My quest to learn Dutch!

My name is Beth, 24, and I'm British. My quest over the next 4 weeks is to grasp a good understanding of the Dutch language - Enough to get me around when travelling in the Netherlands. From mid November I will be living 15minutes from Amsterdam for a couple of months. I will blog my experience and things I learn along the way.

[languagenerds-archive]

being understood is the goal

being mistaken for a native is the dream

[gclaxybee-deactivated20181115]

Cutesy Dutch Vocab 🌷

de tulp - tulip

de fiets - bicycle

de eenhoorn - unicorn

de gastvrijheid - hospitality

de zonsondergang - sunset

de dans - dance (n.)

het vuurvliegje - firefly

de regenboog - rainbow

de zandloper - hourglass

het lot - destiny

trots - proud

de magie - magic

de moed - bravery

de liefde - love (n.)

de zomerliefde - summer love

de vallende ster - shooting star

het lied - song

de koptelefoon - headphones

de warme chocomel - hot chocolate 

Chocomel is a brand in the Netherlands producing chocolate milk and basically everyone calls chocolate milk “chocomel” (instead of the longer “chocolademelk”). Fun fact: the brand chocomel is called “cécémel” in Belgium. (Thanks @ikstudeer )

Corrections are welcome ^-^

[anderedingen]

When you type exactly what the Duolingo woman wants you to type, but you have no idea what it means.

[dutchmission]

Day 4

Dutch Alphabet

I will write how I hear them next to the letter! 

A - ‘ah’ 

B - ‘bey’

C - ‘sey’

D - ‘day’

E - ‘ay’

F - ‘ef’

G - ‘hhay’ (This is the throat one!!)

H - ‘hah’

I - ‘ee’

J - ‘yay’

K - ‘kar’

L - ‘el’ 

M - ‘em’

N - ‘en’

O - ‘oh’

P - ‘pey’

Q - ‘coo’

R - ‘err’ (roll r’s)

S - ‘es’

T - ‘tey’

U -  ‘uu’ (oooo)

V - ‘vey’ (kinda with an f sound slightly?)

W - ‘vey’

X - ‘ix’

Y - ‘ay’

Z - ‘zed’

[dutchmission]

Day 3

Zijn - To be

Ik ben Bethany (I am...)

Zij zijn ... (They are....)

Zij is een meisje. (She is a girl)

Jij/je bent... (You are. Singular. Informal)

U bent... (You are... Sing/Plur. Formal)

Wij/we zijn (We are...)

Jullie zijn... (You are... Plural. Formal.)

[dutchmission]

Day 3

Heb, heeft, hebben

To have = Hebben 

I have = Ik heb

You have = u/jij hebt

You have (plural) = Jullie hebben

She has = Zij heeft

He has = Hif heeft

It has = Het heeft

The ----- has = De/het heeft

We have = Wij hebben

They have = Zij hebben

Examples:

- Ik heb een hond

- Mijn broer heeft een hond

- Wij hebben een hond

[dutchmission]

Day 2.5

Ok - I’ve just tried out Memrise (to see if it’s better than Duolingo) and I really like it! I love that it’s quite repetitive and, therefore, helps you remember words easily. I have set a goal on Memrise to complete 45 minutes of activities a day - This will be additional to my other revision towards learning Dutch :) 

[ee-far]

How To Stay Motivated Learning A Language

Motivation is an important element of the language learning process. In this busy world it’s hard to keep a consistent level of excitement in learning a new language. Certain parts of every language can be a stumbling block, If you feel like giving up, it doesn’t mean that it’s time to quit. It might just mean that it’s time to take a closer look at what motivates you.   I will try and give you some tips on how to stay motivated when learning a foreign language. Hope you’ll find them useful!

Remember why you started. What made you start learning in the first place? Friendship? Love? Family? Self-improvement? Travel? Work? The reasons for learning a language are varied and often personal. Remember your reason. Use it to motivate you to keep going, keep learning and keep improving. 

Be clear about your goals. Defining your language learning goals is another important element of staying motivated and focused on whatever it is you’re trying to achieve. What does success look like for you? Try to visualize it. Write it down and come back to it regularly to keep the mental image of success fresh in your head. Every time your motivation decreases slightly, remind yourself of what achieving your goals looks and feels like. 

Don’t aim for mastery.  They say that the perfect is the enemy of the good. This is doubly true when it comes to language learning. The language learner who progresses the most is usually the one who takes the most risks, makes the most mistakes, fails the most often - but doesn’t give up. Communicating is messy, creative work, and you’ll hold yourself back if you strive for perfection. There’s no need to drill yourself until you’re exhausted. Do your best and move on. Give yourself permission to be “good enough”. 

Talk to people.  While it can be scary talking to people in a foreign language, it can also be exhilarating to put what you’ve learned into practice! Languages exist because humans are driven to communicate. What better way to apply what you’re learning than by talking to an actual human being? No matter your level, you’ll progress more quickly - and be more motivated to keep learning - if you find a patient conversation partner, either in person or online. You’ll find that most native speakers are thrilled to speak their language with you. 

