How to learn Dutch? (lecture by Bart de Pau)

How to learn Dutch? - Lecture by Bart de Pau at the Dutch Summer School - 2018.
- How to learn a language efficiently?
- What are the best practices in language education*?
- Which countries have the best language education in school?
- What is specific about the way languages are taught in these countries?
- Children learn languages faster than adults: truth or myth?
- Which factors are important when learning a language as an adult?
- Why most self study methods don't work?
- Does that mean that you can't learn a language by yourself?
- Or do most self study methods lack something?
- Without a talent for learning languages... can you be a polyglot?
Bart de Pau answers these questions step by step,
- telling from his own experience learning 5 foreign languages (each in a different way, with the brain of an engineer - and not a linguist)
- from his 15 years experience in managing language education programs in the Netherlands and Russia
- combined with scientific evidence.
Bart de Pau is an online Dutch language teacher and founder of the Dutch Summer School/Dutch Winter School. Most of this lecture is universal for learning languages in general.
Links:
- www.learndutch.org - online website for learning Dutch
- dutchsummerschool.nl - Dutch Summer School
- dutchwinterschool.nl - Dutch Winter School
* for the specific target group of highly educated adults who WANT to learn a foreign language.

[@matildawolfram4687]

My brother studied languages at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in California. The pace of study was intense. Students had to master the language course in 36-64 weeks. Psychologically it was very difficult, but fortunately he was helped by Yuriy Ivantsiv's book "Polyglot Notes. Practical tips for learning foreign languages”. The book " Polyglot Notes" became a desk book for my brother, because it has answers to all the problems that any student of a foreign language has to face. Thanks to the author of the channel for this interesting video! Good luck to everyone who studies a foreign language and wants to realize their full potential!

[@sophievandervorm6160]

Hey I'm dutch and I just wanted to say something about how I learn languages at my school (I'm 14). At my school we have english, german, french, dutch, latin and greek and at home I'm studying japanese, korean and spanish. The one thing that has helped my a lot is that my school has native speakers. So we have one native speaker for english, one for german and one for french! This really helps, so I really do believe that if you talk to native speakers you learn a language much quicker! And aside from that, my teacers start talking the language they teach, from the very first class, and because of this you are force to learn! I really love this channel because, even though I'm dutch, I also get a lot of tips and motivation from these video's!

[@wildinfernoninety]

So cheesy clickbait TED talks full of air get millions of views, this is what a good informative talk backed by facts and experiences looks like

[@imeldafani]

Couldn't agree more! This is way more informative and clearer than those TED Talks!

[@blaxkie8443]

I 6

[@joons3374]

Ted talks is shit, they even accept frauds there, like that kid who made free energy with a spoon or something...

[@rashifarsya]

I am Indonesian and about to teach myself Dutch, it's great that I found the best platform to learn it here on the Internet! Thanks Bart de Pau, you really are a great teacher!

[@tadelany71]

Thank you! This lecture is excellent, detailed and very practical. I learn the 'Heb je zin?' and the 1000 most common Dutch words. I had the pleasant experience that I could understand many commercials, information signs and some speech in Dutch when I spent a day of my summer holiday in Gent. I began to read newspapers in Dutch, too.

[@ivanpodraza5670]

Bartski de Pauski, I enjoyed this lecture enormously! My Dutch also improved enormously through your lectures, which I watched multiple times. Dus: van harte bedankt (van een Kroaat)! :)

[@jenniechou8653]

I am currently learning Dutch because I would like to study there. You video really helps me a lot especially when I am fear of accepting a new language

[@ctw-home]

Spectacular talk, thanks for sharing this knowledge!

[@JoachimderZweite]

I went through the Assimil Dutch courses using both French and German Assimil books and finished with the Assimil Pratique Neerlandais and I really enjoyed them and they were easy. I reached the point where I could read newspapers online and short stories. The I moved on and forgot my Dutch but I return to Bart de Pau to pick it up again. The one pitfall when you learn a language as an older person is you forget them if you do not stick with them so don't make my mistake.

