How to increase your motivation for speaking Dutch

Learning and speaking Dutch….  how do you really feel about it? On one hand you might admit to yourself that it could be important but then… what happens next? What you need is action of course, but… wouldn’t it be a lot easier if you really feel motivated from the very first start? Therefore, here are three tips that can help you!

Something strange happens when it comes to learning Dutch. Although the language is not that difficult, it is the closest language to English and a kind of German light, too many people seem to struggle with it. One of the main challenges has nothing to do with grammar and vocabulary. It is simply finding motivation. This can be a huge problem…

First of all, it seems – at least at first sight – that speaking Dutch is not really necessary. Everyone speaks English – at least good to enough to make you feel at ease –  and it also seems that Dutch people don’t really bother if you speak Dutch or not. On top of that, they  only speak Dutch in the Netherlands and it Belgium, so if you look at the whole planet, it is easy to come to the conclusion that Dutch is an insignificant language anyway…

Then if you just listen to the sound, does it sound beautiful or romantic? When most people think of learning a new language then for obvious reasons, Dutch is not the first language that comes to your mind.

Being together if often not enough…
If often helps if
you also understand the people around you! 

But… if somehow the idea is bugging you that you don’t speak Dutch, then something must be going on. Have you ever had negative feelings about not speaking Icelandic, Portuguese, Russian or Chinese? So here is a simple trick… How do you feel about not speaking one of these languages? If you have a neutral reaction, then it is crystal clear… Somehow, these language are not really important for you. But… if you feel somewhat stressed or annoyed about not speaking Dutch, then the message is clear… Speaking Dutch is important… you just tried to ignore it for some time…

So how do you make sure that speaking Dutch does not only remain a phantasy or a dream? Here are some three things that could help you!

1 Find many great reasons for speaking Dutch and simply ask this simple question
Just sit for a while and think about all the possible benefits that speaking Dutch could give you. For example, you know that it is a great way of showing respect to other people. And then… don’t stop here… Because now it is time to go the the benefit of this. What is the benefit if people feel more respected by you? A possible answer could be that they will treat you better as well and share more things. Then – you can already predict it, what could be the benefit of that? It would help you to feel more appreciated and confident, right? Then, what could be the benefit of that?

What you’ll see is that if you go for the benefit of the benefit of the benefit of the benefit, that somehow all of a sudden you realize that speaking Dutch has great impact on very important aspects of your life. Once you really realize this for yourself, it is easy to put it high on your priority list, at least for a couple of months….

2 Go and look for benefits on the very short term 
When most people think of the benefit of speaking Dutch, then they often think of benefits on a very long term. For example, if you speak fluent Dutch, then you could have another job. But, there is one little problem? When do you think that this could happen? Probably your mind will tell you that this is only possible after, 4,5 or 100 years and then… it is difficult to feel the motivation to act, right  now!

But… here is a great secret… There are many benefits that you can enjoy almost immediately. First of all, you’ll experience what is really going on around you. You’ll start to recognize more things that surround you and all of a sudden you start to understand Dutch culture on a deeper level. You’ll understand Dutch people a lot better, certainly when they speak English to you!

Another important impact is that you feel much more in control and with every new insight that you get, you’ll feel more intelligent. Learning new words can also be quite addictive. Every time that you get new insights or every time that you lean new things, your brain will release a chemical substance that gives the same feeling when you solve a Sudoka puzzle for example. This feeling is really good and… it is very healthy and it helps you to create real happiness 🙂

Instant gratification
is a great technique
that should never be underestimated! 

Mother nature is quite wise…. learning is important in our evolution as a person and as human beings… Therefore, learning is literally a natural state. It is mother’s nature way to say that you are right on track!

Here is another great benefit on the short term… if you could dedicate a couple of days to learning Dutch, then you have the perfect excuse to leave your work for a while.  In many jobs, there is a chance that you do many things on an automatic pilot and that somehow with many things you enter a kind of tunnel vision. When you stop working just for a couple of days, you’ll notice that probably you get new ideas for your work as well… The reason is simple. Learning Dutch forces you to think in new ways, and once you start to see more possibilities for speaking Dutch, you’ll also find inspiration for other areas in your life…

3 See Dutch as a tool to really develop yourself! 
When most people think about speaking Dutch, then they tend to think that you need to say some phrases, just to buy some cheese in the supermarket. But… luckily, learning and speaking Dutch is much more than that!

When you learn Dutch in a certain way, you can also discover many things about yourself. When it comes to learning, many people somehow have limiting ideas. Too many people believe about themselves that they are bad at languages without any good reason. Here is some great news – and maybe some bad news for others – your scores at school say very little about your real ability to speak Dutch in real life. The reason is simple. Speaking Dutch does not require one skill and only memorizing things is certainly not enough! Once you learn how to play and how to be less serious, you’ll experience for yourself that new ways of learning magically open up!

One great benefit is always that sense of accomplishment… When you speak Dutch, it will reflect on you in many positive ways. And by the way, always tell Dutch People that Dutch is the hardest language to learn on this planet, because then they will admire you even more 🙂

Learning can be fun
your survival depends on it.
No wonder  it often feels great, if you do it the natural way! 

What motivates you? 

So here you got tricks that you  can use for finding motivation, so that starting and continuing is really easy. Now the most important question is: what motivates you? Is there anything that we should add? Please give your comments, so then we can share it with other people! Feel free to be creative with your answers!

P.S: would you like to find motivation in a live workshop and start 2018 with a great boost? Then click here