Great Jumpstarter to Dutch...

books:


	• Colloquial Dutch: A Complete Language Course for Beginners(Colloquial) B. Donaldson Routledge, 2007 average customer review:based on 12 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great Jumpstarter to Dutch...

I emigrated to the Netherlands two years ago from California, an English-monolingual culture. I was familiar with Afrikaans, since I was born in South Africa. This made learning Dutch a lot easier for me, so I very quickly came up to speed. However, it was the book by Donaldson which was the vehicle that brought me up to speed. I know this because after I rapidly moved forward as I used the book, I recommended it to an American who also found the book useful. I had a number of other texts, but I quickly abandoned them and concentrated on Donaldson's book.

After settling down to life in Amsterdam, the things that REALLY helped were the "colloquialisms" mentioned by Donaldson, and the little "culture points". They were enormously helpful. Dutch has a lot of idiom, and you need to understand what is happening in the syntax and delivery and the culture points also help clarify why things are being said the way they are when they are by whom under what circumstances. But any language is that way, including English !

Of course you need a dictionary ! You cannot rely on the word list in the book. Of course you need a verb conjugator (like 201 Dutch Verbs). And I would add, that after you get serious, you will also need a specialist idiomatic reference and dictionary.

The book was not all I needed to learn Dutch. I had to go to courses to get better, and you must also force yourself to use the language and to hurl yourself deep into a Dutch-only environment. English is pervasive and you can end up in an English universe in the Netherlands. A Dutch live-in partner would also help. Watching TV (cartoons are a great help), subtitling, listening to the radio (online too), reading the newspaper and magazines and web pages all add as an addendum to the book and daily usage.

This is a very good, serious first-level starer, folks ! The tapes too !

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colloquial series

I've tried many other language/phrase book, and I think the Colloquial Series are the best for beginners who plan to learn and pursue to a higher level.
This book explains every details on grammars and usage...and the cultural points are interesting as well.
The explanations are very clear and you'll find the learning process with colloquial series is very smooth, you'll hardly feel lost...

The audio CD mainly focus on conversations in every chapters, I like it because the native speakers talk as they are in everyday life (kind of fast for beginners), which is good cuz it's realistic...Just listen to it over and over until you're able to understand everything.
The only thing I don't like about the audio CD is that I wish it can provide more recordings on how to pronounce some important phrases rather than just numbers.

Hope you'll enjoy learning w/ this book

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Awesome!

Buying this little book is a great way to start learning Dutch. As for the reviewer who said this book is for parrots; it's called "Colloquial Dutch" for a reason! While it's true that this book doesn't offer much of an in depth study of Dutch grammar or linguistics, that doesn't stop it from being a great little primer course that will help you learn Dutch the way the Dutch actually "spreek" it.

I went to Holland in 2005 to study history in Utrecht and I took a Dutch class while I was there. They gave us "Taal Vitaal" books in the class, but I found myself continually referring back to Donaldson's book throughout the course. I simply found it more useful than the Taal Vitaal books.

Dutch people are usually surprised and very appreciative when a non-native speaker makes an earnest effort to learn their language. That being said, one of the most difficult things about learning Dutch in Holland, is that the Dutch tend to start speaking English with you as soon as they find out that you're an English speaker. It's hard, but you have to kind of insist on fumbling around in Dutch. (If you're incredibly inhibited about doing this then try having a few "biertjes" at a pub with some locals.) In the end, whether you like the linguist's approach or the "colloquial" approach, speaking with native speakers and listening to them speak is the single best way to learn a language.

If you're really "serieus" about learning "het nederlands" I would highly recommend that you pick up "201 Dutch Verbs" and "The New Routledge Dutch Dictionary" to augment this book. With these books in hand, you'll be ready to go to Holland!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

?If you want to get to grips further with any of the [European] languages, Routledge?s Colloquial series is the best place you could start.? Rough Guide to Europe

COLLOQUIAL DUTCH is easy to use and completely up to date!

Specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use, the course offers you a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Dutch. No prior knowledge of the language is required.

What makes COLLOQUIAL DUTCH your best choice in personal language learning?

Interactive ? lots of exercises for regular practice

Clear ? concise grammar notes

Practical ? useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide

Complete - including answer key and reference section

By the end of this rewarding course you will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in Dutch in a broad range of everyday situations.

This pack contains the book and two 60-minute CDs. Recorded by native speakers, these will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.

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