[@GTGgermantogo]

What a great lecture. Thank you for sharing your experience. Greetings from a fellow online tutor! Dank je wel, Juliane

[@maximo0987]

I bought a Dutch grammar book about 4 or 5 days ago and I’m already starting to connect the dots in my brain 😊

[@mike_burke]

Hey Bart, I can assure your viewers that you are 100% correct with your theory. My story: When I first arrived in the Netherlands I was sent to the nuns in Vught for a week. The longest week of my life and I got NOTHING from it. Really nothing - I felt lost. Luckily it was paid by the company (VERY expensive). After I recovered, I purchased a book and focussed entirely on the grammar (which, by the way, I found fascinating). After I got the grammar 'nailed down' I ventured off on my own into the wild and engaged in conversations and learned in a totally immersive way. From zegeltjes to ziektekostenvergoeding ;-) . It works.....Just one tip: As soon as the Dutch hear an English (or American) accent, they immediately want to speak English with you. Politely ask them to continue in Dutch, as you are wanting to learn..... All the best!

[@soldronning2842]

Thx for your efforts! I enjoy your videos.

[@Mediacours]

Thank you. My own experience has been rather like yours. Your lecture helped me to make sense of it and understand some of the more mysterious parts of language learning.

[@haroldwood1394]

Excellent, extremely interesting and useful lecture. Thank you!

[@netherlandish]

I am starting to learn Dutch now and Bart de Pau approach seems reliable. I appreciate your time and expertise! I will look towards recent created courses :)

[@ARAJUNE]

Bart you are simply amazing professional. Thanks a lot. definitely, I'll do

[@annlaurel6100]

Thank you Bart. I am learning Dutch and you are helping me all the time with your lessons I am looking forward to go to NL next year and to enroll in your school. Tot ziens!

[@xiledumb7881]

Finally saw bart de Paul. After watching all his videos. I learn lot from u.

[@nurao2644]

U are amazing.your online course explained better than many teachers.speechless.

[@papik1965]

Hi Bart, thank you for a super informative and useful lecture. I have just started your basic online course as I intend to come to live in Holland towards the end of next year. Thanks again! Keith.

[@kseniakosheleva5111]

I completely agree with everything stated there. I have also realized it myself as a language learner and a teacher that IF IF works! Really looking forward to the next course with BLC Languages :)

[@meme7920]

I totally agree with this method of learning a foreign language! It is mine too. Great presentation!

[@geminiFree]

I arrived to the Netherlands in August 1997. I was supposed to be here one year. I am still here and I still don't speak Dutch. I understand the language quite well. A few weeks ago I completed a 30 hours Dutch course. The findings: a lot of passive knowledge accumulated during these years. Very, very little knowledge of grammar. Grammar seems to be the glue that puts everything together. It's boring, but there is not much to do. Just to accept it and study it. Just for the record, I speak fluently Spanish, Swedish, Russian (obviously English). I think, finally, I got the explanation why Dutch didn't "happen".

[@ktfjulien]

@Iron Sensei ikr

[@TDL-tk3fs]

Thank you very much Bart de Pau, for the creation of this video. I had learned Dutch before with no success in speaking fluently I decided to pick up 5 different languages: Dutch, Swedish, French, Spanish and Japanese. For Dutch is to get myself re-learn the language once again. For the rest is because I like visit Sweden, Switzerland, Peru and Japan. Of course with some basic knowledge in those languages will come in handy. I come to a point like you mentioned in the video it seems like I know alot of words but I don't understand what is saying when I watch a program on TV or a short commercial on youtube. It is disappointing and frustrating at this time. After watching this video, it gives me great motivation.

[@alottoftea]

This explains why I was unable to understand Dutch when studying there earlier this year. Now that I have a good passive understanding through learning grammar, I hope to put it into practice at the Dutch Summer School next year. 🤞🏼

[@krishnamohanraoterala9774]

Wonderful presentation. 👍

[@fashiondiva99]

I normally don’t watch lectures but this one was just fantastic!

[@LearndutchOrg]

Thank you!

[@edwarmakhoul3345]

Yes you are Right

[@froglicker9267]

Actually, I thought this seminar was misguided. Using the USA as an example to show only 17% are bilingual and then somehow comparing it to Small European being significantly higher, means absolutely nothing. Americans tend to stick to just English as they are the Leading Entertainment Industry. In a country like The Netherlands, of course you will find tons of people that speak English. The rest of the world overall aren't rolling over to learn Dutch (like people want to learn English). Do a the same study and take out English as one of the languages, I guarantee USA and Canada ranks #1. If your seminar is true than us Filipinas are probably ranked higher than Dutch as we speak many languages usually. I bet if you take out English as a test comparison USA would beat your Country hands down.

