Dont Worry Speak Dutch

2013AlbertBothwww.dutchflownow.
nl
Thereisabeautifulplace
calledDutchflow
Letsgotherequick
Haventyouwaitedlongenough?
AlbertBoth(Mr.DutchBrainwash)
DutchFlowNow+Talencoach
2013AlbertBothwww.dutchflownow.nl
Contents
Introduction
05
The3stepsthatyoumusttakeforDutchFlow
06
Step1:Decide
08
Howyourdecisionwillboostyourlearningevenmore
11
Extra:thingsthatcanhelpyoutodecidetodecide
15
Makeadisadvantagelist
16
Itistimefortheothersideofthecoin
17
Theultrapositiveadvantagelist
18
Whatifnothingseemstowork?
19
Howtofindyourtrueprioritiesinlife
20
Funnybuttrue(raarmaarwaar)
21
Step2:learnfastandhavefun
23
Howtolaunchyourlanguagerocket,onceandforall
26
Type1:theostrich
27
Type2:theparrot
28
Type3:thechicken
29
Type4:theeagle
33
Whymostpeoplepreferslowlearning
36
Falseassumption1
37
Falseassumption2
40
Falseassumption3
42
Falseassumption4
44
Falseassumption5
45
Doyouhavethecouragetolearnfast?
46
Step3:beunstoppable!
48
Thesecretsoftheeagle
49
3criticalskillsthatwillunleashyourDutchonceandforall!
52
2tipsforspeakingDutchineverydaylife
56
Thisisnottheend,onlythebeginning
57
Aninvitationthatcouldchangeyourlife
58
Finally:themostimportantthingever!
60
Somethingaboutme
61
Notes+ideasforaction
62
Introduction
Lets start with a simple question: would you like to speak great Dutch?
Now, before second thoughts, fears or doubts come up, make sure that you just
answer this question first. Would you like it?
I just guess that your answer is probably yes (otherwise you would not be reading
this e-book ) If you said yes, then congratulations! You just made one important
and decisive step. Admitting that you really like something is the first essential step
for actually getting it!
It is amazing how many people say no to this question. Out of the blue they start to
argue that they dont need it for work for example. Well why the f#@! does that
matter? The question only is: would you like it? If you just feel that it is yes, then
admit it. Have some courage and say: yes, this is what I like (and smile) !
Do not worry if you do not know how to get there. Dont worry if you have had some
negative experiences and maybe even traumas in the past. Just saying that you
would like to speak great Dutch, is such a wonderful step. Believe it or not, you are
already a huge stead ahead in comparison with just one minute ago!
This eBook is for you. It will help you to realize your wish, and you can realize it
relatively quickly.
Basically there are only 2 questions:
Would you like to speak great Dutch?
and if so, why not now?
This eBook will make a difference, if you read it carefully and apply it. It will show 3
specific steps that you must take it you want to get to a place that I call Dutch flow.
Are you ready for a whole new adventure? Enjoy the journey!
All the best!
Albert Both (Mr. Dutch Brainwash)

Dutch Flow Now + Talencoach
The 3 specific steps that you must take for Dutch Flow
Have you ever imagined how you would feel if you could speak great Dutch? Maybe
you already tried it. Or even worse, you do not even think about it anymore, because
you heard so many horror stories from all different kinds of people. Why would you
set up for failure? On the other hand if you could speak great Dutch, it would be
great, right?
Learning Dutch can be a horrendous nightmare and.. even if you have done so many
courses already, you may still find that you cannot speak it as much as you like.
Maybe you do your best to speak Dutch as good as you can, but Dutch people switch
over to English before you know it! However, do not worry there is a way out.
Dutch flow is only 3 steps away.
Learning and speaking great Dutch is absolutely possible, even within a relatively
short period of time but and now comes the catch, there are 3 specific steps
that you must take, and also it is important they you take these in a certain way!
And then everything will be different! You will notice the flow and things that
seemed to be impossible at first are now absolutely achievable!
There is more good news the steps are not that horrible. They could be nice to
take! Just have a look for yourself!
THE SECRET FORMULA

TO DUTCH FLOW NOW
3 SPECIFIC STEPS:
1 DECIDE
2 LEARN FAST AND HAVE FUN
3 BE UNSTOPPABLE
So, what do you think? They are not that horrendous, arent they? Wouldnt you love
to take them, if speaking great Dutch is something that you truly want?
P.s: read all the information carefully, even if you can already guess what kind of information you will
find about each and every step. One thing is certain: you will be surprised and as soon as you take
each and every step you will notice that all of a sudden everything starts to flow!
Step1:decide!
Step1:decide!
WhywillmanypeoplenevereverspeakgreatDutch?Thereasonissimple.Firstofall,you
mustsaytoyourselfthatyouabsolutelylikeit.Youhavetomakeadecisionandthenstick
toit!Manypeopleneverevertakethisfirststep.Nowonderthattheywillneverevergetit.
