Want to learn Dutch - What do you recommend?

[aphex]

Is there a specific company's product that youve used (not necessarily for Dutch) and liked?

Ive used some spanish ones in the past, some were good and some sucked. I was hoping someone could give me a little insight...

 

[Tiger]

Jump in with both feet, move to Holland.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Tiger
Jump in with both feet, move to Holland.

I am, thats why i want to learn it

 

[apoppin]

Just learn the basics . . . when you get to Holland, don't associate with English-speaking people for at least a month.

It is called "immersion". I went to Brazil knowing very little Portuguese - within a few weeks, I could get around very well by myself (with a dictionary). I was completely "conversational" in the second month.

Of course, I watched Brazilian TV, listened to the radio and went to the movies and associated with people who didn't speak English. Comic books were helpful in picking up the slang.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Just learn the basics . . . when you get to Holland, don't associate with English-speaking people for at least a month.

It is called "immersion". I went to Brazil knowing very little Portuguese - within a few weeks, I could get around very well by myself (with a dictionary). I was completely "conversational" in the second month.

Of course, I watched Brazilian TV, listened to the radio and went to the movies and associated with people who didn't speak English. Comic books were helpful in picking up the slang.

Yea, i plan on 'immersing' myself in the language and culture when i get there. But i also would like a head start.

 

[aphex]

'nudge

 

[Tominator]

Originally posted by: aphexII
Is there a specific company's product that youve used (not necessarily for Dutch) and liked?

Ive used some spanish ones in the past, some were good and some sucked. I was hoping someone could give me a little insight...

Learn German instead....
:Q

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: Tominator

Originally posted by: aphexII
Is there a specific company's product that youve used (not necessarily for Dutch) and liked?

Ive used some spanish ones in the past, some were good and some sucked. I was hoping someone could give me a little insight...

Learn German instead....
:Q

Such a help

I'll be living in the Netherlands, not Germany

 

[aphex]

Anyone??

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

The basic rules of the language are very hard to learn for foreigners, and 99% of the language consists of exceptions to those rules.
The biggest problem you will face when moving here is that the moment people notice you're an American, they will switch to English. Almost everyone here speaks English, and most at quite a decent level too.

Look for Dutch classes anywhere in the region there, and try to learn a bit before moving here. Once you move here take up lessons at the ROC (institute which helps foreigners learn the language etc) I have colleagues from several countries here (Canada, England, Hungary, Italy) and the rest of the people always speaks English to them. We also use English when communicating with our German office, as most people here are far more fluent in English than in German (Biggest mistake you can make here as foreigner: Confuse Dutch with German... Dutch tend to hate Germans even more than the English do).
Even an English or American accent in your Dutch may cause people to switch, even when you speak it fluently

Edit: First link on Google:

Edit 2: Typo fixed (Don't type that well I guess )

 

[Zim Hosein]

Skyclad1uhm1, for someone who lives in Holland, you type very well in Engligh, is it your first language? Just something I noticed by your post.

aphexII, maybe if they make a Dutch for Dummies book, that might be a good place to start.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein
Skyclad1uhm1, for someone who lives in Holland, you type very well in Engligh, is it your first language? Just something I noticed by your post.

aphexII, maybe if they make a Dutch for Dummies book, that might be a good place to start.

Dutch is my primary language, but I got addicted to reading English books at the age of 14, an even heavier addiction to the internet for quite a while (MUDs in particular), high interest in song lyrics, several family members moved to England, and my youngest sister currently resides in Washington DC.
Before that, my English wasn't great, although far better than my French or German.

For those fluent in Dutch, try reading this book.