[@fahimpoya1533]

yeah sure it was osam lecture

[@gustavon.1444]

@@froglicker9267 lol someone is offended

[@kazooha3646]

omg this is so helpful and just interesting !!! I'm from Serbia ! And I want to learn Dutch. I hope after this lectures I'll be better in language

[@learndutchwitheli4464]

kzbin.info/door/EPzf2XsEsWpo_7Yyi0cUag

[@leandro9556]

Ik leer en geniet van jouw les!

[@szinga]

a great lecture! the thing with lowering your voice seems to be the case with all slavic languages, my voice when i speak my mother tongue (polish) is a lot lower and grave than when i speak e.g. english ;)

[@chlastek13]

Great lecture Bart !! Bedankt !!

[@chlastek13]

Your story about learning russian is almost the same as my story about the dutch language. I also found it exciting and exotic which motivated me to keep on.

[@rubenru]

hoiiii aleemaaaal

[@etulia2010]

Dank je wel

[@BenLlywelyn]

That is how I learned Welsh, how my French learning has been made more efficient, and how now, I am beginning Dutch.

[@CitizenofTatooine]

Greetings. I love learning Dutch by your website and I want to attend your summer school when I can afford. Tot ziens!

[@elenaivanova9340]

Барт, Вы даже себе не представляете, насколько я была рада услышать Ваш русский! Каждый раз, проходя Ваши уроки, я думаю о том, что Вы жили в Питере и мне становится тепло)) Какое у Вас великолепное произношение! Ну и, пользуясь случаем, благодарю Вас за Ваши великолепные уроки! Я уже сейчас прохожу Грамматику-3 и считаю, что Вы - учитель от Бога! Большое Вам спасибо за уроки и за Heb je zin!

[@LearndutchOrg]

Elena, spasibo!!!

[@RWKIN]

This phrase in russian was really with only a tiny-slight accent, cool. Вызывает уважение, что у Вас получилось выучить русский с его 6-ю падежами, я вешаюсь от 4-х немецких.)) P.S. Спасибо, что вы-нидерландцы убрали падежи из нидерландского, это очень круто!

[@Irina-ic3xr]

Dankjewel ! Спасибо !

[@ekaterinam6271]

Спасибо! Очень интересно было послушать про ваш опыт. Особенно про изучение русского языка :))))))

[@KickiJonify]

This was a very informative video about how to learn a language. I really love your video course in Dutch and have learned a lot but I lack a lot of knowledge in grammars still. I am soon going to buy your course #grammar and I hope that Corona soon gets better because I really would like to come to The Netherlands for a summerschool. Thank you so very much for your work with this online course you have made #BartdePau. Holliday greetings from Sweden

[@mrwizzardknight]

Ya mint you are Bart mate! ;) 😃😃😃👏👏👏 I like all you totally awesome lovely Dutch people! 😃😃😃🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱

[@jolandabeach8784]

Interesting

[@hibasophia8274]

Ik woon in België en is belangrijk voor mij Nederlands studeer. Ik vind jou web site leuk!! De eerste probleem ik woon in Brussel maar in Brussel ederien de mensen spreaken Frans en ik heb nodig praten elk dag nl. En de tweede probleem ik heb geen vrienden voor de talen spreaken. Ik volg jou video's KZbin en ik hoop te spreaken goed Nederlands. Bedankt 👍

[@lamafauche46]

Encouraging testimony and tips... Dank je wel Bart! Is there a summer school this year?

[@magnanilanguages154]

Looks like half of the people here are teachers, too! :D Greetings to everybody!

[@rachellesampaga3000]

I have nonstop watching your videos i’am watching it cause in August I will move to Holland

[@TocaImmaculate]

1st step to learning Dutch is with your video..2021goal..subbed at 184k..

[@jarekjaro7325]

If I will buy access to one of those levels from Dutch lessons, then after 1 year the subscription is automatically renewed or is automaticcally stopped?

[@kamrantaherkhani2066]

I learned English by myself with the exact same method! But now I am learning Dutch, and I am terrified to go deep into the grammar !! but now I have more motivation!

[@gustavon.1444]

Dutch is easy. It's just different English it's so similar

[@pizzadonutaremyfav8515]

Yes its easy haha. However my country speaks dutch

[@iliasvanbrabandt153]

If you Want to learn Dutch, I can help you with that I'm Dutch myself

[@pizzadonutaremyfav8515]

@@iliasvanbrabandt153 me too 😁. I am dutch too same as u

[@rastynawzad8768]

okay i see many helpful guys here so can i get some help too i see i need to have some dutch friends !

