I’ve always wanted to speak more than one language — but I haven’t always wanted to put in the effort to actually learn one. Growing up as a home school student, I didn’t get the usual mandatory couple of years of language classes that most kids take in high school. As an adult, Chris, some friends and I made an effort to learn Mandarin but we didn’t get very far — tonal languages are hard!
Last year I learned about DuoLingo and decided to learn Irish. Chris and I were working on it together and just like with Mandarin, we didn’t get very far. Let me be really honest with you — the DuoLingo Irish program sucks. You don’t always get to learn words by hearing them spoken out loud, but then later you’re expected to know them when you hear them. This wouldn’t be so frustrating if not for the fact that a lot of Irish words look like a Scrabble factory exploded and that inspired someone to craft a language. I know that sounds harsh, but I speak from a place of love. I have Irish and Welsh heritage and I love the letter salad of my ancestors’ words, they’re just really difficult to learn.
After banging my head against the wall of the Irish language, I decided to change tacks again and learn Dutch instead.
Why Dutch?
- I have a really awesome friend in Amsterdam who is excited to help me learn.
- I’m planning to go to Amsterdam next year and I’d like to be able to order my stroopwafels in Dutch. And y’know, navigate other basic human interactions, but mostly the stroopwafels.
I’m happy to say the Dutch program on DuoLingo is so much better than the Irish one. You can mouse over any word and hear it pronounced. But it also helps that Dutch spelling and pronunciation is somewhat easier than Irish. The “g” sound got me for a bit but I’m getting more comfortable the longer I practice it.
DuoLingo isn’t perfect though. It only teaches words and phrases, whereas if I was in a real language class like I took for Mandarin, I feel like I’d be getting more practice with conversations.
That’s where my friend comes in! Because she loves learning languages and is excited that I want to learn hers, she is always willing to help me (time zones allowing). Not only can I ask her my ridiculous questions, but we also practice conversations and sometimes she assigns me homework or sends me interesting things in Dutch.
Knowing a native speaker is a great way to not only learn how the language is really spoken, but also to learn the names of all the snack foods (I’ve got my priorities straight, right?).
In addition to DuoLingo and practicing with my friend, I love to make flashcards.
I use these adorable little “Word Cards” made of graph paper, which are bound together with a ring. They’re small enough that I can easily throw a few into my purse and review them when I’m on the bus or waiting in line or whatever.
There are a lot of apps you can use for flashcards as well, but I find that I like the practice of actually physically writing the words and reading them in my handwriting on paper. It’s really easy for me to have a deck of Word Cards at hand while I’m doing DuoLingo or talking with my friend, and then I can write down new words as I learn them.
I’ve started listening to some music and watching some YouTube videos in Dutch, too. If you put on the English subtitles, you can follow what’s being said while also picking out the few words you recognize.
I’m a long long long long LONG way from being anywhere near fluent in Dutch, but I’m really enjoying learning it. I’m a firm believer in the importance of being a life-long learner, and the importance of doing stuff you’re bad at. Well, not to say that I’m BAD at Dutch, but I speak it at about a toddler level, so I’m definitely a beginner.
Do you like learning languages? What do you like to do to practice your language skills?
