Our student Chinese student Yuyu arrived to Amsterdam in September and already gets compliments about her Dutch! We are impressed! How did she do it? Read the tips she used!
Hi, I am YUYU. I have learnt Dutch for a year online, my recent Dutch level is A2-B1. When I talk with Dutch people, they are always impressed by my Dutch and my pronunciation. I want to share 3 useful tips for learning Dutch efficiently.
Tip 1 Find a language buddy
In my opinion, finding a language buddy is the most efficient way to learn Dutch. If you notice some Dutch speakers are learning your mother tongue, you can ask him/her to be your language buddy. Another way is to find a language buddy online on some of the language exchange websites. In my case, I talk online with my language buddy once a week. We speak Chinese for half an hour and then shift to Dutch for the second half. I have not only improved my Dutch but also got a Dutch friend who taught me about the Dutch culture as well.
Tip 2 Listen to the textbook recordings
Listening to the recordings from the Dutch textbook is a good way to immerse you in a Dutch environment. In my textbook, there are a lot of dialogues from real life. I just play them casually every day, and I suddenly find that I can imitate the dialogues and use some sentences in many situations. For instance, I want to sit down in a cafe. Because I have listened to this sentence many times, I totally put no effort to speak it out and pronounce it perfectly: Is deze plaats vrij? (Is this seat available?). More importantly, listening to the recordings is a much easier and more comfortable way to learn, because you do not have to memorize them! Just listen!
Top 3 Speak Dutch in daily life
When going shopping, going to university, and even doing groceries, trying to speak Dutch is an effective way to learn Dutch as well. In my case, I will think of some Dutch sentences or vocabulary in advance. For example, I want to talk with my Dutch friends about assignments, and I prepare some sentences like “Hoe gaat met de voorbereiding van je opdracht?” (How is your assignment preparation going?). After that, we can have a good conversation about assignments in Dutch. However, sometimes they will shift to English, because they do not understand what you are saying. I understand that is quite frustrating, but we can still insist on replying in Dutch. Just try!
Finally, I hope my tips can help you improve your Dutch. I know that it is not easy to learn a new language, but I want to tell you that you are not alone, I am always on your side.