How to become fluent in dutch
How I did it: Immigrants to the Netherlands are required to prove language & cultural competence. Although you can do self-study and simply test out, most enroll in courses. The study guide for those courses is Nederlands voor Buitenlanders, which uses the Delft method of language instruction. As far as I know, that method hasn't found it's way to other languages, which is a shame. It uses text & CDs to teach vocabulary & fluidity in speech. There is little emphasis on grammar which, for a native English speaker, is the most difficult aspect of the Dutch language. Still, it's a great method & in four months, I reached a level high enough to qualify for university. Fluency came much much later because I was very shy & hesitant to practice. Your mileage may vary. I also benefited from living with a Dutch-speaking husband and two step-sons (though their English became very quickly much better than my Dutch!) and I'm "required" to speak Dutch at home.
Lessons & tips:
* Enlist the help of someone who speaks ABN (Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands) or "proper" Dutch to practice speaking the language. For such a small country, the Netherlands has quite a few strong regional variations (think, akin to the Cajun dialect), though there is one official language.
* Don't be a shy ninny like I was! The more you speak, the better you get. Dutch people are famous for their tolerance of people who just try to speak their language. In fact, they're so tolerant, if they hear an American or English accent, they often will seamlessly slip into English and before you know it, your Dutch skills fly out the window! Don't let them!Continue speaking Dutch even if they answer in English. They'll respect you for it. And if worse comes to worse, do what better-educated Dutch do, sprinkle your Dutch with English phrases. The higher-educated, the more they do this. Go with the flow!
* If in the Netherlands, watch lots of commercial TV senders (RTL, Veronica, for example). Most films are left in English with Dutch subtitles. You'll learn to read Dutch in no time (though you'll also learn a lot of salty language as Dutch TV is much more liberal than American)
Resources:
- In-Flight Dutch (audio CD & guide)
- Nederlands voor Buitenlanders (text & CD)
- Rosetta Stone - Dutch (though I don't recommend it to assess your accent; my Dutch husband never gets a perfect rating)
