Monday 4 August 2014

My Dutch revision - How I'm doing it

After a well earned holiday in Spain this summer where I got to speak all the Spanish I wanted (and needed) to, I came home wanting to switch focus to one of my lesser used languages. Due to the numbers of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French speakers living and working around Dublin and the general 'approachability' of those people, I would consider Dutch and German to be my lesser used languages. I had the opportunity to use both of them while lazing around the pool in Spain and in a couple of bars as it's a popular area for Dutch and German people to retire to or buy property there. Although I received compliments from those I spoke to, I knew myself that I didn't have the ease or fluidity to these 2 languages that I can call upon while using my other ones. It was particularly evident when compared with my daily use of Spanish there, but then Spanish is one of my strongest. Nevertheless, I decided to put aside some of the ones I get more use (and practise) of, to put the time and attention into others I enjoy just as much. 
I concluded, after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing that Dutch would be the one getting my full attention. There were a few reasons behind my initial indecision between the two; you just can't deny or ignore the importance of German in European and world affairs so it's always hard to push that to the side. But I usually switch between languages much the same way as someone chooses what music to listen to on any given day or what dinner to eat; it's purely a matter of taste and if I feel like French today, then French it is. When I made my decision I was having a 'Dutch day'. 
Looking at it from a logical point of view, I also wanted to upgrade my Dutch because I have my mind fixed on a job in Brussels. I had been to Brussels in a professional capacity last year and I loved the experience it gave me. But while French and English are the languages of business inside the impressive offices of the capital, Dutch or more precisely, Flemish is the language of the person on the street just outside those offices. Yes, French is also official in Brussels but Flemish is much more common on the streets and even more so outside the capital, where French disappears altogether, at least in Flanders. I worked at a 3 day EU conference in the Irish college in Leuven, only 30 mins outside Brussels and as you would imagine, French is not spoken at all there, in fact, English is more welcome. Of course anytime I ventured out around the city I spoke Flemish to the people. In truth I was speaking Dutch as this was my first exposure to Flemish. It's basically the same language, the only differences are accent and use of certain words over others, just like the differences between British or Irish English and American English. I loved my initiation in Flemish and I had my first real conversation with a lady who owned the chocolate shop I was in to buy a gift for my wife. After an enjoyable half-hour conversation with her she informed me that she knew no English, so this conversation would not have been possible without speaking Flemish. 
She also told me that any of the people who come to Leuven for EU meetings, generally don't speak Dutch/Flemish and she was impressed at my efforts. 
Thinking about what that lady said makes me more determined to study Dutch and if I'm to go for the job in Brussels, I think it'd be in my interest to learn it in order to survive outside of the EU offices. 
The first step was to break out all the old books I'd used to learn Dutch before as just skimming though them will remind you of grammar rules and refresh your memory of some vocabulary you may have forgotten in the meantime.
Next I went back to my tried and trusted friend; www.lingq.com . If you haven't seen lingq before, I advise you to go and examine it for yourself, I think it's the best way to learn and assimilate vocabulary. It'll present the language to you as it's spoken, using real conversations recorded by native speakers, vocabulary is provided in relevant situations and as you mark the words you know, they will be noted in your 'bank' of vocabulary. Those you are not sure of will reoccur in flashcard form to you, and will also be e-mailed to you daily for revision. I am currently going through more conversations, news stories, reports and factual texts with lingq and using notebooks to write and help me assimilate the vocabulary I'm still learning. 
I also tried something new this time around; I registered with a site called sharedtalk.com which puts you in touch with a huge community of language learners, with many different languages, from all over the world. This enables you to tailor your learning to suit yourself. You can contact people who are native speakers of the language you wish to learn and who, in turn, want to learn your native tongue. You will find an exchange partner easily enough since there are many thousands of people registered to this site the world over. You can then communicate with them through an e-mail service or an instant messenger. Or you may move onto Skype-ing them, the ultimate test, as you are now talking the language. I have been having exchanges with 2 Dutch people through this site; one from Amsterdam, the other from Haarlem and I'm loving the experience. 
There is also an app called 'HelloTalk', available on your smart phone, which will do the same thing, including finding you an exchange partner. 
I'm also listening to podcasts from Radio 1 Nederland, this gives me news and current affairs in everyday language delivered at a real pace, which is perfect for listening practise. 
I've also got to know a guy from Antwerp, Belgium though Facebook. A friend of a friend, we were introduced through our mutual friend on Facebook to help me with my studies. So we've been using the Facebook messenger to text and speak, which is great practise for me.
The other thing I do is something I've mentioned before in previous entries, talking to yourself.
No it's not a sign of madness, in this context anyway. It's a great way to 'cement' language into your mind, not only vocabulary but grammar and word order too. It's basically a form of speaking practise you can carry out on your own. It'll also help you in building sentences up for when the time comes to speak it for real by getting you used to the connections you need to make between the two languages in your mind, by having these conversations in your head, you get used to making those connections quicker. You can also have practised certain things you can envisage saying more often, certain information about yourself for instance, and have that 'block' of language already prepared for use. It'll make your speech come easier, thereby sounding more fluid and fluent. 
So, I've been doing all of the above and I really feel I've been making huge progress in Dutch, which I'm loving. Any of these tips can work for you too in your chosen language.
My next test will be to travel to the Netherlands or Belgium soon to push myself a little in the proper surroundings. I hope this test comes sooner rather than later as I've been to both countries and loved my experiences there. And of course, it can only help me to learn more. 

Ik hoop dat ik heb jullie bij het leren van talen geholpen en misschien heb ik je overtuigd om naar Nederland of Belgiƫ op bezoek te gaan.