[@protauk]

thank you for your input. I still believe that children learn languages more easily than adults, because of many factors - more time, more games, more fun, more activity. But I also think that it is a good idea to let people believe that adults can still learn every language they want only by being motivated.

[@Schokland2007]

For sure it is amazing how perfectly and quickly a child can learn how to prounounce a language without any accent and most adults always keep an accent.

[@romanherink2411]

Your english is very good.

[@lidiacaldera2247]

Me encantó tu presentación, quiero aprender bien Nederlandse taal, je bent geweldig🥰 .Heeft je een cursus Spaans naar Engels? In Nederland, alsjeblieft

[@gil658]

I think language is more like singing, mathematics, art, athleticism - something innate. Not some external knowledge you learn but something to bring out. Of course you have to listen to quite a bit of the language to be able to speak

[@boxiangwang]

Hi! I'm Eric. I really appreciate this channel and all of the online classes, and I benefit a lot from them! But I was hoping that could you make the flashcard APP accessible to Asian students? I come from Taiwan and I found that I couldn't download the APP due to my location. I really want to memorize the 1,000 words while I am commuting. Thank you very much!

[@user-oq5ls7ph9x]

OMG I’m so eager to learn to speak Dutch 🥺🥺🥺

[@pieredepleintdedordogne8013]

if you're still looking forward to learning some Dutch, I would be more than glad to help you with that process. have a decent life! tot ziens!

[@learndutchwitheli4464]

kzbin.info/door/EPzf2XsEsWpo_7Yyi0cUag

[@armandoarcturian1377]

Bartski de Pauski😂 lmao. Very informative video, i liked it. Good job Partski😉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻

[@samaneharefimoghaddam2144]

Hello.how I can participate in your classes?

[@conillet]

Geweldige spreekbeurt, Bart. Je opmerkingen en ervaringen kan ik aan de hand van mijn eigen 100% bevestigen. Beste groeten uit Barcelona! Ulrich (Dutch Summer School Amsterdam zomer 2015)

[@LearndutchOrg]

Hallo Ulrich, wat leuk dat je mijn kanaal nog volgt. Het is alweer 3 jaar geleden dat je bij ons was. Dus je bent nog Nederlands aan het leren?

[@conillet]

Nee, ik leer het niet meer - het is inmiddels al perfect (grapje!). ;-) Hoewel het waar is dat zowel woordenschat als grammatica belangrijk zijn, varieert hun aandeel in het leerproces van taal tot taal, en natuurlijk ook afhankelijk van de moedertaal van de leerling. Ik denk dat het van het grootste belang is dat de leerling permanent reflecteert op haar / zijn eigen strategie en deze aanpast op basis van de resultaten die ze oplevert. Voor mij persoonlijk is luisteren naar Nederlandse radio en podcasts uiterst nuttig geweest (en is het nog altijd). Ik heb mezelf soms verrast toen ik plotseling een uitdrukking actief gebruikte die ik alleen vaak had gehoord.

[@mikhailkachusov4240]

Hello. I can not register on the site www.learndutch.org. Email confirmation does not come

[@MrToledo32]

Jij bent de beste Bart, gefeliciteerd en bedankt voor je video's om Nederlands te leren

[@pizzadonutaremyfav8515]

No wonder so many comments of people wanna learn dutch. I thought less people are interested in it but i am wrong. Thats nice. I however speak dutch cuz my native language is that so good luck to everyone with wanting to learn it

[@annknown5083]

1st day of dutch language course and it was overwhelming

[@pizzadonutaremyfav8515]

@@annknown5083 Good luck ☺️. So how did it go? Btw from which country are u?

[@annknown5083]

@@pizzadonutaremyfav8515 ik kom uit de filipijnen. slowly learning the basic.but i really hope you will upload more videos. i find it very easy to understand.

[@radiaelka9786]

I hope to speak Dutch and English

[@519djw6]

*I'm only 12 minutes into this lecture. However, going outside of Europe, I can attest that Japan is near, or at, the very bottom of successful language education. And the reason for this is that English is only taught at the secondary level for the sole purpose of passing a meaningless "test," in order to get into a "prestigious" university-**-and after that, university students are forced to take one year of a second foreign language, presumably in order to provide jobs for teachers of those languages. In my experience as a Lecturer in English, almost 99% of students drop this second-language after they are no longer required to take it. (I should add here that most of these second-language courses are taught just as English is. That is, they are primarily unilateral lectures on grammar and vocabulary--with very little (or absolutely no) expectation that the students will take any active part in using the language (whatever it is) for communication. In fact, questions and comments from the students are neither expected nor welcome. (But, of course, there are exceptions to this state of affairs.) Postscript: I have also taught English in two European countries, one of which was where the national language was not Indo-** European--but where pupils started learning foreign languages at the age of six or seven--with the result that almost all of them have at least a conversational ability in one or more foreign tongues.*

