How to Learn Dutch in Holland

Dutch is a language spoken by about 22 million people across the world. Dutch can be heard and spoken in Belgium, Suriname and Holland. The English language was greatly influenced by Dutch, as many early settlers in America came from Holland. Common words in English such as cookie, come from Dutch (cookie from koekies), so learning Dutch can be fun and familiar. This tutorial teaches you some basic pointers on how to learn Dutch in Holland.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Dutch course book

Learn the Language

1. The first step to learning any language is to learn a bit of the culture behind it. By picking up a few history books or local magazines, you bring yourself into the world of the language, and learn to appreciate the subtleties you might have otherwise missed. Pick up books on Holland and Dutch Culture and go to museums in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to see art from the Dutch.

2. Listen when you are out doing these cultural things. The best way to learn a language is to submerge yourself in it. By listening to native speakers, you gain a greater understanding of how the language sounds. Looking at a word on a page, and hearing it aloud in Dutch, will be very confusing in the beginning.

3. Pick up a language book, such as Colloquial Dutch, or get Rosetta Stone, which is a language-learning software. Both will teach you how words from a page are pronounced. The most difficult part of Dutch is learning how words are pronounced, as letters in combination are pronounced in a different manner from English. Do not worry; after a week of steadily drilling the pronunciation, it will begin to sink in.

4. Before you get the pronunciations perfect, speak the language as much as possible. Add the words you do know into your English, and begin to get them ingrained in your everyday speech. The Dutch are proud of their language abilities. When learning in Holland, you will find a Dutch person will switch to English as soon as they hear you are not a native speaker. This is not them being rude. They are very proud of their ability to speak English, as they speak it well. Keep trying to use Dutch. If you ask to speak only in Dutch, you will often be commended, not frowned upon, no matter what your accent sounds like.

5. Practice every day. It is easy to sit at home by yourself in Holland and not have to speak a word of Dutch to anyone. Go out and explore. Practice the words you know, and try to pick up at least 5 to 10 new words a day. If you learn 10 a day for a year, that is 3,650 words. You'll often learn more than that if you read a bit every day, and say those new words to whoever will listen.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a notebook of all the new words you have learned. Writing them down will reinforce your knowledge. Use online resources. Taalklas is a great place for a free lesson. There are videos there as well, so you can hear the words spoken.

References

• Dish 'n' Dat

Resources

• Taalklas