversation with a boy from Cameroon, she had the idea of ​​addressing the language barrier in the form of a booklet. “He told me that it is quite difficult to learn Dutch. He thinks Dutch people talk fast and it’s hard to follow. The boy talked about his experiences that he regularly didn’t understand someone, but actually didn’t dare to ask if he wanted to repeat it. So he pretended to understand.”

Effective method

Reading children’s books, says Lisa, is a very effective way to learn the basics of a new language and understand how to speak. “It’s very important, because you need Dutch to be able to study here and be able to function well in a job later on.”

Internship in New Zealand

Lisa is now in her third year of studies in Zwolle. “I will take the exam in 2023 and after that I don’t know in which direction I’m going. It also depends on how my internship in New Zealand goes next spring. A study in Berlin is on my wish list, but it’s I may also be looking for a job in the Netherlands that matches my education.