[@BisayainHolland]

When your surrounded by people who don't understand you through you language you speak you begin to force your self for you to be understood and sometimes this is how your learn a language. A survival Immersion & adaptation

[@HeleneZG]

Merci d'avoir partagé cette présentation si instructive! Et bravo pour le site learndutch.org, une référence pour mon apprentissage du néerlandais. Thank you for sharing this informative lecture! And congratulations for learndutch.org, a reference for learning Dutch. Bedankt voor het delen van deze informatieve presentatie! En gefeliciteerd met de site learndutch.org, een referentie voor mijn Nederlands leren

[@pamelatenbroek2890]

Great lecture - I hope you don't mind if I share your lecture with a language group I belong to.

[@LearndutchOrg]

Of course I don't mind, please share!

[@iliasvanbrabandt153]

Ik kom uit België en hier leren we Frans in groep 5 (3de leerjaar) engels in het tweede middelbaar en duits in het derde middelbaar

[@legaleagle46]

Dankjewel, Bart. Would it surprise you to learn that of the 23 languages I am currently studying, I've really only had formal training in three: Spanish, French, and Greek? All the rest (Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, German, Polish, Hungarian, Finnish, Latvian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese) have been entirely self-taught, and my experience with them all has been very similar to yours.

[@LearndutchOrg]

Wow! That's a lot!!! The number surprises me... and that you did it all by yourself not. I think reaching this number is only possible if you can learn a language by yourself. Great to hear you have similar experiences.

[@legaleagle46]

I think it does come down to learning grammar and putting it into practice. The "quick-fix" courses all insist that learning the rules of grammar is both counterproductive and boring, but I agree with you that nothing could be further from the truth. When I first started studying foreign languages (beginning with Spanish back in eighth grade), there was no Internet, so there was no way to practice consistently with native speakers the way there is now. And as you also aptly noted, being completely immersed in the language -- and the culture -- are key components. Believe me, you could probably leave me in the dust in Dutch, Russian, or even German if you wanted to, especially if you spoke at native speed (and I happen to know that spoken Dutch, for example, is a LOT harder to understand than the written language is, simply because the Dutch love contractions and blended, slurred vowel sounds). But it IS a lot of fun to learn other languages and to learn about other cultures through a native speaker's eyes. And I'm curious -- you've made no secret of your love for the ladies (much to this gay man's chagrin!). Whatever happened to that pretty Russian girl who inspired you to move to Russia to learn and improve your Russian? ;-)

[@LearndutchOrg]

Haha... It's NOT because of girls that I ended up in Russia, nor has it influenced my decision to start my business there. I ended up in Russia because of my love for the language and the country. I decided to stay in Russia, because I saw the economic potential. It was just after the rouble crisis at the beginning of the millenium. There was no way further down, for a country that is potentially very rich. As we say in Dutch "tijd om in te stappen"...The 'booming' period just had to come. Apart from the economic potential, I started to feel part of the society (as a result of knowing the language and meeting people). Of course, if you live somewhere for a longer period... it's logical that a partner comes on your way who is a local. And it's no secret that having a native speaker as a partner, really is very benificial to learning the language!

[@droidcommander9305]

Hah I’m Dutch and from Limburg so I already know all this, and a dialect.👍

[@jesusmaryandjoseph1]

where is the UK on the ef ranking ?

[@amjan]

@widhbnw efDwdwDW Because many people in the UK dont actually speak English as their native language or at all.

[@yt-mca]

Dutch grammar is an engineers dream.

[@magnanilanguages154]

then you will like German! :D

[@yorgundemokrat2521]

hello how can i send mail for your website problem ?

[@christianbonilla2768]

I found out that in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 English is widely spoken at 98% of the population. So my question is, is there a point on learning Dutch since the majority can speak English?

[@ivanarasevic1370]

Ik heb echt veel probleem met erin zitten,daarbij komen.Iemand heeft advies.Dank je wel.