Manypeopleassumethatlivinginacountryautomaticallymeansthatyouwilllearnanew
language.Itisallabouthavingexposureright?Somepeoplehavebeenlivinginthe
Netherlandsforalongtime,theymarriedaDutchpartner,havechildrenandtheneveryone
inthefamilyspeaksDutch,except.Wellyoucanalreadyguesswhothatis,right?
Beingattherighttime,intherightplaceandevenwiththerightpeopleisnotenough!
Sure,youwillalwayslearnsomewordswhenyouareintheNetherlands.Hallo,goede
morgenandifyouareluckyevenikhouvanjou(Iloveyou).Socertainlyinthebeginningit
seemsthateverythingwilltakecareofitself.Butthenallofasuddenitstops.Noflow.
Thereisnotsomuchthatyouwilllearn.everythingjuststops.Insecretsomepeoplemay
hopethatonedayamiraclewilloccurthatmakesthemspeakgreatDutch,butsadly
enough,thisdaywillneverevercomeSowhatisitthatmanypeopledoinsuchacase?It
isalogicalthingtodo,theydo..exactlynothing!
Suresomepeoplemayfeeluneasyaboutit.Somepeopleevenfeelguilty.Ifyouaskthem
iftheywanttolearnDutch,theywillalwaysgiveanaffirmativeanswer.OfcourseIwantto
learnthelanguagetheywillsay:IjusthateitwheneverybodyspeaksEnglish,justbecause
ofme.IreallywanttointegratemuchmoreinDutchsocietyyouknowItallsoundsvery
genuineindeedbutitseemsthatsomehowinsecret,theystilllikeit.Theywilloftensay
somethinglikethis:wellEnglishissoeasyformeyouknow.Thisisexactlywhymany
peopleneverevermakeaconsciousdecision.Lifeiseasynow,sowhywouldyouliketo
changeit?
Areyouwaitingforcoercion?
Mostpeopledonotfeeltheneedtochangesomething,evenifitisforthebetter,whena
circumstanceisnotdirectlylifethreatening.ThisiscertainlytrueforspeakingDutch.Youcan
easilysurvivewithoutit!Sowhatcouldreallymotivateyoutodoitifthisissomethingthat
youreallywouldlike?Itseemsthatsomehowinsecret,manypeoplearewaitingfor
coercion.Someoneorsomethingthatwillforcethemtodoit.Maybeyouwouldneeda
Dutchpersonthathasaguninhishandwhowillkillyouifyoudonotlearnthelanguage.Or
maybeyouwouldonlystarttakinglessonsifyouknewthatyourcompanywouldfireyouif
youdontspeakDutch.Wow!Thatwouldbequiteeffective,dontyouthink?
Althoughitmaylookabsurd,ifyouthinkaboutit,itisnotsuchamadideaatallIsntit
howlifefunctionsatschoolsandatwork?Yourteacherasksyoutostudysomethingand
thenyouwilldoit.Yourbossasksyoudowriteareportandyouwill.Youhavetodoit,
becauseyoualsoknowthatifyoudont,therewillbenegative
consequences.Bothateacheroryouremployercandiscipline
orpunishyou,ormakeyoulookstupidinfrontofeverybody
else
Butnowanotherquestiondidyoulikethoseobligations?
ProbablynotChancesarehighthatyouhaveenoughduties
andresponsibilitiesalready,sobasicallyyouarealreadyfedup
withthem.Sobehonestnowifsomeonetriedtoimpose
Dutchonyou,wouldntyoutryeverythingthatyoucould
possiblythinkofsothatyoucouldescapefromit?YouranswershouldbeyesJustadmit
itanddontfeelbadaboutit.Thisiswhatmostpeoplewoulddo(Iwould)
So,althoughdutyandcompulsionseemtobeveryeffectiveformotivatingyoutofinally
speakDutch,probablyitwillnotwork.Ontopofthat,justcheckforyourselfIfyouare
reallyforcedtodosomething,thenwouldyouputyourheartinit?Wouldyoureallybringit
toexcellence?ProbablynotThereforeitissafetosaythatitwillnotworkifsomeone
forcesyou.Nowhereistheoutrageousidea:whynotgotothetotalopposite?Whatifit
couldbeafreechoice?Whatifyoucoulddoit,becauseitisYOUlikeit?
Oops!ThatmustbeaweirdfeelingdoingsomethingbecauseitisYOURfreechoice!Do
younoticeadifference?Doyoulikeit?
Whywouldyouworkallthetime?
OnefavoriteargumentthatpeopleoftenbringupisthattheydonotspeakDutch,because
theydonotneeditforworkNowthinkaboutitagainWhatdoesitmeanifyousaysuch
athing?Thatyouonlyworkorthatyouareaworkaholicwithoutanypersonallife?Dont
youthinkthatthisisabsolutebull$hitthen?Ifthisistrue,thenwhywouldyouhave
children?Whywouldyoutakeacatoradog?Thesethingshavenothingtodowithwork
right?Butifthingsenrichyourpersonallife,thenitisworthdoingthem.Period!
