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Hey there! You want to study Dutch? If you're good at English, and I can tell you are, it probably won't be as hard as you may be thinking right now. There are a lot of simularities between Dutch and other germanic and romanic languages like English, German, French and more.

On this platform, I'll lend you a helping help to the basics of the Dutch language and some content. To actually learn, you need to actively participate in the exercises, and work with the language on a regular basis. But don't worry! You'll do a great job.

Something to keep in mind: I'm just a high school student, and I ain't got no diplomas or such. I did my best to make this project work, but I can't guarantee you this for 100%.

As I said, I'm convinced you will be able to speak Dutch, and you should be too.
Believing in your own ability is the first step to any goal.

Have fun! 🌺

- Rosalie

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1. Dutch | English
Translations after the | are not (always) literal. Do not directly try to link every Dutch word to an English one - it's often impossible due to the phenomenon called "expression". Translating for yourself is a great way to learn, but if you're not sure about something or you just don't understand, either skip that part or ask a native speaker for help.
But remember: you don't have to understand every single word, especially when you're a beginner. It's about getting the meaning of a whole story, not just one word.

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Also, I'd like to ask you to put away your pen and notebook. Yes, learning while seeing the word helps the brain, but I believe that the first thing you should do is listening.

Disclaimer: I don't say you can't learn to write or read directly, it's more to avoid that you link the wrong sounds with written words. Just as in English, letters aren't always pronounced the exact same way.

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Here's a genius youtube channel with videos about the Netherlands. Obviously they're just for entertainment, but most of it is true.

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Het Nederlandse alfabet | The Dutch alphabet

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Het Nederlandse alfabet | The Dutch alphabet

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Dutch and English vowels are pronounced differently, so maybe it's a good idea to start of with the alphabet and combined sounds. Listen closely to the and try to aloud, checking if what you say matches the audio.
Most Dutch sounds aren't pronounced that long.

Though it's less than in English words, most of the Dutch vowels represent different sounds, depending on their place in the word. Therefore, it's better to put some more focus on the sound itself and how it's pronounced, instead of which character it matches with. That'll be a problem to tackle after the very first day.

The r
Some people slightly roll their r's, while others somtimes hardly pronounce it. Most pronunciations of the r sound natural for the Dutch, but do not use the English r in any case. It should be somewhere inbetween the Spanish strongly rolled r, and the English r.

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You can use this link to join a Whatsapp group where natives speakers will always help you out, and where you can chat with other people that're learning Dutch. Though there isn't a lot you can say yet, you can send voice messages to help a native assess your pronunciation.

You can join the group at any time.

Please do not share this link with people that aren't learning Dutch

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You probably don't want to spend to much money, that's why you're here, but basically every learning app or website offers a free lesson. This is what we're going to make use of. Pimsleur's a great tool, but costs some money. However, there's a free lesson available for every language they teach.

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Now click on this link and sign up for Pimsleur. Then choose Dutch as target language and do the first lesson. It's an audio based program that teaches you to have a first and simple Dutch conversation, within half an hour.
https://learn.pimsleur.com/users/login/freelesson

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And, did you manage to keep up? If yes, well done! What a quick learner you are! If not, maybe practice again tomorrow. It's no big deal.

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Something as easy as setting your YouTube language to Dutch might help more than you think

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As you're waiting for Day 2 to come, you may want to absorb some Dutch content. There's music, TV programs and - of course - YouTube channels.

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Here's some artists:
- Marco Borsato
- Nielson
- Guus Meeuwis
- Sela (Christian)
- André Hazes (most famous folk singer)
- André Hazes jr.
- Kinderen voor kinderen
- K3 (flemish)
- Disney
- Teach In (won Eurovision 1975)
- OG3NE (as adults, they do English covers, their voices are just beautiful together)

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(sidenote: I myself don't watch Dutch YouTubers as I feel like many of the popular ones mainly do gaming or random reactions and talking without much actual content. I put these in order of my preference, although I only watch SIEM.)

- SIEM
He makes many parodies (with subtitles) and has a few short movies and other random content. He also has theory videos on the TV programm "Wie is de Mol?"

- Dylan Heagens
He's got TOP 10's, an over-dramatic series called Cliffhanger and other content.

- StukTV
Three boys do weird missions and make their own series such as Roadtrippers and Jachtseizoen, where they hunt after a Dutch youtuber/ singer for four hours.

