KNS - more dreaded than the portfolio (if that's even possible!)

Every Thursday in class is KNS day.  Or Welkom in Nederland (that is the course book).  I hate it.  No, hate is a strong word.  I love learning about the Netherlands and the history and the culture.  I do not love learning about the bureaucracy.  Not one little bit.  Last week we had a series of tests from the first five chapters of Welkom in Nederland and one of the tests I failed!  I was absolutely mortified with myself (I only failed by two questions, but fail=fail).  I don't fail.  Ever.  Well, except that one exam the day after Melbourne Cup 1998, but we won't discuss that...  I thought that I would be good to go by now with the KNS exam, but clearly I need to spend some more time learning how long the Consultatiebureau will be poking their noses into my life once I have children. 

The site I posted about last week has been really helpful, I've been using it regularly for the tegenstellingen oefeningen and I also have an even bigger list of words given to me by my teacher to study.  Yesterday I downloaded and installed the elektronisch praktijkexamen,which if you haven't already done run, don't walk!  I've already done the practice test once, and this time around I scored 90% (which I think is the same as last time - I must have made the same mistakes), so if I can score that well, everyone can!  The downside is, you don't find out which answers were incorrect to improve.  I'll have to sit down and do the test again with Maarten to ensure I get it right.

My next plan is to download and install the kennis Nederlandse samenleving which I've also already practiced (82%) so surely can improve upon that result.  My biggest problem is that I have such strong opinions about the samenleving and I need to remember to give the answer that they want, not the answer that I believe is correct!

If you've done the practice exams, tell me how you went.  If you haven't do them, then tell me how you went!  And to those of you who are studying, enjoy the summer holidays!  I can't wait to have a couple of extra nights to myself each week again.  I don't know what I'm going to do with myself!  What plans do you have?  Extra study?  Knocking the portfolio on the head?  Taking a break from the entire business?  I know I've got a wedding to plan - I've got less than three months to go!

available at bol.com if you don't already have it.

Practice Practice Practice!

Last week at school, my teacher gave us a new learning tool.  It is a website with a lot of different practice tests, and then at the end of each you can do a small test to see how you went. You can use it here:  wandel-abc.nl

I've so far found it to be invaluable.  I feel like I have most of the inburgering exam stuff under my belt after completing one of the practice exams in class, but I was finding it difficult to learn opposites (eg. 'dik' and 'dun').  This site is brilliant for that!  I obviously have no clue as to the actual usefulness of the site when it comes time to sit the exams, but it's teaching me vocab, which is the most important thing for me now (now that I'm learning how to make sentences properly and understand grammar better thanks to my last post).

Now, as usual the KNS oefeningen is very preachy.  Example:

Perhaps it's just me, but I don't feel that preaching healthy behaviour is essential for immigration..?  But hey.  I was born under a rock (in the minds of the creators of the inburgering course), so I clearly do not know what is good for me.  I need to be told.

All jibes aside, check out the site, it is VERY useful!