ThereisanothergoodthingifyoudonotspeakDutchatwork.ThenifyouspeakDutch,it
meansthatyouarenotworking!Dontyouthinkthatthisisagreatfeelingtohave?Then
speakingDutchcanhelpyoutofeelmorerelaxed
Ifyoudontneeditnow,itisevenbetter
ThemainreasonthatpeoplegivefornotspeakingDutchisthattheydonotneeditatthis
verymoment.Butwhenyoudonotneeditrightnow,itisevenbetter.Italwaystakes
somemoretimetobringyourDutchtoahigherlevelandifyoureallywanttouseitforwork
forexample,itmaytakeyouatleast6months.Sowhatwouldyoudoiftodaytherewasa
dreamjobavailablewiththerequirementthatyoualsospeakDutch?Ifyoutrytolearnit
underthiscircumstancethenverylikely,youwouldfeeltoomuchpressureandyouwould
betoostressedaboutitwithonelogicalresult:noDutchandnodreamjob.Nowyouhave
2reasonstobefrustrated!
Alsoifyoulookinyourfuturethenwhatcouldhappen?Althoughyoumaynotneedto
speakDutchnow,companieshireandfirepeopleallthetime.Theeconomycanalso
changeSoyouneverknowbutisntitagreatideathatifyoureallyneedDutchina
future,itcanbeatyourdisposal?Thisisagreatfeelingthatyoucanalreadyhaveatthisvery
moment,ifyoustartrightnow!
Areyoufeelingmorepositivenowaboutstep1?Doyouthinkitwillbeeasiertomakea
decisionrightnow?Ifnot,dontworrytherearestillsomeothertechniquesthatcanhelp!
Somefoodforthought.
Bytheway,youalreadyknowthatHollandisfamous
foritstulips,right?Justaquestion.Aretulips
absolutelynecessaryinordertosurvive?
AttheendofthesecondworldwarmanyDutchpeople
foundthattheywereessentialinordertosurvive.So
theystartedeatingthebulbsDidtheylikeit?No!The
tasteofbulbswasandstillishorrendous!
Fortunatelythewarisover,buttherearemoretulipsintheNetherlandsthanever
MillionsoftouristsalsolovethemandtheywonteatthebulbseitherSoisnttherea
strangeparadox?Obviouslyifyoudonotreallyneedsomethinginordertosurvive,itisalot
easiertoappreciateitandtoembracethebeautyofit!
10
Howyourdecisionwillboostyourlearningevenmore!
Itisnotdifficulttounderstandthatstep1decideisabsolutelyvitalforgreatlanguage
successTherearesomeotheraspectsthatmostpeopletendtooverlook.Butifyoudo
payattentiontothemthensomehowitwillhaveagreatpositiveimpactonyourlearning.
Justreadthetextbelowandcheckifyouthoughtofit!(maybeyoualreadydid)
Youhavetodecidethatyouspeakit!
Hereisanotherstrangethingmanypeoplemayhavedecidedthattheywanttolearn
Dutchandthenstillnotsomuchhappenswhenitcomestoactuallyspeakingit.Theymay
takecoursesandlistentocds.but.learningdoesnothavealotofvalueifyoudonot
speakit!SowheneveryoudecidethatyouwanttomasterDutch,thendecideexplicitlythat
youalsospeakit!Knowledgebyitselfisnotpower.Itisonlypowerwhenyouactuallyuseit!
AlsodecidehowmuchDutchyouwant
ApartfromdecidingthatyouspeakDutch,youmustalsodecidehowmuchDutchyouliketo
speak.Mostpeoplesettheirgoalstoolowandthatiswhytheylearnlittleandhavesmall
results.Quiteoftenyourgoalsetsthelimitforwhatyoucanachieve.Imaginethatyou
decidethatyouonlywanttospeakDutchinashop.Thenwhatwillyoubeabletodoafter
sometime?Indeedjustthat,nothingmore!Ifthisiswhatyoulike,thenbyallmeansdo
it!But.ifyoufinditboringthenmaybeitistimetosetahigherandmoreinspiringgoal.
Whengoalsarelowthenlearningisslow!
Thereasonwhymostpeoplesetgoalsthataretoolowisthattheybelievethatlowgoals
areeasiertoachieve.Butcontrarytowhatyoumaybelieve,thisisnottrue.Onceyouset
asagoalthatyoucaneasilytalkaboutallthethingsthatyoureallylove,thenlearningwill
goalotfaster!WhynotdecidethatyouwillgiveapresentationinDutchorleadameeting?
Also,whenyousetagoalmakesurethatthatyouuseareallifesituation,ratherthan
gettingacertificate.OnceyounoticeforyourselfhowniceitistospeakDutchinreallife,
thenyoullfeelmoreenergizedtolearnthelanguage.Somepeoplemayarguethatyou
needadiplomaorcertificateforapermittostayinthecountry.Ifthisisthecase,thenmake
surethatyougetit.Butfortherest,forgetaboutthem.Theproblemwithlearningfora
diplomaisthatyourbrainwillstarttodumpalltheinformationassoonasyouhavepassed
theexam.Youwillstarttoforgetalmosteverythingifyoudonotreallyuseitineveryday
life,becauseyourbrainwillautomaticallyassumethattheinformationthatyoustudiedso
hard,isnowirrelevant.
