Easy Languages

Placement organization

Name of organization: Easy Languages
Town/city: Brussels
Country: België
Website: http://taalreizen.com/taalcursus/

Name of student: Kim Schutter

Specialist area: ITTI
Placement period: 2013-2014

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Language travel operator
Organization’s activities: Easy Languages provides language travel and study programs abroad for students and proffesionals.

Target group of the organization: Language travel students/proffesionals
Company culture: Young and informal team. Very international with employees from France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, UK, Russia, Spain, Japan etc.

Student will mainly work on the Dutch speaking market. Only Dutch speakers.

Number of employees: 22
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? The company does not work with markets as you might be used to.
The markets are seperated by languages.

As a Dutch intern you will work for the Dutchspeaking market (Belgium and The Netherlands).
You will do sales and communication.
Brief description of your daily activities: Work on booking requests, handle bookings, customer care, communication.
Work on fairs or visit schools for information flyers and posters.

During easter and summer you have the possibilty to travel to Bournemouth with students from the age of 14-19 who do a language course there.
Brief description of your company assignment: A trend analysis on the current and future trends of the language market.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The supervior for the Dutch market is young and friendly. He would help you in case you need it. He likes students who are independent and take iniative.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? good communications skills (telephone, email etc), French language skills is a plus,
Additional company requirements for this placement? .
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French: Basic
German:
Italian:
Other languages: Dutch mothertongue

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Walking or metro

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Company provides accommodation
How did you go to work every day? By foot (10 minutes)

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? –
How did you arrange the necessary documents: –
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? –
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance? –

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? No

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € Train Breda-Brussels 12 Euros
Accommodation (monthly): € 200 or 350 EUROS
Local transport (monthly): € –
General costs of living (monthly): € 300-400
Costs of visa: € –
Costs of work permit: € –
What did the company pay for/to you? Financial compensation of 600 Euros per month.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
–
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? –

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: kimschutter@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: This is a perfect place for students who prefer to stay ‘close’ to the Netherlands or Germany but still like to work abroad in a international atmosphere. Moreover, the company provides housing and a financial compensation. You can also apply for eramus scholarship, although you might be on a waiting list due to the amount you earn per month.

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Brussels is a big and international city. There are plenty of bars to go out and a big shopping street.
You can travel by train to Bruges, Antwerp, Paris etc.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link