Dutch Language

Starter Guide

6 SECRETS FOR
EVERY

BEGINNER
You want to learn Dutch, but you feel
overwhelmed and don't know how to
start. Let me help you!

Hi! My name is Vivian!

I help English-speaking expats to speak Dutch, so that

they go from feeling overwhelmed to feeling confident
in daily Dutch situations.

© Vivo Dutch 2021 - all rights reserved

www.vivodutch.com
 In this guide, I share

6 SECRETS FOR
EVERY
BEGINNER

so that you start your Dutch language journey

in a successful way.

Join my free community here

Secret

Don't start with learning grammar.

1

You are probably wondering where to start. Well, the thing that you shouldn't start with is
learning grammar. If you focus on grammar as a beginner, there's a good chance it's
going to bore you. But the main thing is that just learning grammar is not going to be very
useful because you won't be able to apply it to anything. My advice would be to learn
grammar when you find the necessity. Learn grammar when you need grammar to
improve your speaking.

Okay, but what would be a better start? Speaking from the first minute?
 Secret
Don't speak from the beginning.
2
This one needs some explanation, right?!
Don't get me wrong. You should start speaking Dutch as soon as you can, but the first
thing isn't just guessing Dutch words and trying to create sentences and just speaking
in public.
The most important thing to start speaking Dutch is input. That means a lot of
listening. First comes listening and then comes mimicking and repeating. Having the
necessary input is what's going to help you. This input provides a large 'database' in
your Dutch brain. This is your receptive knowledge.

Let me give you an example:

You want to learn how to say 'how are you' in Dutch. A great way to learn would be to
listen to your teacher or an audio file of someone saying this phrase. The next thing
would be repeating and mimicking this phrase out loud. So, input first, repeat it, and
say it back. This means you can start speaking from the first minute, but it's not the
first thing you should do. Get it?
Now, you are probably asking yourself: 'where can I find the input?'
I have some great tips for you! But first, let's take a look at the next secret.

Secret
Create an immersive environment.
3
Listen as much as possible to
Dutch.
It's no problem if you don't
understand everything, just hear
as much as you can.
You need to really immerse
yourself in the Dutch language,
especially when you have no
Dutch friends or colleagues yet.
Small things can make a huge
difference:

When you go to the

supermarket, don't use the
self-checkout, but wait in line,
listen to the other customers,
and interact with the staff.
Use Dutch subtitles when
you watch tv shows or
Netflix.
Put videos or music on when
you get ready for the day or
when you clean.
 TIPS

SUBTITLES TV
Look for the Teletekst/text button on your remote.
Go to page 888 and you will see the Dutch
subtitles while you watch Dutch television.

SUBTITLES for BROWSERS

Use a Google Chrome Extension to watch
Netflix/Youtube with subtitles in two languages at
the same time (for example Dutch & English)

THE NEWS
- Jeugdjournaal is on TV and online available,
NETFLIX movies
including articles. It's in basic Dutch!
- Zwaar verliefd
- NOS journaal
- Ja, ik wil!
- RTL nieuws
- Alles voor elkaar
- Toon
- Schone handen
NPO START
- Mannenharten
Here you can watch all the Dutch NPO 1, 2 &
- Wat is dan liefde
3 programs, series, and shows. It's available
- De surprise
online, as well as an app for your smart tv.
Shows/series I would recommend:
DUTCH MUSIC ARTISTS
- Boer zoekt vrouw
- Marco Borsato
- Dertigers
- Guus Meeuwis
- Het klokhuis
- Gers Pardoel
- Wie is de mol?
- Jurk
- De keuringsdienst van waarde
- Maan
- First dates
- Volumia
- De jeugd van tegenwoordig
There are plenty of options on NPO start.
- Bløf
Just browse through it and I am sure you will
- Nielson
find something you like!
- Nick en Simon
- Ali B
- Abel
- André Hazes
- Paul de Leeuw
- Trijntje Oosterhuis
Secret
Learn phrases instead of words.
4

A lot of people start learning Dutch lists of the top 100 most used words etc.
These lists are not going to help you that much. Yes, you want to increase your
vocabulary, but knowing the Dutch words for 'chair', 'grandmother', 'telephone' and
'kitchen' isn't really going to get you anywhere. My suggestions would be to learn
phrases. We speak languages in phrases, in dialogues, so random words are not going to
help you go from zero to actual speaking.
However, if you have lists and you want to get the most out of them, write a useful
sentence with every word in it and learn those sentences.
Did you write some sentences and do you want my feedback? Join my private Facebook
group, share your sentences and I will correct them if needed.

JOIN FACEBOOK GROUP

 Secret
5
Set goals & evaluate those goals.

Why do you want to learn Dutch?

What is your goal?

You probably have some long-term goals like 'making friends', 'finding a job',
'pass the integration exam'.
That's great! But it isn't something to achieve within just 1 week, right?

Try to set short-term goals too! Like, 'by the end of the week, I want to ask for the
receipt in Dutch'. Or, 'in 2 weeks, I want to be able to order a drink in Dutch'.
Keep it simple and doable. Set a goal that is realistic. Something you want to
learn, based on your daily life.

So, do not create a goal like :

'I want to learn Dutch grammar', or
'learning the past tense'.
Create a goal for a situation, an
action. And discover what you
need in order to get achieve that
goal. Which vocabulary, which
grammar do you need?
The situation first, grammar
second.

Set short-term goals and evaluate.

Did you achieve the goal? What
works for you? And if you didn't
achieve it, why was that?
 Secret
6
Stick to one main resource.

Nowadays, one of the most

common mistakes that
people make is that they try
to grab everything that they
can. But it's the paradox of
choice. There is so much
stuff available, it might get
you confused or
overwhelmed.

Find 1 resource (okay

maybe 2) that you like, find
interesting and
comprehensible. Use that
resource, and then you can
build the basic skills and
then you can move on to
other resources.

Don't buy 3 grammar books,

follow 5 YouTube channels,
take lessons, and use
Duolingo all at once. Keep it
clean and simple at the
start.


Let's start this awesome language journey

and let me be your guide.
You've got this!

I hope you find this guide helpful. I've

created it with passion and I hope that you
are as enthusiastic about learning Dutch
as I am!

Groetjes,
Vivian

Vivian
✓ Certified Dutch teacher
✓ Native speaker
✓ 7 years experience
✓ Former assessor for the integration
exam

I help English-speaking expats learn how

to speak Dutch so that they feel confident
in daily Dutch situations.

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vivian@vivodutch.com with other Dutch learners, ask me
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