A simple technique that leads to Dutch fluency fast

Have you been learning Dutch for a while and do you notice that somehow your fluency is lagging behind? Then keep on reading... With a simple technique you could speak much more Dutch than you could ever imagine :) 

Let's start with a simple question.... Imagine that you like to speak great Dutch. Then what would you do? If you are like most people, you would probably  start learning some new words and hopefully you would also make sure that you have a certain grasp of grammar.  But then.... what would you do next? 

If you are like most people, you would mainly be focused on memorizing stuff. Sure, you might have the intention to put everything that you learned in practice one day, but.... in most cases chances are high that all your newly acquired knowledge would remain passive for quite a long time... 

The magic of the bull shit sentence 

The problem is very simple. Most people wait with talking until they really need something. I call it needy communication. For a long time they do not say anything until something happens and then they like to say things: oops! I think I am lost! Or: I guess that I made a mistake..... 

In a certain way it makes absolute sense that you start speaking Dutch when you need it. But... it immediately creates a huge problem. All of a sudden you may ask certain things in Dutch and then when you hear this, chances are high that it does not make any sense. One thing is certain.... even the simplest things can be different from Engllish..... 

So imagine that somehow you'll hear or read what to say in Dutch in that specific case. Will you remember it? Probably you would say this sentence or word only once and then before you know it, you would forget this word again :( 

Here is another problem. Most people keep thinking in English and then they try to translate it word by word. One thing is certain, if you think in English first, then it is very easy to get stuck. It could take less than 4 seconds? 

Luckily there is good news. It is relatively easy to get to more Dutch fluency fast.... Don't think in English first.... Make sure that you start thinking in Dutch first. All you need to do is to have some Dutch words ready and then, once you know how to connect them and turn them into a sentence, you are already many steps ahead.... 

When most people learn in new language, they tend to learn new words subject by subject. For example, first you talk about the weather, then you talk about your family and then you talk about food. Although it seems to make sense, it is a very slow way of learning. If you only use words in one situation, then you can only talk about one thing. On top of it, if all of a sudden the subject changes, then you do not know what to say.... 

However, what could happen if you could use one word in two, three, four, five, six different situations? All of a sudden, you could talk about more topics, right? Here is the great thing: the more often you use a word, the easier it is to remember.... Before you know it, it will feel far more natural.... 

That one skill that makes all the difference! 

And then.... there is still that other practical skill.... You need to know how to connect words together and turn them into sentences. That is why it is extremely important to make sure that you master this skill as soon as possible. I call it massive sentence generation. You just create hundreds and hundreds of sentences, even if they do not make any sense at all... By the way, if many sentences that you create are actually bull shit, it is even better! 

There is something magic about massive sentence creation. Once you discover for yourself that you can create hundreds of sentences with absolute sense, you'll create a certain flow that immediately leads to more confidence. 

Here is another great thing..... Once you can easily generate hundreds and hundreds of sentences fast, then somehow it will be far easier to find the right sentence in many different situations, even if these situations are unexpected.... 

Many people believe that creating bull shit sentences is a useless activity.... They don't make sense, right? The opposite however is true.... While creating bull shit sentences, you'll learn much more than you could ever imagine... 

First of all, you will have far more fun.... Probably you'll laugh a lot.... While opening up your creativity you'll also notice how all kinds of inhibitions such as self criticism simply melt away. To your surprise, you'll also quickly discover what makes sense or not and.... you'll probably discover that much more is possible than you thought in first instance. 

Simply start thinking in endless possibilities

The great thing about massive sentence generation is that you do not have to study a lot... While using many words again and again in many ways - sometimes in ways that are absolutely ridiculous, you'll find it easier to remember new words and.... the most important thing is that somehow you'll learn how to construct sentences faster and faster :) 

By the way, if you do it with other people, it could even be more fun and you'll learn new things a lot faster! Once again, the problem often is that people are often too 'careful' when they try to say something in Dutch and the energy of being cautious all the time is quite low. 

High energy is what you need if you like to get to Dutch fluency fast....  Being relaxed, fun, speed, surprises, infinite abundance of possibilities.... 

By the way, people that need to write something may have experienced a writer's block. You need to write something, but somehow you cannot produce a single word....  The cause is often quite simple.... 

How you dissolve your writer's block is how you achieve more fluency

When you write things there are two modes.... The copy mode and the edit mode. When you copy, you simple generate words and sentences. When you edit, then you are far more critical. You change what you have written and often you are quite critical. If you like to write with impact then you surely want to use the correct words and sentences, right? 

Here is an important secret.... When you experience a writer's block then often it was caused by one simple thing... You went into edit mode to quickly! You immediately wanted that perfect sentence with those perfect words and somehow you immediately you got stuck in a very narrow minded tunnel vision.  A great tip that many experts will give you is this: simply  start writing, even if it does not make sense. Just start writing one page, with the silliest things that you can ever imagine and then, all of a sudden clarity shows up! 

It often happens with me that when I write, I produce some paragraphs that end the end, I will throw away. Luckily it does not matter.... it is all about warming up. When you like to speak a new language, it works exactly the same. Make sure that you do not start in edit mode.... Generate copy first, create many sentences, certainly bull shit sentences and watch what will happen :) 

Here is the most important news.... If one thing leads to great confidence fast, then it is your ability to create sentences fast, on the spot.  When you use that principle of needy communication, then you'll notice the opposite effect. When something turns up, you'll start to dig in your memory and it will stop you from being present in the situation right now... However, once you have trained yourself to create hundreds and hundreds of sentences, you'll always find something relevant.... On top of that, you can always be in the moment, relaxed and alert... That is why I highly recommend that you  massive sentence generation first, because then somehow going to Dutch fluency will be a lot easier and fun :) 

By the way, what is one of the silliest Dutch sentences that you have ever created?