Learn the top five tools for learning Dutch
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| Mies: Hi everybody! Welcome back to DutchPod101.com. I'm Mies, and this is all about Lesson 11: Top 5 Useful Tools for Learning Dutch |
| Jacob: And I'm Jacob. Hallo. |
| Mies: In this lesson, we have help for your Dutch studies! |
| Jacob: Yes, we do. |
| Mies: We're going to tell you the best tools to help you learn Dutch…besides us, of course. |
| Jacob: Yes, these are the supplements for you! |
| Mies: Think of these tools as like the hammer, nail, wood, glue etc. that are going to help you build your Dutch. Build it into a nice, big Dutch monument of language. Or something like that. |
| Jacob: Once you have these tools, imagine what you can do. We'll show you how to get instant translations and word look-up! |
| Mies: Now, the tools…some are slightly technical, others are just tried and true methods. |
| Jacob: Yes, but use the tools! They will help a lot. |
| Mies: Yep, even if you just try out one or two that suit you, it's going to bring a lot of benefit. We know because we've been there! |
| Jacob: The best part is, you can come to DutchPod101.com and share and learn what has worked for other students like you. |
| Mies: I mean, we have learners from all over with all styles. From the Bill Gates of learning Dutch to the bookworm who doesn't like computers, there is someone in our community that relates to your style of learning, and we can all give each other tips. |
| Jacob: So come and say hello, and make some language-learning partners. |
| Mies: Okay, now, number one…what is the number one thing you're going to need, Jacob? |
| Jacob: A Dutch Dictionary! |
| Mies: Yeah, sorry guys. That was a bit anti-climactic, perhaps. |
| Jacob: Anti-climactic, maybe, but necessary. |
| Mies: However! What we do have for you are some very exciting dictionaries. |
| Jacob: Yes, there are some surprising new forms out there that won't make your school bag any heavier. |
| Mies: Number two is online dictionaries. |
| Jacob: Another one, number three, is a grammar website. |
| Mies: Number four is an old favorite, flashcards. |
| Jacob: They have helped us many a times! |
| Mies: And last, but definitely not least…audio and visual aids. |
| Mies: So, a Dutch Dictionary. This is like what, the hammer? |
| Jacob: Yeah. The most essential, anyway! |
| Mies: Okay, yes, we know that you are thinking, "obviously." But here are what we think are the best ones and maybe some specialized forms of Dutch dictionaries you've never heard of. |
| Jacob: So of course you can choose the paper form. |
| Mies: But these are heavy and tedious. Manually looking up words isn't always that easy, and it takes a long time. |
| Jacob: So there are some more choices. Therefore, there are some great tools that have been created to make it easier. |
| Mies: Electronic dictionaries have developed tremendously, and my recommendation is a dictionary from ECTACO. |
| Jacob: Some of these dictionaries are talking ones and they allow you to select the phrase you want at the touch of the screen. |
| Mies: And they have an extensive data bank and phrases for most situations so you don't ever need to feel panic. |
| Jacob: But of course, if you prefer the old hardback, there are some good dictionaries out there. |
| Mies: Yeah, I recommend “van Dale” dictionaries. They always have the most updated words and phrases. |
| Jacob: But are quite heavy. And if you used a paper dictionary, you might have a very impatient waiter. |
| Mies: Or worse, give up and just randomly point…scary… |
| Jacob: Well, either way, you'll get great help from both! |
| Mies: Yes, and very good translation. Okay, now translation is something tool two is going to help you with! |
| Jacob: Tool two is online help. |
| Mies: Yes, it's called "mijnwoordenboek”. Inevitably, like everything in life these days, your learning process is going to be somewhat online. |
| Jacob: Yes, you can't really avoid it. |
| Mies: The good thing about this dictionary is that it also works as a thesaurus so you can find Dutch words with a similar meaning. |
| Jacob: Another useful dictionary can be “en.bab.la” The good thing is that it shows you some sample sentences with the word you looked up. |
| Mies: It also can translate some short sentences. |
| Mies: Okay, so dictionaries are a great tool, but let’s continue with tool three. |
| Jacob: It's a Dutch Grammar site: www.dutchgrammar.com |
| Mies: So, once we have some vocabulary down, we of course need to form some sentences! |
| Jacob: And as we know, this is done with grammar!. Okay, so these tools are all great so far. |
| Mies: Yes but I think we need a online tools break. Let's get back to something more arts and crafts-y. |
| Jacob: Yes, like one of my personal favorites…flashcards. |
| Mies: Yep, no better way to burn Dutch into your mind or to reinforce what you have learned visually. |
| Jacob: And in this case, you can choose – the old fashioned way or the modern way… |
| Mies: Yes, you can buy books with ready-made flashcards, practice your writing by making your own, or there are many online resources for flashcards… |
| Jacob: Yeah flashcards are a great way to learn the language. You can find an interactive flashcard feature on DutchPod101.com. |
| Mies: It makes it really convenient to use any spare moments you have to do a few. Guaranteed to push your Dutch to the next level faster. |
| Jacob: Okay last thing is, back to some technical methods. In this case, the computer is a real help. |
| Mies: Yes, because it can make you able to listen to and see Dutch whenever you want. |
| Jacob: So tool five – audio and visual. |
| Mies: Audio and visual is one of the best ways of learning a language. |
| Jacob: And very important to help your brain associate certain parts of a language, too. |
| Mies; Yes, make sure you listen to the language every day (even for a few minutes) to let your ears get used to the sound of the language. |
| Jacob: You can listen to some Dutch music, read some news, or listen to online radio at http://www.nederland.fm/ or |
| http://www.listenlive.eu/netherlands.html |
| Mies: I'm a hardcore listener to Dutch radio and it has helped my listening and pronunciation heaps! |
| Jacob: Sure! We also need to let our eyes get used to Dutch, so what better way than reading! |
| Mies: As reading a novel can be a bit tricky at first, I recommend you go back to when you were a kid learning your own language. What did you use? |
| Jacob: Picture books! |
| Mies: Correct! You might think that it's too childish, but it DOES work. For the very beginning you can start with the picture books from Dick Bruna with Miffy in them. Then you can move on to fairy tale books. In most of these fairy tales you will know the story already so this will make it easier for you. |
| Jacob: Yes, and books for all levels are available! |
| Mies: All these things are great; I've used them all. But I do have to say that there is one last thing that I want to mention. Maybe people get so into these high-flying tech things that they forget about it. |
| Jacob: What is that? |
| Mies: It's the humble notebook and pen. So many uses, but I'll share my tip. Every time you hear a word, learn a word, or find yourself lacking a word that you need to know, write it down. |
| Jacob: Yes, otherwise you won't retain as much. |
| Mies: Yes, and the next time you are with someone Dutch, you can ask them, 'How do I say such-and-such," or just study the words whenever you pull out the notebook. |
| Jacob: Yes, it's a really good supplement. |
| Mies: It's really going to take your Dutch to the next level. Well, those are the Top Five Tools for Learning Dutch. If you have some other resources you would like to share, you can always stop by DutchPod101 and share it with the community! |
| Mies: Thanks for listening! |
| Jacob: Dag! |
| Mies: Bye! |
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