Learning Dutch

[Mrc.]

As the title basically. For various reasons, I'm trying to learn Dutch but unfortunately my university doesn't have any part-time classes and I'm nowhere near good enough to join the course. Other paid courses may be available, but I currently have no money at all (as in, I'm £1498 into my £1500 overdraft because my loan never came in) so that's not an option sadly. As a result, I've been using DuoLingo to help me, but I feel that whilst this is a good resource, there may be others out there to complement it.

So I ask you, Playground, do any of you speak Dutch? Have any ideas to help me learn?

Oh, and whilst a response in Dutch might seem witty, I'm almost certain not to get it so please stick to English for now. I doubt I can actually do a huge amount on this forum itself with the Forum Rules looming ominously overhead, but I hope you guys can at least point me in the right direction.

Cheers!

[Flickerdart]

While I can't help with Dutch specifically, immersion is a very useful tool for learning languages in general. Switch the language on services you typically use (Facebook, Twitter, maybe even your operating system) to Dutch and you'll get practice with the language.

[Socratov]

I agree, immersion is a great tool, and if you want to learn the reading part you might be interested in newssites. I generally use nu.nl. So you could try that one.

[Haruki-kun]

Try researching Dutch pop culture. Movies, music, TV... then watch them subtitled so you can get used to hearing the language and catching what people are saying.

For books, look for grade school-level reading material. It doesn't even have to be stuff that was originally in Dutch. You can find a book you've already read in English and try re-reading it in Dutch, or reading passages in both languages.

[Murk]

Try researching Dutch pop culture. Movies, music, TV... then watch them subtitled so you can get used to hearing the language and catching what people are saying.

Dutch pop culture is pretty horrible though. It's like advising someone who wants to learn English to go watch Jersey Shore.
But yeah, it will work, and that's most important.

What's nice about Dutch is that there's not a lot of people speaking it, meaning most people speaking Dutch also speak at least one other language pretty well. With a few words of Dutch, mixed with all the English, German or French you can muster, you can go a long way.

[CurlyKitGirl]

You could try italki if you want to practice speaking and such. You can pay for lessons or you can search for Language Partners and chat that way.
Here's a list of Dutch speakers on italki right now. And here are the native speakers.

[Mrc.]

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll have a proper look at all this over the next week or so. You guys are the best!

[CurlyKitGirl]

Oh yes, one other resource I failed to mention: Dutchpod101.com. You can sign up for a free seven day trial (that treats you as a premium member) that gives you access to literally every single lesson and resource they have ever published. Download as much or as little as you want from it.
I was a little hesitant to mention it earlier as it's a little . . . cheaty maybe as I suppose that you could potentially download all the lesson audio and notes and transcripts and stuff if you worked hard enough and had enough internet allowance to do it.

Anyway, a free resource for vocabulary: anki. An SRS flashcard software, the link takes you directly to shared decks in or about Dutch. You can also make your own flashcards on your own and share them if you so wish.

[Held]

I'm a native Dutch speaker. The way I learnt English was mostly through immersion: I read a lot of books in English, watched TV shows in English and communicated in English. I think acquiring a language through immersion alone is a bad idea, though, because you're likely to pick up a specific dialect or the unique way of talking a specific group has. Like, you don't want to pick up Dutch through immersion and then find out that you're basically talking like, yo man I be droppin' some mad beatz over in dis shiz!

That's why I'd recommend picking up a textbook specifically tailored to teaching you Dutch as well. That way, you get to learn the "proper" way to speak the language, which you can complement with whatever you pick up through immersing yourself in the language. Try speaking Dutch with native speakers as well to practice your Dutch and get into a habit of thinking in a different language. Above all, keep practising every day if you can.