Dontlearnforcertificatesordiplomas!(ifyoureallyliketospeakDutch)
Contrarytowhatyoumaythink,diplomasandcertificatesdonotmeanathing.Ifyouneed
11
itinordertoprovetoothersthatyoumasterDutchsoperfectly,thenitisalreadytoolate.
OnceyousimplyspeakgreatDutchthennoonewillaskyoutoshowyourdiplomas.
Anotherimportantreasonisthatpassinganexamdoesnotmeanthatyoureallymasterthe
language.Therearemanypeoplethatuseallkindsoftricksforgettinganofficialdiploma,
butDutchemployershavealreadydiscoveredthatacertificateisnotaguaranteeatallso,
ifyouneedacertificateforbureaucracythendoit.Butthen,makesurethatyoufindthe
inspirationforyourgoalinreallife!
Whynotgoforfluency?
Oops!Wouldyouthinkthatthisgoalisfartoooutrageous
foryouandthatitcannevereverbereached?Thisgoal
lookssointimidatingthatmostpeopledontevendare
tothinkofit.
Butcontrarytowhatyoumaybelieve,fluencydoesnot
havetobesodifficultatall.Firstofall,itdoesnotmean
thatyourDutchhastobeperfect.Itdoesnotmeanthat
youhavetoknoweverythingaboutgrammarandvocabulary
Theonlythingthatyouneedisthatthereisaflowinyourconversationandthatitsounds
fluent.So,whynotgoforit?
Believeitornot,fluencyisactuallyanaturalthing.Thatsamethingthatenergizeswatercan
alsoboostyourDutch!Makesurethatyoudecidetospeakalanguagefluently.Youwillfeel
somuchmorealive(andattheenditisnotsomuchmoreeffortatall)
Thegreatestsecretofall
ChancesarehighthatyouhaveheardofthepyramidofMaslow.Itsays
thatthereisapyramidofneeds.Firstyouwanttomakesurethatyou
haveenoughfoodanddrinktosurviveandonlythenyoucanmove
tothenextlevel.
Onlyifyourfirstneedsaremet,thenyouwill
workonotherthings,suchasbeinghappy.
Ingeneralitismuchmoresatisfyingto
workonthehigherlevel,ratherthanonthe
firsttwolevelsbelow.Ifyouareonlybusy
withphysiologicalneedsandsafety,thenlifeisactuallyboring.Justthinkofthetulips
again!Onlevel1youeatthebulbsofthetulips.Onlevel3/4youwillreallystartenjoying
thebeautyoftulips.Therefore,lifeismorefunonahigherlevel
12
Herecomesafunnythingwhenyoulookattheprogramoftheaveragelanguagecourse,
youwillseethattheymainlydealwiththetwolowerlevels,thelevelsofmerelysurviving.
Nowonderthatmostclassesaresoboring!
SoifyouwanttoboostyourDutchfromdayone,thenwhynotdecidetostartfromlevel4
oreven5?OnceyouseespeakingDutchasatrueexpressionofyourself,thenfinding
satisfactionwillbesomucheasier.Believeitornot,withtherightapproach,youcanalready
starttotalkaboutallthethingsthatreallyinterestyouonday1!
Sonowthatyouhavedecidedtooperatefromlevel4orlevel5,thehigherlevels,youcan
seethatthiswillhaveanimmediateimpactonyourlearning.Letsassumethatyouloveto
gooutwithfriendsandsharejokes(whichissenseofbelonging)inDutchthenimmediately
yourealizethatmemorizingsentencesfromabookoracdwillnotdothetrick.
Forsharingjokesandhumorwithyourfriends,youmustoperatefromahigherlevel!
Luckilythereisonehugeadvantageaboutit.Itisfarmorefun!Andthemorefun
youhave,thefasteryouwilllearn.Literally,itisthateasy.
Nowyoualsounderstandthatyouwillhavetolearnmanymorethings.Isntitthatwith
yourfriendsyouwouldliketotalkaboutamillionofdifferentsubjects?Thereforecreativity
andflexibilityarealsoimportantthingstohave.Anotherimportantskilltohaveisthatyou
canalsoexpressyourfeelingsandemotions.Soonceagain,setyourgoalshighandonly
operatefromthehigherlevelsofthepyramidofMaslow.Youwilllearnmuchmoreandit
doesfeelalotbetter!
Letsdoalittleexperiment
Letsdoanexperiment.Sitinyourlivingroomandjustcloseyoureyesandthinkofyour
livingroom.Justtrytoseeallthedetails.Whereisthesofa,whereisyourTV?Justtryto
visualizeeverythingasgoodasyoucan.Andthenopenyoureyes.Whatdoyounotice?
Thendothisagain,butnowwithalittletwist.Closeyoureyesagainandvisualizeeverything
again,butnowfocusoneverythingthatisredinyourlivingroom.Itmaybe
asofa,acurtainorsomebooks.Ormaybeitisthecolorofyourcat!!
Now,openyoureyesagainWhatdoyounotice?
