Dutch - Update

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Dutch the Silent Way

Update

Overall, I’m happy that I’m making progress and at the moment I feel that Dutch is a very learnable language. Most of my input so far has come from Dutch children TV. I’ve also used 'crosstalk' for everyday situations and got some 'heroes' to help me from the street.

I’ve written some emails to people to get some feedback on my approach. Here are some responses.

David Long, head of the Thai language programme at ALG, Bangkok

“I think that at the early stages, you should be careful of spending much time on anything that is too difficult. Keep it simple. I would also tend to focus on Crosstalk and see if it is possible to get 2 or 3 people to meet with you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This way, you will begin to really develop situations that are memorable, and understandable.”


John Fotheringham,Foreign Language Mastery

“I haven't actually used the ALG approach myself, but many people swear by it. While I think it will lead to good pronunciation and strong oral fluency, it does have a major disadvantage: it isn't practical for people who will be moving to a country right away and need to use the language to get around, buy groceries,.
I would also add in podcasts as they allow you to get passive listening input while doing chores, cooking, etc.”

Specifics

• I’ve watch just over a 100 hours of Dutch TV. This has been mostly children’s TV as it’s simple and quite easy to understand. I definitely feel I understand more now than I did at the start.

• I’ve probably only got about 30-40 minutes of Dutch input from people.

• Listening to Dutch children’s stories on MP3 player – approx.. 4 hours

March targets

• Watch 60 hours of Dutch TV
• Start regular crosstalk session with some Dutch people. Aim for 3-4 hours per week by the end of March.
• Listen to 30 plus hours of Dutch on my MP3 player.

It’s certainly not my intention to learn Dutch by watching TV. I definitely want the human input as I feel it’s needed and it’s more enjoyable. So, by the end of March, I definitely want my Dutch learning to have that human touch.