[@ivanarasevic1370]

@@mrmikal11 Dank u wel want u hebt help aangeboden.Nu is beter met dat worden.Ik denk dat ik geen geduld heb voor Nederlands.😀

[@StartledPancake]

This is a really great lecture. However, unfortunately what isn't a particularly great way to learn Dutch is to force a student to answer thousands of "Welke zin is goed/fout?" multiple choice questions until their affective filter is sent off the charts:). The learndutch.org course lessons are every bit as good as this lecture, but perhaps someone could revisit the accompanying exercises/tests that consist of nothing more than 20 or so multiple choice questions, containing very little variation. Its a shame that there is such a gulf in quality between the two, particularly when its clear that the capability is there to provide someone more engaging. After getting halfway through the third course I'm finally giving up with those exercises as my Dutch wife, whose usually very glad to help me improve my Dutch, refuses to even look at another one of them:). The lessons themselves though, I find them to be fantastic.

[@mrdemongamer7596]

Als je Nederlands bent is dit echt een Leuke video

[@mshomemadechef]

My husband is a half dutch and half filipino. We live here in Philippines, and he wanted me to learn dutch language but i find it very difficult 😩

[@TheKitsukitsu]

My aunt takes 10 years to learn dutch(she live there). And she is still struggling to speak it. Both grammar and pronounce sometimes. And i wonder how many years it will take for me 😂 i even struggle with english grammar since in my country, learning other language is not a necessary thing. Thats why school always give their student just a low level english.

[@ellenhuls5458]

Utilizing what you have learned is very important.

[@user-zx9dj3sy8u]

His Russian pronunciation is great!

[@waul24hr]

Greetings from the Russian Dutch :)

[@Anvilshock]

Maxim! We wollen Nederlands praten! :D

[@kellercrucita550]

Great video! How about 60 years old people when they want to learn Dutch?

[@ryanmartin3012]

keller crucita I studied Dutch at a university in the USA. We had a 75 year old woman and 65 year old man in the class. The woman’s reading level was far above everyone else’s and could spit out a Dutch word for super random/specific English words. It’s more a question of one’s motivation and interest. 🙂

[@wishnortbritus77]

Hey Bart default I subscribed to your channel and everything can you please send me the link to so I can learn Dutch the thing you said I really need this food is common in the dark so you can hear me

[@bulla5078]

Beste Bart De Pau, ik heb alle 3 online cursussen (#dutchgrammar 1, 2 en 3) van learndutch.org gedaan. Ik begon Nederlands te leren toen ik in Indië was. Nu woon ik al vijf maanden in België en hier volg ik ook Nederlands cursus. Ik ben nu op niveau 2.2. Ik moet zeggen dat uw lessen echt leerzaam waren, daarom vind ik mijn cursus (in België) makkelijk. Bedankt voor uw online cursus.

[@Angelo-wg2kb]

Wow, dit klinkt als iemand die vloeiend nederlands spreekt

[@bulla5078]

@@Angelo-wg2kb bedankt. Maar ik schrijf beter dan ik spreek. Ik geloof dat misschien na 1 jaar zou ik goed Nederlands kunnen spreken. Dankzij learndutch.org

[@bulla5078]

@@Angelo-wg2kb ik heb nog probleem om vloeiend te spreken.

[@laurabirbes3127]

Bart, actually, the system to learn a language in Italy does not differ from the one that you have described... I do believe that the difference in proficiency is due to fact that we have dubbed films and less opportunities to practice. Also, I am afraid to say, nowadays most foreign people prefer to speak English, rather than the foreign language you have been studying for so long...

[@LearndutchOrg]

Yes you're absolutely right. If you're from a smaller country you have more exposure to foreign languages. Not only because you're more likely to spend time abroad, but also because TV stations in larger countries have higher budgets and are used to dub movies, whereas smaller countries are more used to subtitles.

[@legaleagle46]

I've heard from Italians, though, that the Italian system is terrible because it mainly teaches vocabulary for reading comprehension; very little emphasis is placed on speaking proficiency, listening comprehension, and writing proficiency is almost non-existent. Many Italians I've asked about the English classes they took in school have told me that they hated them!

[@magnanilanguages154]

Lee Cox it depends on the school. I am a German teaching in Italy and I have seen very efficient and very unefficient schools. Just the same as in Germany I must say. I know many students here though who are excellent at speaking languages.