Doyounoticethatallofasuddenallkindsofredthingsaroundyou?
Thisisexactlywhatwillhappenonceyouhaveahugeandinspiringgoal.
Somehowimportantpiecesofinformationwillnaturallystandoutandtherefore
youwilllearnmanymorethingswithfarmoreease.
Thefunnythingisthis:twopeoplemayfollowtheexactsamecourse,butwith
onemaindifference.Onepersonhasarealandcleargoalandisreallyexcitedaboutit.
Theotherpersonjusttakesit,withouthavingaspecificgoalinmind.Whatdoyouthink?
13
Whowillspeakthemost?Therefore,havingaspecificgoalinmindwillalreadycreatean
enormousdifference.
So,reallytakeagoalthatinspiresyouandseeorvisualizeyourselfactuallydoingit!Thisis
thegreateststartyoucaneverimagine.OrasDutchpeoplesayit:eengoedbeginishet
halvewerk,agoodstartishalfofthejobandinmanyways,thisisabsolutelytrue!
Whenyousetyourgoal,useyourfantasy!Rememberthatthe
limitationofyourownimaginationisthelimitationforyourDutch.
Alsodontworryabouthowyoucanachieveit!Beoutrageous!Ifyou
needsomeinspiration,justlookatlittlechildrenorrememberthat
thereisstillaninnerchildinsideofyouthathasthecouragetodream
bigthings.Whatifanythingcouldbepossible?Whatifyoucouldhave
somuchmorethanyoueverimagined?
Thereisonemorethingthatyouneedtodo.
Youhavetosettimeasidenowinwhichyou
willmainlyfocusonstep2Learnandfastandhavefun
Somakesurethatyouknowexactlywhenyouwilldo
it..Adreamwithoutactiononlyremainsadream.Lets
turnitintoreality!
Ifyouarelikemostpeople,youwillfinditdifficult
tofindormaketime.Maybeyouneedtoarrange
thingsforyourworkoryouneedtoorganizesome
thingswithyourfamily
Quiteoften,onaveryshorttermnotsomanythingsarepossible.Forexample,ifyoutell
yourbossthattomorrowyouwillgoanddoaDutchcourse,thenquitelikely
yourbosswilltellyouthatthisisnotpossible.However,ifyouplanitacoupleofmonthsin
advance,thensomehowitwillbealoteasiertoarrange..Ifyoutellyourbossthatyou
wouldliketohavesometimeoffafter4monthsforexampletheninmostcasesitwillbe
quiteeasytodoit.
Fewpeoplerealizeit,butfindingthetimeisoneofthefirstskillsthatyouneed!
14
Extra:thingsthatcanhelpyoutodecidetodecide
DoestheideaofspeakinggreatDutchstillappealtoyou,butdoyousomehowstillfindit
difficulttodecide?Noproblem.Therearesomeothertechniquesthatcanhelpyouto
decidesothatfinallyyouwillsay:yes!Igoforit!
Letsfaceittherearealsohugedisadvantages!
IfyouliketheideaofspeakingDutch,butifyouhavenottakenstep1
sofar,thenprobablythereisagoodreason.Youmaysensethatthere
arealsodisadvantagesornegativeconsequences.Congratulations!
Theonlythingthatyouneedtodoisthatyouareextremelyhonest
now.Writedownallthethingsthatarelessniceaboutit.Writedown
everythingthatcomestoyourmind,evenifitdoesnotmakesense
toyouintellectually.Manygoodreasonsmaycomeup,andsome
reasonswillbesilly.Thisisperfectlyok.
Inordertogiveyousomeinspiration,herearesomeexamples:
.Youmayfearthatlearningisgoingtobedifficult(badmemoriesfromschool)
.YoumayfeellessspecialifnoonespeaksEnglishtoyouanymore
.YoufearthatyousoundlessintelligentifyouspeakDutchandmakemistakes
.Youdontliketheideathatyouarelessincontrolofyourconversations
Yougettheidea,right?Makesurethatyouletallthenegativethoughtscomeup!Dontuse
censorship!
Oops!Whywouldyoubreaksuchapreciousegg?
Hereisanotherimportantthing.YoumusthaveheardoftheEnglishproverb
thatyoucannotmakeanomeletwithoutbreakingeggs.Althoughdeepinside
youknowthatthisistrue,italwaysfeelsriskyifyoubreakanegg.Letsfaceit,whowill
guaranteethatyouwillgetaniceomelet?Therearesomanythingsthatcangowrong
Maybeitwillgetburnedinthefryingpanoryoureggwilldroponafilthyfloor..Yousee?
Investingisnotalwayseasy!
Manypeopleareafraidofinvestinginthemselves.Ifyouarelikemostpeople,youhesitate
whenyourealizethatyouneedtoputintimeormoney,inyourself!Ifthisisrelevanttoyou,
thenalsowriteitdown!Withthetimeandmoneythatyouneedtoinvest,youcouldalsogo
onaniceholidayright?Maybeyoucouldevengoonacruise.Soifthereisanyprecious
eggthatyouneedtobreak,thenwriteitasadisadvantage!