Don’t compare yourself to other people. Instead of comparing yourself to other language learners, compare your current level to your level in the past, for example last month or last year. That way, you will be able to see the extent of progress you’ve made and boost your motivation. Always comparing yourself to other people can have the opposite effect.

Make language learning part of your routine. You don’t want learning a language to become a chore. There’s nothing less motivating than learning something just because you feel you have to. The key is to transform your thinking about learning so that you don’t see it as an addition to your day but as an intrinsic part of your day. There are various things that you can do to help make language learning part of your routine:

Read for 20 minutes on the train/bus to school or work.

Listen to a podcast or anything in your target language for 5-10 minutes you are walking.

Work in your textbook when you find yourself free at random times of the day

Write a page in you notebook just before going to bed.

Chat with a family member or a friend (it better be a native speaker) in your target language whenever you get the chance to do so.

Don’t Give Up. There is a Japanese proverb which neatly reflects another major component of language-learning success “Fall down seven times, get up eight”. The proverb reminds us to have a holistic and realistic view of the learning process. see this Learning language and time management .

Always remember that without a real desire to learn, you’re going to be fighting an uphill battle. 

[dutchmission]

Love this!

[dutchmission]

Day 2

Not the study session I wanted today! Managed to squeeze an hour in on Duolingo doing activities. Has anyone actually achieved good results from Duolingo? I would be really interested in finding out if it has worked for anyone.

What do you think? 

[itsaviolentpornography]

So I think we might actually have somewhere to live over Christmas!! >.< If we can make a deposit in time then we may be living in this beautiful town in the Netherlands for 2 months. We wanted to be in London for one of those months house sitting but we haven’t heard back from the couple… So who knows where we will be but I think if this happens I will be quite happy!

I also started a language blog today to get my dutch up to scratch:

http://dutchmission.tumblr.com/

[dutchmission]

This is my personal/fitness blog ^

[inhalecats]

people who dont live in the netherlands must be really sad because we have stroopwafels

[dutchmission]

A picture from my last visit to Het Heijderbos (this was a local town near the park we stayed in) xo

[dutchmission]

Day 1

Here are my notes from my first proper Dutch revision session! I already have some basic Dutch language understanding but thought I’d begin from basic Dutch phrases.

Dutch Greetings.

1. Hallo/Hoi - Hello (Informal) Goedendag - Good day (Formal)

2. Goedemorgen - Good morning

3. Goedeavond - Good evening

4. Goedenacht - Good night

Dutch Manners.

1. Dankuwel (Formal thank you) Danjewel (Informal thank you)

2. Bedankt (Another informal thank you option!)

3. Zeer bedankt - Thank you very much 

4. Graag gedaan - You’re welcome

5. Alsjeblieft - Please/You’re welcome (Informal)

6. Pardon / Excuseer - Sorry (Formal but also can be used when you bump into someone in the street, for example.)

Examples: Pardon, een koffie alstublieft?

Pardon, waar is de uitgang?

7. Het spijt me - I am sorry (Can be used formally or informally.)

Introducing yourself in Dutch.

1. Informal example: Hallo, ik heet Bethany. Leuk je te ontmoeten. [Hello, my name is Bethany. Nice to meet you.

2. Formal example: Goedendag, ik heet Bethany [include surname here if very formal]. Aangenaam. [Good day, my name is Bethany [surname]. Pleasure to meet you.

Numbers 1 - 10 in Dutch.

1. Een {ayn}      6. Zes {zes}   

2. Twee {tvay}   7. Zeven {zayven}

3. Drie {dree}    8. Acht {acht}

4. Vier {feer}     9. Negen {naygun}

5. Vijf {fayv}     10. Tien {teen}

To practice the numbers I wrote the pronunciation (well, how I think it sounds to me!) next to each number. I also did an activity where I say: ‘Mijn nummer is’. Then I try and say different phone numbers using the dutch language.

Finally, ‘How much does that cost?’

Q - Hoeveel kost het? {Hoo-fayl cost het} How much is it?

A - Het kost {Het cost} It costs...

Additionally, instead of het (it) - Dat (that) or Dit (this) can be used.

[sunstreaker]

Zaandijk, Netherlands by frans.sellies

[dutchmission]

Goal

Hi everybody ! {Hallo allemaal} :) 

In 4 weeks my partner and I will be leaving Mexico (the place I have been travelling in for around 3 months now) and heading to Amsterdam. Initially, we planned to spend a week in Amsterdam, mainly so we could go to the Ziggo dome to watch Placebo! However, we have no plans for Christmas so we thought why don’t we just live there for 2 months?? We think we’ve found potential accomodation 15 minutes on the train from Amsterdam central. It’s so beautiful and we are really excited.

From today my goal is to learn some Dutch everyday. My blog will help support accountability. Additionally, I thought maybe adding my study notes on here would somehow help strengthen. I would like to revise 2 hours minimum a day.