Here for the answer, sorry.
My motivations are smaller, but there appears to be so much good content on Lemmy in Dutch that I find myself trying to work it all out and want more.
Especially Dirkjan.
this post was submitted on 09 May 2024
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A place where we can learn some Dutch.
The rules:
- be nice
- no porn
- do not be toxic
- communicate in either Dutch or English
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Honestly, I don't really know any Dutch people who cant speak English at least enough to communicate. And I'm Dutch.
And even still, learning Dutch is actually pretty hard. And I doubt you'll be able to communicate better in Dutch than he can in English in the foreseeable future.
The community is called “learing Dutch”? Maybe it’s possible to rename it, or is it by design?
I think Duolingo is a great place to start learning. I recommend joining a course, which has helped me immeasurably more than Duolingo with learning Swedish. Interacting with a native speaker (or someone closer to that level) is a great way to develop the skill, as they will be able to pick up what you are struggling with. Getting engaged in some video content is also nice, but I guess what would be good for you greatly depends on your interests and current skill level.
There are plenty of resources that help new speakers. I think a great start would be to search for keywords like 'eenvoudige taal' (easy/simple language), 'nederlands voor kinderen' (Dutch for children), and the like. I think it's great learning language from stuff that is meant for (Dutch) children, like https://www.dutchforchildren.nl/gratis-nederlands-lesmateriaal/.
An example of 'eenvoudige taal', weekly Dutch news: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO72qiQ-gJuFzpCgQcsdd4lkulqeeBMC3
When you're at about A2-level (and live in NL) you might like to try something like this: https://iwcn.nl/work/my-local-friend/. It's an organization that connects native speakers with non-native speakers to hone the Dutch of the non-native speaker in a way that works best for them.
Dutch people will often switch to English as soon as you start struggling/they hear something out of place/etc., a nice trick to keep things in Dutch is by saying: "Ik spreek geen Engels" ("I don't speak English", who cares if it's a lie!)