15
Makeadisadvantagelist
Pleasebeverygenerouswithyournegative
thoughts.Themorehonestyouare,themore
insightsyouwillget.Itmightbefuntodoit
Letyourdarkestthoughtscomeupnow!Donotrefrainyourself!Donotjudgeyourselfifyou
findthattherearemanydarkthoughtsthatcomeup.Justwelcomethemandwrite
everythingdownthatcomestoyourmind,evenitisabsurdorwhenitisthereforonlyone
second.Thatisit!
Didyouwritedownmanydisadvantages?Good!Nocomesthefunpart.
Howmanyobjectionsdoreallymakesense?Reallybehonestandjudgeforyourselfifthese
thingsshouldreallystopyou.Itcanalsobeveryeffectivetoworkwiththislistwithagood
friendoracoach!Makesurethatyouasksomereallycriticalquestions.
Ifyoufindoutobjectivelythatasamatteroffactthedisadvantagedoesnotmakeanysense,
thennowyoucanremoveitfromyourlist.Justseeifthiscanalreadymakeyourlistabit
shorter.Oneimportantthing:onlyremoveitfromyourlistifyouareconvincedthatitisnot
anegativeconsequenceanymore.
16
Itistimefortheothersideofthecoin!
Luckilythereisalsogoodnews.Ifthereisdisadvantages,thenofcourse
youalsohaveadvantages.So,letsfocusnowmuchmoreontheadvantages.
Focusingonadvantagesisnotalwayseasy.Thefirsttendencyofmostpeople
isonlyconsideringcertainrisks.Quiteoftenittakessomuchenergythat
paradoxicallyenough,peopleforgetthatthereareadvantagesaswell!
Believeitornot,seeingadvantagesisaskill.Thereforeitisimportantthatyoustarttodiga
littlebitdeepernow.Imagineforexamplehowyoucouldenhanceyourcommunicationwith
yourDutchfriendsorcolleagues.Whatwoulditreallymean?
WhatwoulditreallymeanifyoujustfeelathomeintheNetherlands?Manypeopleoften
complainthatquitesometimestheyfeellikeanoutsider.Sowhatifyoucouldgetridofthis
onceandforall?
Couldabrightfutureinspireyou?
SomethingelsewhatyoucoulddoistoseemoreadvantagesinthefutureaswellHow
couldyourfuturelookdifferentoneyearfromnowon?Andwhatwouldbepossibleafter3
years?Whatwouldbepossibleafter5years?Nowitistimeforevenagreaterquestion
nowthatyoucanseepositivethingsinyourfuture,howcanyoufeelaboutitrightnow?
Didyoualreadyconsiderimmediatebenefits?
Onethingthatmostpeopletendtooverlookareimmediatebenefits.
Mostpeopleerroneouslyassumethatadvantageswillonlycomeafter
alongloooongtimeonceyoumasterDutchandonlyifyoumasterit
perfectlyFortunatelythisisnottrue.Therearemanybenefitsthatyou
canenjoyrightnow.Herearesomeexamples:
.Finallyyoudosomethingforyourselfthatisnotworkrelated
.Youstimulateyourbrainwithanewrefreshinglanguageadventure
.Youdiscovermuchmoreaboutyourownlanguage
.YouunderstandwhatDutchpeopleactuallymeanwhentheyspeakEnglishtoyou
.Youdiscoversomenewtalentswithinyourselfandasenseofcontrol
.Youfinallyrealizethatthisnastyteacherwascompletelywrong!
Allright,nowitistimeforthenextstep.Youcanalreadyguesswhatitisright?Itistimefor
theadvantagelist!Theultrapositiveadvantagelist!
17
Theultrapositiveadvantagelist
Probablyyouwillfindthismorefuntodo.Makesurethatyouwritedown
anypositivethoughtthatcomestoyourmind,evenifitlooksridiculous.
Maybeyouliketheideathatfinallyyoucanunderstandthedirtyjokesof
yourfriendsandcolleaguesorthatnowyougetthemessageofthat
stupidcommercial.Onceagain,ifitmakesyoufeelgood,writeitdown!
Donotwithholdyourself,youcannotdiefromanoverdoseofpositivity!
Didyoumakealonglist?Good!Rightnow,youdonothavetobearocketscientist
toguesswhatthenextstepis.Simplycomparethislistwiththelistofdisadvantages
andthenitissimplyamatterofcomparing.Alwaysrememberthatnoonecanimpose
therightchoiceonyou.Attheendonlyyoudecidewhatisrightforyou
18
Whatifnothingseemstowork?
Rightnowitshouldbeeasytocometoadecision.Andbytheway,always
rememberthatitisperfectlyacceptablethatitisyourdecisionthatyouwill
notlearnandspeakDutch.Butherecomesthecatch,makesurethatitis
basedonafreedecision.Ifyousayno,onlybecauseyoufearthatyoucannotdo
it,thenverylikelyitisnottherightchoice
Onlyreadthischapterifnothingworks!
Thereisstillonetechniquethatcanhelpyoutotakestep1decide!Justonewarningthis
techniqueisabitnasty,butifnothingseemstoworkthenmaybeitistimeforabulldozer!
