What do you need to do if you want to speak Dutch? Speaking Dutch of course... this idea seems obvious. If you never start speaking Dutch, it is difficult to speak Dutch for real, right? No wonder that speaking Dutch is absolutely essential. Talking about no-brainers....
So why don't learners speak Dutch more often then? There are many 'good' reasons.... So many things can stand in the way that stop you from speaking Dutch... One important reason is English. Before you know it, Dutch people switch over to English, while pretending that they just want to help you... On top of that, proably you already figured out that speaking English seems to be more efficient than speaking Dutch. It is easier, faster and you can quickly get what you want. Why would you struggle?
So, what do you need to do if now once and for all you like to improve your Dutch? A logical idea would be to eradicate English completely. Make sure that you are forced to only speak Dutch. Engels verboden! English forbidden! Just start speaking Dutch and then bit by bit it will get better and one day you'll be fluent. The idea seems logical, but does it really work like this?
I have to admit from personal experience that if people do not speak English at all, it can certainly help you. It allowed me to learn and speak fluent Spanish. Often it is actually great if circumstances force you to be creative and work with the things that you know. If you like to speak a language for real, it is important that you do it as often as possible and then if you don't switch to English, it certainly helps. At least you'll stay right on track.
Ouch! There is some bad news!
But... unfortunately there is also some serious bad news. Yes, you'll learn things and it can help you to become fluent and... at the same time there are some severe limitations. I have been training countless people as a Dutch language coach for more than 20 years and a long long time I ago, I sincerely believed that if somehow people started to speak Dutch, then the rest would follow automatically and take care of itself.
I used to believe that shyness or inhibition was the main reason that people found it difficult to speak Dutch. That was why my main focus was to encourage people to say things in Dutch. I was hoping that if people could say: Ik eet stroopwafels, that then things would continue. once people just started. But... after observing my students again and again for more than 20 years, now my conclusions are different of course. The whole thing is a bit more nuanced, I would say , and yes... this is still an understatement.
Speaking for real needs much more than just overcoming resistance
It is true that if you feel shy, it is easy to keep your mouth shut. That is why, it is important so say things in Dutch and... one of the most important things that you need to learn is that you love making mistakes. Too many people are afraid that they say something wrong, and then of course it will stand in your way towards Dutch fluency, but this is not all... Yes... you need to open your mouth and... there is more....
By the way, have you noticed that when you say things in Dutch for the first time, that it may seems like a huge challenge? If you like to buy and pay for something in Dutch, then of course, the first time that you do it, it may not be that easy. But... once you buy and pay for things in Dutch again and again, then of course, it will start to feel more natural. You understand how much it is, you can receive the change, you can ask things about a product and who knows? You might even be able to do some small talk. That is why that if you speak Dutch again and again, it will be easier, feel more natural and even sound fluent.
But... here is an important catch. Practicing your Dutch works best if you do it with things or situations that you already know. For example, people will ask you Waar kom je vandaan? (where are you from) and Wat doe je voor werk? (What kind of job do you do?) and then if you answer these questions again and again, you'll be better at it and sound like a pro! And yes... with every conversation you'll learn something new. In this sense, speaking Dutch absolutely helps and leads to more fluency!
Let's go to some negative things right now... Yes... you'll learn new things every time that you have conversation in Dutch. You'll learn how to respond faster, use the words that you already know and probably you'll pick up some new words too. But.... in many cases, you will not really raise your level. First of all, you may repeat the same things and situations again and certainly when you get the things that you want, it seems that you are succesful. Let's say that you like cheese and that you say: Nu ik wil kaas. You get your cheese. You got what you want, you said it in Dutch and now life is perfect. Right?
Yes, you are succesful... You said in Dutch that you wanted cheese, and you got your cheese. But... what you said was wrong... Instead of saying Nu ik wil kaas, you should have said Nu wil ik kaas. Sure... it looks like a minor thing. Why ? Nu ik wil kaas or Nu wil ik kaas is just such a small difference, right? Why is it so important that you say: Nu wil ik kaas?
How do you measure your success?
