Speak Dutch in 2024!
A new year is always a great moment for imagination… Many people love to think of new radical changes that somehow would make life a lot better and speaking a new language is one on them…
But… let’s be honest. Even if you decide that this year you want to speak Dutch for real, then somehow chances are high that you will not succeed. Most people will miserably fail, even if they have good intentions to change things for the better. Luckily you do not have to be one of them. If speaking Dutch is something that you really like, then you can achieve it, if you follow the next five tips.
1 Make sure that you realize that speaking Dutch is important
Let’s face it… if you don’t speak Dutch, you will not die… You can have a job in which you only speak English and then if you earn enough money, you can get anything that you like. You can buy new clothes, go to the supermarket and even buy a new house. That is why it is easy to believe that you do not really need Dutch
On the other hand, you must have noticed that quite often you are the only non Dutch speaking person in the room. This is not really a problem of course, because most Dutch people can easily switch to English and have a conversation in Dutch if you like. At the same time, you may have noticed that it is not always to fully participate. When Dutch people speak Dutch with each other, they will of course talk about many other things. So yes, you will certainly miss out on certain things.
Speaking Dutch is all about freedom. It is easier to do things that you really like, if you don’t have to depend on other people…
Many people admit that somehow it does not feel good if anyone in the room has to switch over to English, just because of you. It is not really fair if let’s say ten people have to do effort of speaking another language, just because of one person. But… somehow you can also learn quite quickly how to tolerate this uneasy feeling. This is why it can take a long time before people really decide now it is enough! Say to yourself: I just want to speak Dutch, just like anyone else/
It is good to realize that speaking Dutch is all about freedom. Sure, if you need a translation in English then many Dutch people can help you. But… why wait? It is easier if you can do more things all by yourself!
2 It is all about a decision
Basically, speaking a new language starts with a decision. You decide Dutch and then you do it. But here is an important thing: first you have to know how to speak Dutch, before you can speak Dutch. And then, you really need to speak Dutch, if you like to speak Dutch.
If you know what you want to do, then make a choice and just do it! Gaan met die banaan (go with that banana), is something that Dutch people would say!
Therefore look out that you do not walk in this very popular trap. You decide that you like to speak Dutch and then you continue your normal life speaking English. Sure, you may decide to use some more little Dutch phrases once in a while, but before you know it you’ll just be speaking English all the time.
If you like to speak Dutch, once and for all, it is important that you dive in Dutch for at least a couple of days in a row. Your brain needs a clear signal that now, you want to speak Dutch for real! When you engage with Dutch for a couple of days in a row, then the signal is very clear. Now it is much easier to use Dutch in every day life…
3 Activate your natural ability to learn
Believe it or not, but you have a natural ability to pick up a lot of Dutch all by yourself. This is great news, because it means that you do not have to study a lot and that there is not a real need for just memorizing loads of new words.
Instead of memorization it is therefore important that you mainly focus on one thing. Make sure that you focus as much as you can on expanding your natural ability to pick up a new language.
The first thing that you need to do is to find out how to get in a certain flow where learning goes without any effort!
One thing is certain… you have to dive in!
Probably, you must have picked up a couple of things already. Probably you already know Dutch words such as hallo, tot ziens en stroopwafels.
By the way, have you noticed that it is easier to pick up Dutch words if they are similar to English? This is not a miracle. When things look familiar or logical to you, then it is easy to pick it up. But, if there are things that you don’t understand then learning these things will be a lot harder.
If you like to expand your natural ability to pick up Dutch all by yourself, then you need to work on really understanding how the language works. Because if you do, everything makes a lot more sense and then learning new things will be a lot easier!
4 What you believe about learning, Dutch and yourself makes a great difference!
Dutch people love to tell that Dutch is one of the most difficult languages in the world. So, what could happen if you believe this? Every time that you struggle, you will find a new piece of evidence that clearly shows you that learning Dutch must be difficult indeed. And then if learning goes slowly you will take it for granted, because it is logical right? If Dutch is really difficult then as a logical consequence, your learning pace must be quite low…
Speaking a new language is all about thinking new thoughts and ideas. Once you know how to do it, you can learn like crazy!
The truth is that many people struggle with Dutch. But… this is not because of the fact that learning Dutch by itself is hard. The only thing is that you have to know how to do it. If you just try to memorize Dutch without really understanding how it works, then learning can take for ever. But.. if you know how it works then you could be surprised how fast you can learn!
Something important to realize is that many people don’t know anything about their own language. For most people it is too difficult to judge whether their language can be easy or difficult for you. But, if you look at science, then you can only come to one conclusion: Dutch is the closest language to English and you could also see it as a kind of German light. Dutch and German have many things in common and they share the same logical system. The only difference is that Dutch is a lot simpler than German!
Here is another important secret… If you see yourself as a person with very poor language skills, then it is easy to guess what will happen. You will end up having poor results of course! But… if you can see yourself as a skillful and resourceful person, then you will have different results! This is not rocket science, right? If you can see yourself as an intelligent person, then great progress is possible…
By the way, what would you think? Would an intelligent person make loads of mistakes? Hopefully, your answer is yes… Learning a new language fast is all about experimenting with new things. An intelligent person realizes that freely experimenting and making loads of mistakes is a very essential part of learning. Every time that you make mistakes, it can lead to new insights. This is why making loads of mistakes is highly important, certainly if you are intelligent! 🙂
5 It is all about a new way of thinking
We already discovered that your way of thinking highly determines your results when you like to speak Dutch. If you can see Dutch as logical, consistent and even funny, then you will learn it faster than when you think that Dutch is really hard, illogical and that you are inadequate. So which thoughts would you rather have?
No one can give you Dutch. It is not something that you can simply order but… there are many fun things that you can do, so that it can be yours within a very short time…
Let’s hope that you would rather have positive thoughts than negative ones. If this is the case, then it is important that you can discover for yourself that these positive thoughts are true. If you don’t understand what you are learning and if you still affirm to yourself that everything is simple and easy, then of course you will not believe it. You will only get frustrated then!
That is why speaking Dutch starts with changing your way of thinking. Instead of looking at the world with English speaking eyes you can learn – with logical steps – how to look at the world with Dutch eyes. If you are open, you can discover very quickly how it works to create sentences in Dutch, how you can explode your vocabulary once you start to think within a Dutch system!
The great thing is that Dutch is quite similar to English and… there are some important differences. Once you can see what the differences are, you can change your thinking. You can learn how to think Dutch, instead of English and then many great things are possible!
Here is some help:
If you like to speak Dutch for real in 2024, then here are some things that can put you on the right track!
First of all, there is a free eBook, Don’t Worry Speak Dutch, that reveals the 3 secret steps to Dutch Flow
And for those that are absolutely determined about a big change, there is a special Dutch Brainwash Course that shows you how to bring your Dutch to a whole new level within only 7 days. You will not only dramatically expand your natural ability to learn and speak Dutch, you will discover many more fascinating things about yourself, your mind, Dutch, English and languages in general!
If speaking great Dutch is something that you genuinely like, then feel free to email me!