Hereitisifyouarenotexcitedthenmaybeyoudonotfeelmotivatedbypositivegoals
alone.ThisisperfectlyokAbout40%ofthepopulationmainlyfeelsmotivatedbyavoiding
negativeconsequences.So,ifavoidanceisthethingthattrulymotivatesyou,thenwhynot
useit?
Thetechniqueisreallysimple.JustimaginethatyouwillnotlearnorspeakanyDutchat
all.Whatwouldbethenegativeconsequencesthen?Makesurethatyouwritedownmany
things.Forexampleyoumaywritethatyouareboredduringparties.Thenwhatisthe
negativeconsequenceofthat?Nowcomestheworstpart.Itistimetomakethenegative
consequencesevenmorehorrendous!Sonowyoustarttoseethenegativeconsequence
fromthisinthenearfuture.Andthenoneyearfromnowon,andthentwoyears,three
years,yougettheidea.Thenthelemonsqueezingquestion.Onceyoucanreallyseeand
feelthatallthosenegativeconsequencesgetbiggerandbigger,thenhowdoyoufeelright
now?Makesurethatforamomentyoufeelasmuchcrapasyoucan,becausethismightbe
thethingthatyouneedinordertomoveforward.
Yes,pileitup!Makeitfeelevenworse!
So,goforit,makeyourownblacklistwithallkindsofnegativeconsequences.Write
everythingonablacksheetofpaper,sothatitlooksevenworse.Donothesitatetowrite
allnegativestuffdown,becauseitisgreatstuffwhenthiscanmakeyoufeelmiserable,just
forashorttime.
Then,onceyoufeelreallycrap,itistimeforanextquestion:whatifyoucoulddo
somethingtodaythatcantakesomenegativeconsequencesawayinthefuture?Could
thatmakeyoufeelbetter?Ifthisquestionmakesyoufeellighter,thenyouareontheright
track!Nowyouknowwhattodo!
19
Howtofindyourtrueprioritiesinlife
Thereisstillonetechniqueleftanditistremendouslypowerful.Youcanseeitasaroughkill
orcureremedy,anditisextremelyeffective,sothereforemanylifecoachesuseitintheir
work.Yes,thistechniqueisquiteconfronting,butthereisalsoarealbeautyinit,ifyou
allowyourselftoseeit.
Thisishowitworks.Youseeyourselfinthefuture,but.asfarinthefutureasyoupossibly
can.Oops,yes,thatisright.Justacoupleofdaysbeforedying.Simplyimaginethatthe
momenthascomeinwhichyouwillmovetoanotherdimensionandthatyoulookbackat
yourlife.Makesurethatyoureallydoyourbesttoassociatewiththissituationasbestas
youcan,sothatyoucanreallyseeandfeelasifyouwerethere,atthislastmomentinyour
life.Nowitistimetolookback.Alsoatallthefearsanddoubtsthatyouusedtohave
earlierinlife.Howwouldyouthinkaboutitnow,nowthatyouhavegainedsomuch
wisdom?Howdoesitreallylookfromtheperspectivethatyounowhave?
ThereisafamousbookwrittenbyBronnieWare,whoisanurse
fromAustralia.Shehasbeenworkingmanyyearsinpalliativecare
withpeoplethathavelessthan3monthstolive.Meanwhileshehas
hadmanydeepconversationswithherpatientsaboutthemeaning
oflife.BronnieWarefoundoutthatallthesepeoplehadmoreor
lessthesameregrets.Hereisthetop5:
Top5regretsoftheDying
1IwishIhadthecouragetolivealifetruetomyself,notthelife
thatothersexpectedfromme
2IwishIhadnotworkedsohard
3IwishIhadthecouragetoexpressmyfeelings
4IwishIhadstayedintouchwithmyfriends
5IwishthatIhadletmyselfbehappier
Onceagain,onlyyoudecidewhatisimportanttoyou!Doingthisexercisedoesnot
automaticallyimplythatyouhavetodecidetolearnandspeakDutch.Justdosomeself
researchanddecideforyourself.Youarethedirectorofyourlife!
Bytheway,whateveryoudecide,whynotcontinuereadingthiseBook?Youneverknow
youmaystilldiscoverthingsthatyoulike!Letsendthischapterwithsomethingfunny!
20
Funnybuttrue(raarmaarwaar)
Lastbutleast,thereissomethingfunnythatIwanttosharewithyou.
Wouldyouunderstandwhatthissentencemeans?Au!Ikhebkiespijn!
Itmeans!Ough!Ihaveatoothache!Pijn=painandkies=molar
But.inDutchthiscouldalsomeansomethingelseactuallywhen
youthinkaboutitthispunisquiteappropriate!Hereyouhaveafirsthint.
Itcanalsohurttremendouslyifyoudonothingaboutit.Sure,firstyoucantrytoignoreit,
butonedaythepainmaybesointensethatyoumustdosomethingaboutiturgently!