- Kalvijn
He, overall, is a fun(ny) and jolly person to watch. He does all kinds of videos.

- EnzoKnol
he's a vlogger and plays Minecraft.

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- Zondag Met Lubach
a Dutch satire show
most got English subtitles, and many have Dutch subtitles as well.

- Wie Is De Mol (The Mole)
This is a Dutch TV show in which 10 kandidates go on a three-week journey to a foreign country, where they have to complete many missions. They can earn money for the pot by doing this.
While doing missions, one of them (de mol) tries to sabotage them. His only mission is to earn as little money as possible.. After every three days, they have to take a test to see if they're on the right track discovering the mole. The one who ranks last is sent home. In the final episode, the mole gets to reveal himself and show how he's been sabotaging.
The program comes back every year in January. Of previous seasons, there's English subtitled versions available on YouTube.
I really really recommend watching season 18.

Some information if you're going to watch it (please do):
A joker -> one incorrect question on the test becomes correct
An exemption -> you pass the test automatically
A black exemption -> all jokers used can be undone for one test

- Het Jeugdjournaal
News program for kids from 8+, so it has easier vocabulary.

- Buurman & Buurman
The auto-generated subs aren't that great, but it's fun anyway. Dutch version of Pat & Mat.

- Inazuma Eleven
If you happen to like Anime, here's the Dutch version of the first three seasons of Inazuma Eleven. Its genres are action, friendship, fantasy.

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- NOS Journaal
The biggest Dutch news program

- Heel Holland Bakt
Dutch equivalent of The Great Brittisch Bake Off

- Hunted
For three weeks, 10 ordinary Dutch people go on the run. A special police team with the latest technology tries to find and arrest them.

- Het Perfecte Plaatje
Dutch "celebrities" get to shoot really special kinds of pictures and get official teaching to bring their hobby to a higher level.

- Ik Vertrek
This program documents people that want to test their luck by leaving everything behind and immigrating to live abroad.

- Nederland In Beweging
A fifteen-minute workout program that is really easy (mainly meant for older people to get some kind of exercise), but it's actually quite a fun way to start your day.

- The Voice of Holland
There's also The Voice Kids and The Voice Senior

- De Slimste Mens
Basically a show where people answer questions, one with the most knowledge wins

- Lingo
They've gotta guess the right word and spell it correctly, two teams competing each week, (might help with your vocabulary)

- Flikken Maastricht
Police series.

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I'm not sure wether this site is available for other countries, but it contains lots of Dutch TV programs for you to watch.

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Eenvoudig online alle Programmas terugkijken. Heb je een uitzending gemist dan is deze hier nogmaals te bekijken.

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Before doing anything else, download ANKI. It's an app that uses SRS, and is available on your phone as well as on your computer. I really recommend using it from the first day, and the best would be with every single word or sentence. It may seem tiring, but once it's done, the app will do the work for you. And this way, you'll never forget the very basics of a language.
https://apps.ankiweb.net/

SRS?
SPS stands for Spaced Repetition System. Here's a video that explains the concept in four minutes, but it comes down to improving your memory of something by bringing it up, just before you're about to forget it.

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Now, translating is a great tool to learn the structures of a new languages, but don't get too excited over it. It'll help you improving quickly, but be aware of the dangers of litterally translating with a computer programm.
danger 1: certain expressions are not gonna be translated literally, causing them not to make sense anymore
danger 2: translating from English to Dutch will be very tricky when you don't know the right order yet
danger 3: you may not know a word is part of an expression in which its meaning completely changes, translate that single word and end up confused.

But don't worry, you're only at the start of your journey. You don't need to fully understand the word order, the expression or the usage of a certain word. Just accept you don't understand and move on. Absorbing the language without continuesly being critical is the best way to start off.
And you can always ask a native speaker!

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Google's free service instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages.

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zijn + aan het + [infinitive]

For Example:

1. Ik ben aan het lezen.
"I am reading."

2. Hij is aan het slapen.
"He is sleeping."

3. Wij zijn aan het praten.
"We are talking."

2. zitten/staan/liggen + te + [infinitive]

For Example:

1. Ik zit te lezen.
"I am reading (while sitting)."

2. Hij ligt te slapen.
"He is sleeping (while lying down)."

3. Wij staan te praten.
"We are talking (while standing).