Don’t worry if you are not happy with your Dutch yet…
This may change sooner than you think!
One thing is truly amazing. Time flies! Certainly when you are in Holland….
Initially you thought it would be nice to stay in the Netherlands for a little while. Maybe for one year and then you would go back or maybe you would move to another place. But, somehow you liked it, or whatever you just did not move.. and then you were here for two years, three years, three years… All kinds of things happened, good and bad…
And then, sooner or later (for some people only after 10 years) a weird (or maybe not so weird) question all of a sudden pops up: why don’t I speak Dutch? Why is that everyone still needs to speak English to me, even when I am the only non Dutch speaker in this room?
Time passes quickly in The Netherlands.
It is quite normal to live there for 10 years and not speak any Dutch at all!
Well… if everyone switches over to English, then good for you! At least it is convenient…. But… chances are high that quite sometimes you miss some freedom. There are just some things that you cannot do by yourself and then you always have to ask others if they like to help you. Or maybe you go to social events and you feel a bit left out if all the others are speaking and laughing in Dutch!
Therefore, wanting to speak Dutch is not such a crazy idea. In a way, it is about independence and freedom! It will also give you more options… More jobs will be available for you and it is always nice if you can chose, right?
But… attention here… here is the official warning…
No… you will not pick up Dutch automatically! Sure… it looks like a natural process. You just come to a new country, you have some interactions with people and then somehow, you’ll pick it up. Although it works to some extent – you must have picked up words such as kaas, gezellig en fiets – it is not going to happen. Yes, you picked up your first language as a baby, by simply listening and imitating but as you probably have found out for yourself, for some reason history will not repeat itself again… If you like to speak Dutch, it will require some more effort from your part…
But… luckily a solution is there… you could do a Dutch course after work! If you go two times a week after work for a couple of hours and then, certainly if you do some homework, then this will do the trick, right? Well.. if it works for you, then congratulations… but for most people it doesn’t work… First of all, after work you feel to tired and then before you know it, you start to skip a class. Your intention really is to study extra hard and to put in some extra hours for home work but somehow, it does not happen. And then, before you know it, you miss a class again… Then when the course moves on, it just makes less and less sense to you. On top of it, maybe you don’t even like it. Or, if somehow you do like your classes, it still looks almost impossible to speak Dutch fluently one day…
Trying to memorize something that you do not understand after work
will not really put you in a good and receptive mood!
Here is another strange thing… even if you go to classes regularly, even if you do all your homework, somehow it does not move forward. Yes, you studied a lot, you read a lot of stuff, but… you are not speaking! This happens to most people, so if you are one of them, then actually you are not alone!
Luckily there is some good news… there is a way to turn it around. It does not matter, whether you are merely a fresh beginner or whether you have already stayed in the Netherlands for more than 10 years. But… you must be willing to open your mind first…. If you like to see new possibilities for you, when it comes to speaking Dutch, it is important that at least for a short moment, you are willing to put all those negative ideas that you may have about speaking Dutch aside.
There is a great place call Dutch Flow
where everything is different!
The great news is this: there is a place that you could call Dutch Flow. It is a place where learning Dutch and speaking Dutch is easy. It is a place where everything feels lighter and where you move forward fast. If you like, you could also call it the zone of rapid learning.The first thing that you need to do is quite simple… just be curious… Just be open to the idea that a place like Dutch Flow exists and then simply wonder if you like there… Hopefully, your answer is yes 🙂 Don’t worry how to get there, because in a certain way, it is quite easy. Here is the secret formula, so to speak:
- Decide
- Learn fast and have fun
- Be unstoppable
Believe it or not, actually it is that easy. But… it does means that if you like these steps, you’ll have to to things that are radically different and some principles may even be counter intuitive. Sadly enough, when it comes to learning, many people associate it with study, loads of homework, complex thing and being seriouss… If you follow the steps you’ll quickly notice that the opposite is true and that you can even have more fun than you ever imagined. Here is some other good things if you like to be lazy (at least in secret), if you like to learn fast it works better if you work with brainfriendly techniques that make you fee good too!
If you like this idea, then feel free to explore some things at your own pace. There is a FREE eBook that will gently guide you through the 3 simple steps that lead to Dutch Flow. If you apply them, you’ll notice a radical difference, you’ll feel more empowered and you’ll soon be open to the idea that speaking Dutch with confidence and ease could also be possible for you!
Speaking Dutch is fun & easy
when you open your mind
Also, if you like a live class environement, then it might be a good idea to the FREE workshop! You’ll discover for yourself why traditional language courses do not really work and what you can do, so that you can move forward fast. Great progress can already happen with a simple mindshift, so if you like this idea then fee free to join!
Last but not least, if you have been wanting to speak Dutch, then don’t wait too long! You’ll feel much more at home if you can freely communicate with everyone around you and do whatever you like.
If you genuinly don’t like Dutch, that is fine. But… is somehow you believe that it has something to do with you, then make sure that at least you’ll have a first positive experience with speaking Dutch somehow… Sure… it might be a new idea to you, but… new things could make your life richer and more exciting, don’t you think? At least it is always good to go for a whole new adventure!
Last, but not least, do not believe other Dutch people it they like to convince you that Dutch is a very diffucult language because of its complex and illogical construction. Dutch is the closest language to English and in a way, you could see it as a simplified version of German. Therefore, it is not up to Dutch people to decide whether you’ll have the talent or not… but… someone must make the decision that speaking Dutch with confidence and ease is possible. Hopefully that person will be you! 🙂