Despite living in Flanders and being surrounded by Flemings, I couldn’t just flip a switch and start speaking. I’m not a natural and I get really self-conscious of my mistakes and shortcomings. Every time I hear “We moeten Nederlands spreken, eh, Ana?!” I shy out because the things I actually can say are so basic I feel stupid. I wish I could, from the moment we decree that I must speak Dutch only, chat your ears off or at least speak my mind before it gets lost in translation and the conversation moves on. Frustrating.
I doubt that I’ll stop speaking English with the people I’ve already been doing so for years. It’s our default communication. But I’m sure I’ll improve enough to be a functional and fully integrated member of the Flemish community.
Anyway, I digress.
As a beginner learner of any language, you’ll need to learn a lot of new words and it might be hard to remember all of them or know how to use them properly.
Before I started the intensive course I took advantage of the resources around me, tried them out and decided which ones were the most helpful for me.
These classes have been crucial in my case because even though I learned a lot of words in the last few months, I wasn’t able to maintain a conversation. I like following a structure, learning each situation/vocabulary/grammar on their own and doing homework and exams. Maybe it's a teacher thing. I now use the following tools as extra learning support:
1. Television: I love cooking shows (Hellooo, Jamie Oliver!) so imagine my delight in discovering a Flemish cooking channel that would teach me not only their culinary secrets but vital food vocabulary. Njam! Now and then I also watch Komen Eten, Thuis, series like Salamander and Eigen Kweek (hilarious!) and cartoons. Cartoons are especially good because their speech is clearer and easy to understand (Don’t you dare bother me when I’m watching The Penguins of Madagascar. I’m actually studying.)
2. Music: Gers Pardoel’s songs are modern and catchy. I like to read the lyrics and try to sing along – it helps a lot with pronunciation.
I doubt that I’ll stop speaking English with the people I’ve already been doing so for years. It’s our default communication. But I’m sure I’ll improve enough to be a functional and fully integrated member of the Flemish community.
Anyway, I digress.
As a beginner learner of any language, you’ll need to learn a lot of new words and it might be hard to remember all of them or know how to use them properly.
Before I started the intensive course I took advantage of the resources around me, tried them out and decided which ones were the most helpful for me.
These classes have been crucial in my case because even though I learned a lot of words in the last few months, I wasn’t able to maintain a conversation. I like following a structure, learning each situation/vocabulary/grammar on their own and doing homework and exams. Maybe it's a teacher thing. I now use the following tools as extra learning support:
1. Television: I love cooking shows (Hellooo, Jamie Oliver!) so imagine my delight in discovering a Flemish cooking channel that would teach me not only their culinary secrets but vital food vocabulary. Njam! Now and then I also watch Komen Eten, Thuis, series like Salamander and Eigen Kweek (hilarious!) and cartoons. Cartoons are especially good because their speech is clearer and easy to understand (Don’t you dare bother me when I’m watching The Penguins of Madagascar. I’m actually studying.)
2. Music: Gers Pardoel’s songs are modern and catchy. I like to read the lyrics and try to sing along – it helps a lot with pronunciation.
Children’s songs are awesome and I think it’s the right time for this:
3. Word of the day: You can subscribe and receive a new word and sentence every.single.day. What I like to do is to write down the sentence on my study notebook, listen to the native sound (on the website) and say it out loud a couple of times. Vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation practice right there. Daily. And free. Unlike booze.
4. Wablief: You can find it on Fans of Flanders website or watch it when the show is on tv. Chris explains a Flemish word or expression (in English).
5. Comic Books: Belgians are suckers for (oops, pardon me), fans of comic books. There’s even a Museum in Brussels. My boyfriend owns a decent stash that I’ve been slowly exploring. Kufje (Tintin), Suske en Wiske, Jommeke, Urbanus, you name it!
Just look around and see what you can use to learn the language you want (or need to). Read everything: labels, flyers, posters, magazines, brochures, etc. Listen to the radio, look for websites or YouTube channels. Languages are all around you, happy learning!
4. Wablief: You can find it on Fans of Flanders website or watch it when the show is on tv. Chris explains a Flemish word or expression (in English).
5. Comic Books: Belgians are suckers for (oops, pardon me), fans of comic books. There’s even a Museum in Brussels. My boyfriend owns a decent stash that I’ve been slowly exploring. Kufje (Tintin), Suske en Wiske, Jommeke, Urbanus, you name it!
Just look around and see what you can use to learn the language you want (or need to). Read everything: labels, flyers, posters, magazines, brochures, etc. Listen to the radio, look for websites or YouTube channels. Languages are all around you, happy learning!
