Yasin Karakus, 30, from Turkey reveals how he prepared for life in the Netherlands
First language: Turkish
It took me a year and a half to prepare for the test of spoken Dutch as part of the civic integration programme in Holland. Foreign people who want to become Dutch have to do that programme.
I studied six hours a day, five days a week. The first year of the course was obligatory, but the last six months I chose to study. The amount of study time was very necessary to get the right feel for Dutch.
I am very happy about passing the exam. My speaking skills have increased a lot. I feel comfortable in my new language. On the course we studied reading, writing and listening, and of course how to speak. But the language wasn't the only thing. Our teachers taught us about Dutch culture too, for instance about Dutch laws. It was quite tough to learn.
After my first year of study I started my own delicatessen business. Without the course it would have been impossible for me to do this. I had to arrange a lot with the local government.
The final test was very useful, but also very difficult. We had to answer some question about a story on the screen of our computer. But some of us didn't know that you can scroll down and just read half of the text.
I now feel ready to start a new life now, but you learn the real language on the street.