Welkom, Voel Je Snel Thuis in Nederland
How to improve your Dutch skills- a free toolkit offered by Taalthuis
Taalthuis’ mission is to have you feel more at home in the Netherlands as soon as possible by learning Dutch. Join us for some valuable -and free!- tips and tricks which will help you practice your Dutch and will speed up your learning progress, big time.
Make mistakes
First of all, work on your mindset. Learning Dutch should be fun and you will learn the most and the quickest whilst relaxed and happy. Look at it as a nice workout. It should be fun and rewarding, but not stressful. It’s not the Olympics and you’re allowed to make mistakes. To set realistic goals is great, but be easy on harsh deadlines for yourself. Learning Dutch takes time and is not easy. It is a process and as long as you show up, you will progress.
You already took a big step by reading this article!
Designate a Dutch area at home
If you have a Dutch partner, you might be trying to figure out when and how to practice your Dutch. Why not designate a specific area in your home where only Dutch is allowed? Taalthuis recommends the kitchen. There is always something that needs to be done in the kitchen, and what is more essential than preparing meals? You will have to put in the effort to communicate!
You can also consider choosing the car as a Dutch-only zone, which is ideal for practising directions (Why not set your navigation to Dutch?) or choose the dining room if you want to step up your game with more advanced conversations.
Designate a Dutch area at work
Another great idea is to designate some tables in the company restaurant as Dutch-only tables during lunch. This would be a perfect solution for you to practice your Dutch, and for your colleagues not to feel guilty about not speaking English. Dutch speakers can join in to help and will take time to help you practice.
Watch the tv show Lingo on Net5
Lingo is a quiz on Dutch television where 5 letter words are guessed and spelled out by a duo of participants. It’s a fantastic way of learning new words and their spelling. Quite a lot of Taalthuis’students have made huge progress by watching Lingo. It is currently broadcasted by Net5 every weekday at 19:00. This is a golden tip if you want to boost your…Dutch Lingo!
Sticky notes
Sticky notes are your friends, especially when you are learning a language. Simply write down the names of objects in Dutch, and stick them to those objects around the house. If that’s too simple, try small sentences. For example, stick: “ik ga koekjes bakken” on the oven or “tot ziens” or “fijne dag vandaag” on the inside of your front door. Why not a motivational ’”Jij ziet er goed uit” or “veel plezier met Nederlands leren!” on your bathroom mirror?
Watch Netflix with Dutch subtitles
Every time you watch something on Netflix, set the subtitles to Dutch. This is a great way to learn Dutch words without effort and whilst relaxing after a busy day. Relaxed minds are open to learn!
Listen to Dutch songs
Choose the Dutch language and you will find nice popular Dutch songs to listen to. This is so much fun and a great way to practice spelling, and listening and also implicitly learn about word order and pronunciation.
Install Dutch apps
Use apps like Duolingo, Quizlet or Memrise to practice vocabulary.
These apps will help you to get started before you enrol in a Dutch course.
Also, if you are a bit more confident and have some basics, switch the language of any of your apps to Dutch!
Jeugdjournaal, watch the news for kids daily
Watch the news for kids on www.jeugdjournaal.nl. It will be easier to grasp than the regular news broadcast, and keeps you informed about what is happening in the country you want to make your home.
Social media
Like the Taalthuis Facebook or Instagram page and keep on learning with each new post or story! Taalthuis posts nice quizzes, nice tips, and activities that are of interest to students of different levels every week for you to practice and learn.
Visit Taalthuis for more free tips and information on how to feel more at home by learning the language