Truth is that in this very specific situation it does not matter that much. .. Saying something in Dutch rather than in English is much better already and a huge gain. But... now begins the problem. Yes, it is only a small mistake, but.... if you make hundreds of these tiny mistakes again and again, it quikcly adds up. The bad thing is that if you repeat them often enough, it will be engrained in your system.
The problem is that most people somehow keep thinking in English. They think that what they say, sounds perfect, while this is not the case. You might believe that you learned Dutch, just by picking up what you heard from Dutch people, but.... this is not true. Fact is that not a single person would say: Nu ik wil kaas.... What you heard has always been: Nu wil ik kaas... Strangely enough, you don't copy exactly what you see and hear. You hear something and then immediately English interfers.... You copy something, distort it with English and think it is brilliant....
If you like to speak Dutch for real and come across as competent and intelligent, then you'll need to change your way of thinking. This requires discipline. Although Dutch and English have many things in common, there are also many differences. Contrary to what you may hope, chances are high that many things that really matter in Dutch will be 'inaudible' to your ears and 'invisible' to your eyes. Even if you think that you pay attention, you'll miss things.
That is why it is important that somehow you get corrected. You may hope or expect in secret that Dutch people will correct you, but of course, this rarely happens. Sure, Dutch people will hear that Nu ik wil kaas is wrong, but they would not to able to explain to you why. On top of that, everyone is busy, and probably they have better things to do....
Here is one thing that most people somehow do not understand. If you like to bring your Dutch to a whole new level, then you need to change your way of thinking. Just speaking Dutch will not do the trick. That is why it is a great idea to use English as well, because only then you'll be able to expand your understanding a lot quicker. Once you understand certain things, then you need to apply them consistently.
If you try to use only Dutch while learning, then in most cases, the topics that you can talk about will be very limited. Probably you will talk about the same topics again and again. like things that you had for lunch or things you like to do in the weekend. But... if you like to talk about anything that you like, then English will be a great instrument. Once again, English has many things in common with Dutch and you can use it to your advantage.
It Is crucial to really understand what makes Dutch different, and probably someone else needs to tell you this, because somehow it is almost impossible to be aware of this. Then, you need to do it right, and probably it will take a coujple of times before you can do it automatically....
The biggest risk of just speaking Dutch is that you'll learn things the wrong way. If you repeat the same things again and again, then it can quickdly become more 'problematic' . Once it is engrained in your system, it is very difficult to get rid of it. Once you have developed too many bad habits, it is extremely difficult to fix them.
I remember that one day I had some personal sessions with a great lady from Brasil. Her Dutch was amazing, she understood everything that I said, and we could talk freely about any subject imaginanble. There was only one problem... The construction of her sentences was absolute crap! It needed to be fixed quikcly, because she wanted to apply for a job that could be a dream job...
Now for this lady, all of a sudden, the situation was totally differeent... If you make a mistake now and then with the order of your sentence, then it is not the end of the world of course. If you buy cheese for example, then basically there is no problem. But... when you like to explain things to Dutch people, give presentations, lead meetings then of course, things change radicallym certainly in a professional environment.
Speaking only Dutch can work against you :(
If the sentences that you produce are correct, then people love to listen to you and they will see you as intelligent and competent. But... if you make too many mistakes, then it immediately leads to confusion. People will find it harder to follow you, certainly when you talk for a longer time...
My student from Brasil needed a job and wanted to be a teacher at a Dutch school. Although in a way her Dutch was amazing, the order of her sentences was consistently wrong and unfortunately, we could not fix it on a short term. That is why at the end, she did not get the job....
I share this story, not in order to scare you of course, but... hopefully when you think of speaking Dutch, now you can think in more nuanced ways. Yes... speaking Dutch is always a great idea and... keep using English or any other language that you know, in order to bring your Dutch to a whole new level! You need to be aware that - if you like to speak a new language for real - youi'll need to think in a different way, and act accordingly
Thinking differently will not automatically happen when you only speak Dutch. In too many cases it can even stand in your way. But... once you find a certain balance, then great things will happen! Here is one last tip. Always be open. A new language is always different from all the other languages that you speak. Make sure that you don't reject certain things, just because you are not familiar with it yet. Speaking a new language is always an invitation to personal growth and it always includes that you expand your thinking and perception and... this is exactly what makes it exciting... You'll discover new things that are exciting and different!
