What is “vmbo” in the Dutch school system?
Vmbo is niet dom: over schoolniveau en vooroordelen
A2 Dutch listening practice · Dutch · Curated for beginners
Vmbo is the lowest of three Dutch high-school tracks. The country sorts students at age 12: vwo prepares for university, havo for college, vmbo for vocational training. The cultural stigma sticks: vmbo carries a dom (“dumb”) tag, even though those kids grow up into well-paid plumbers, nurses, and electricians. The stratification is one of the most-criticized parts of the Dutch system, and OECD reports periodically push the country to delay the streaming until later.
In this NPO Zapp clip, a girl at a Rotterdam vmbo (Carnisse College) describes how classmates Lila and Bo cooled off: “Alsof ik dommer en slechter ben dan de mensen op het vwo.”
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this A2 Dutch listening practice listening practice?
General Dutch frequency
Spoken Dutch frequency
Words above this video’s level
Quick glosses for vocabulary that goes beyond this video’s A2 level.
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-NL 2014 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.
- ▸In Dutch education-policy reporting (NRC Onderwijs, De Volkskrant, Trouw)
- ▸In Dutch teen TV addressing class divides (*Brugklas, SpangaS, Welkom Thuis*)
- ▸In OECD-comparative coverage of European school systems (OECD Education, Onderwijsinspectie, SCP)
- ▸In Dutch youth-debate broadcasting (NPO Radio 1, BNR Nieuwsradio, Het Klokhuis)