[@Ninnisha]

I agree on dubbed films, and also the scarce avalaibility of original language books, all coupled with never having any opportunity to actually meet someone to practice with. I'm from Sardinia and most tourists there are German. I studied English, French and Spanish in school and I never had the chance to practice those without going abroad. Now that I live in The Netherlands I'm actually speaking the most English I ever spoke in my whole life (while still having troubles with my Dutch, even though in Utrecht a lot of people can't speak a word of English sadly). My high school was actually languages-oriented, and we even had mothertongue conversation teachers, and yet the last year the English teacher was still teaching the simple past tense, and even then most people had difficulty. It was such low level that I would find it extremely boring and sometimes neglect my homework because it was just too easy. The only time I actually learnt something was at the course for the First certificate, to which I was the only one of my class to partecipate and only about 10 persons in the whole school, and mostly from a class that had a very good professor (who was also the teacher of the course). For French, the teacher was absent from the class most of the time and when present she would only teach us literature, while we didn't even know the accents rules! The conversation teacher was actually forced to teach us some grammar herself and neglect conversation, to put us on par. The Spanish teacher was actually the only good one. So overall, I don't think the teaching system is bad, I think the Italian school system in general can really be bad with crappy teachers. And don't forget overcrowded classes with 30 persons, which makes speaking practice very hard and aimed help almost impossible, though I'm not sure how big classes are in NL. I'll also add that the older generations (50+ persons) mostly never learnt English in school, French was more popular, and even my generation (I'm 34) only started learning a second language in middle school, more than one only in certain specific high schools also. Even though I did a linguistic high school we only learnt English and French the first two years, and could only choose one between Spanish and German (I really wanted to study both so it was a tough choice) for the next three years. So the study is concentrated over a shorter period of times compared to certain countries in which English is already taught starting from kinderschool, even though now in Italy they start as early as elementary school (but they only learn a few words).

[@Ninnisha]

@Lee Cox It really depends on the school. I loved studying languages in school, they were my favourite subjects. And really it all depends on the professor. Our Spanish teacher even made us sing in Spanish! Everybody liked that class. We also had to write compositions and so on, for all languages. BUT the level of the language you reach in school is usually very low, most people can't even get an elementary level certification out of high school.

[@stefanreichenberger5091]

Я очень люблю русский язык. Давайте поговорим по-русски!

[@amjan]

Ya ne znayu Russkovo jazyka, nu kako Polyak ponyal vsyo ;) Ya seychas uchimsya Niderlandzki jazyk.

[@KathySolita]

Adults and teens only learn languages faster than kids at the beginning. Later on, kids surpass them in every way. Anyways, interesting experience of a polyglot.

[@sapofetichista]

Hallo, hoe verbeter ik het met de Nederlanders? Ik kom uit Venezuela en ik spreek alleen Spaans, ik ben begonnen met een A1-cursus en ze spreken in het Nederlands niets meer, soms begrijp ik niets, het is de bedoeling dat de cursus de taal leert, maar welk advies geef je me om de lessen te verbeteren en te begrijpen? groeten +learndutch.org

[@abdalrahmankirata9771]

Ik heb exact hetzelfd probleem ik ben buitenlander en ik ben bezig al 5 maanden met taal soms bgrijp ik nieks wat mensen tegen me zeggen en onlangs had ik luisterentoest en ik heb een oncoldoende uitslag

[@kyrak5683]

Oefenen

[@yoranpulles8039]

Dutch is one of the hardest languages because all of the grammar and stuff, just like if the word end with: d/t/dt. Just like: i become; ik word, or: he becomes; hij wordt

[@JaneFokster]

That's actually a pretty straightforward rule and not very difficult compared to many other languages. I mean, even in an 'easy' to learn language as English (for Dutch people at least) you have to learn that the 3rd person singular verb gets an 's' attached. That's pretty much the same rule as the 't' in Dutch, except that in Dutch the 2nd person form also gets it. The only thing that is a bit difficult about it is that verbs that end in 'd' also get the extra 't', while you don't hear it in conversation because the 'd' is already pronounced as a 't'. It's really only tricky if you also want to write perfect Dutch. In that case the thing to do is just to keep applying the basic rules. The reason (Dutch!) people make a lot of 'dt' mistakes is because they're not thinking about the grammar rules while writing.

[@amjan]

Dutch is one of the easiest languages on the planet. It's almost as simple as dog barking. Go research some Slavic or Ugro-Finnish languages to get a proper perspective.

[@juliao197]

Why am i here. i am a native dutch speaker so i should know all this

[@ahmadmask5303]

Halo

[@alexangulochannel]

G E K O L O N I S E E R D

[@sapofetichista]

Hi, how do I improve with the Dutch? I come from Venezuela, and I speak only Spanish, I started an A1 course and they speak in Dutch nothing more, sometimes I do not understand anything, it is supposed that the course is to learn the language, but what advice do you give me to improve and understand the classes? grettings +learndutch.org

[@magnanilanguages154]

You attend a local course in your city or Bart's online course? In any case if you have problems following the course you can start by learning some grammar on your own and words on your own, so that you recognize stuff that you have read already. Once you have learned a bit you can also find yourself a tandem partner (for example via italki) which can help you unblock.

[@sapofetichista]

I do not understand, what I want to tell you, is that I barely started an A1 course in my city, I knew almost nothing about Dutch, and in the course they speak only Dutch, how am I going to learn it if they only speak that language? What advice do you give me? What should I do at home to improve and achieve understanding and learning in the course? Thank you

[@LearndutchOrg]

Dear Artur, I agree with you. The use of an instruction language to explain grammar is much more efficient instead of a course that is only in Dutch from the beginning. There are many studies that confirm this. The main reason why in many places they use the full immersion method (speaking only in Dutch), is because there is no common language that teacher and students master. Also, some language teachers are convinced that full immersion is better. I don't agree with that when we're talking about the beginner level until A2. I do believe that - especially when explaining grammar - it's much more important that someone understands the rules, above exposure to the target language. That is why in my online courses I use English as the instruction language to explain Dutch grammar. If you know English, please try my online course (I send weekly a lesson for free, and if you like the style you can try the premium package). If you speak only Spanish (and you wrote your comment using google translate), then perhaps it's good to know that #dutchgrammar-1 has Spanish subtitles.

[@magnanilanguages154]

learndutch.org I am happy whenever I hear other teachers that are against the use of the target language 100% of the time. As secondary school teachers in Germany we were forced to do so, but now that I have my own school I do it my way and use the target language when possible but the students' language most of the time as they need to understand first.

[@legaleagle46]

Arturo, si conoces a alguien que hable los dos idiomas, tal vez puedas pedirle a ayudarte con la gramática holandesa. Si tienes preguntas, ¡sírvete preguntarme! :)

[@0livijf]

I’m Dutch and I can speak 7 languages

[@jacquesguitars]

Great lecture, Bart. But to build a theory around language acquisition merely based on your own experience just because a language professor is reluctant to give you the answers… mwoah (did you teach your students this Dutch word?). Why the Americans and British are not that motivated to learn foreign languages has less to do with their educational system or the skills of language teachers than with the fact that the whole world speaks English. There is just little need for them to learn foreign languages. Therefore, the methods you talk about (CD in your car etc) as part of your evidence are not really strong building blocks of your theory. Apart from all that: keep up your good work, because there is an admirable load of great videos you produced.

[@aliqamber1307]

حقا اريد تعلم اللغة الهولندية

[@kyrak5683]

Hallo

[@tombartram7384]

I bet he never gets invited to give wedding speeches.

[@legaleagle46]

And I've asked native Italians what they find to be the most challenging thing about learning English, and they would agree with you that the English courses that are taught in Italian schools (where English is a required course) are terrible. They only teach reading comprehension, and that is mainly to be able to read English/American literature. There is not a lot of emphasis on speaking or listening comprehension, and as for writing? Forget it! That's why unlike in the Netherlands, where so many people speak English with near native-fluency that the country could be considered practically bilingual, Italians are very self-conscious about their ability in English and are always relieved when they can finally switch over to Italian!

[@magnanilanguages154]

I know many Italian schools who have added native speakers to the courses. In fact some schools are highly efficient, others aren't. It usually depends on the teacher.

[@thorhbar1255]

No it's not because you didn't learn grammar, it's because you learned isolated words. There's a difference. You're also wildly off the mark in terms of how and why you all learn English. It's not because of how it's taught. Finns get the same Swedish lessons as they do English lessons yet they don't speak Swedish. Work out why.

[@amjan]

Elaborate please on the Fins

[@Master.Hetfield]

Действительно дурак преподаватель 👍 он очень помогает меня на изучение по Голландского языка

[@hamphonre3313]

But if i learn phrases, i learn the grammar automatically.?

[@BeautifulSafety]

@bartdepau de maker,waarom wordt je geen youtubepartner, je kunt hier n leuk centje mee bijverdienen, je hebt genoeg abonnees en leuke content. @the creator, why don't you become a youtubepartner, you can earn a nice little buck on the side here, you have enough subscribers and nice content.