Allright,Iwillrevealthesecretnowifyouuseyourimagination,youcouldtranslatethe
wordkiespijnwithchoosepainaswellManypeopleinHollandsufferfromit.Itcould
meanthatsomehowitseemsthatithurtstomakeachoice.Andthenmanypeopletendto
remainpassiveaboutit.
Meanwhile,mostpeoplestillspinandponderaboutitTheyknowthattheyshouldmakea
choice,butsomehowtheydontdoitNowcomesthefunnythingitseemsthatifthereis
animportantchoiceinyourlifethatyoushouldmake,somehowyoufeelititdoesnotfeel
goodingeneral.Althoughinthebeginningitmayonlyhurtmildlyallofasuddenthepainis
unbearable.Justlikeatooththathurts,allofasuddenthepainwillscreamandcallforall
yourattention.
Sowhatwouldyoudowithnormalkiespijn?Youtakeoutthetooththathurtssomuch
right?WelltheprocedurewiththesecondformofkiespijnismoreorlessthesameJust
makeachoice!Goodorbad,itdoesnotmatter!Ifyouleaveanissueunresolveditisasifit
startstoachelikeabadtooth.Whatastrangethought,dontyouthink?
Onceagain,thecureisridiculouslysimple.Justmakeachoiceandthepainwillstopalmost
instantaneously
So,justchoose!Makeachoice,goodorbad.Andifyousayyes,tospeakingDutchthen
letsgotostep2.Learnfastandhavefun!
21
Step2:Learnfastandhavefun
22
Step2:learnfastandhavefun
Makesurethatyoureallyunderstoodtheclearmessageofthissecondstep.ItdoesNOTsay:
starttostudylikecrazy.Itsays:learnfastandhavefun!
Learningfastisextremelyimportant,certainlyinthebeginning.Hopefullyyouwillagree
withthis,right?Itisextremelyeasytopredictwhatcanhappeniflearninggoesslow.Right
yourenthusiasmstartstodropandthenbeforeyouknowitselfconfidencegoesdown.And
then,onceselfconfidencestartstodrop,learninggoesevenslowerItisthatnastyplace
thatwecallaviciouscircle.
But.nowcomesthegoodnews!Thereisalsoagraciouscirclewhichliterallycanspiralyou
up!Itworkslikethis:onceyoulearnfast,youwilllikeitmoreandthenconfidencewillstart
togrow.Thelogicalconsequenceisthatyoulearnfastandbecauseofthat,confidencewill
starttoincreaseagain.Andupitgoes,onandonandon..
Equallyimportantthatyoualsohavefunwhiledoingit!
Onceyouhaveagoodtime,youwillnoticethatnegative
feelingssuchasdoubtandfearstarttomeltaway.
Havingfunwhilelearningisquiteeasy,becauselearningis
notwhatmostpeoplethink.Itisnotasynonymfor
studyingormemorizingboringstuff.Nothingcould
befurtherfromthetruth.Learningissomethingthatall
livingcreaturesnaturallylikejustlookatyounganimals
forexample.Alltheydoisplayaroundanddiscovernewthings.Still,atthesametimewhile
theyarerunningandjumpingaroundinsuchafrolicway,allyounganimalslearnexactly
whattheyneedinordertosurvive.Mothernatureisntstupidyouknow..
So,maybeitistimetoforgetaboutthickseriousstudyingbooks.Allyouneedistoplaywith
anopenmindandexperiment.Naturehasalreadydecidedforwithallthewisdomthatit
hasthatlearningcanbeanadventureandthatitissupposedtobefun!So,whynotallowit?
Therefore,aslongasyoulearnfastandhavefun,youwillsucceed.Howeverthesadtruth
isthatmostpeoplefail,certainlywhentheywanttolearnandspeakDutch.Firstofall,if
learningistooslowthenitisveryeasytostop.Thisisexactlywhatmostpeopledo.Most
peopleforgetaboutthefunpartandstoptoosoon.OnedefinitionthatIpersonallylike
aboutsuccessisthisone:successisyourabilitytofinishsomething.Onceyouknowhowto
finishyourfirstjobforlearningandspeakingDutch,thenyoursuccessisvirtually
guaranteed!Thatfirstjobistolaunchyourlanguagerocket.Wewilltalkmoreaboutit
later
23
Hereisanotherimportantthing.Whenyoureadthewordshavefun,itdoesnotmeanthat
eachandeveryfeelingshouldonlybepositive.Thiswouldbeafatalmistake!
Surenegativefeelingsmaycomeupnowandthen.Sowhat?Maybeyoufeelalackof
control,ormaybeyoufeelconfusedsometimes.But.justcomparethiswithalltheother
thingsthatyoulovetodo.Maybeyoulovetoplaytennisorplaymusic.Youmayloveto
climbmountainsoryoumaylovetomakeyourownsoftwareprograms.Doesthisonlymean
thatyoucanonlydoitifyoufeelpositive100%ofthetime?Ihopethatyouseethatthis
wouldbenonsense.Evenifyoudothethingsthatyouabsolutelylovedoing,youwillmeet
frustrationsandsometimesevendefeat.Butonceyouknowthatisworthdoing,youwill
goon.Andthenyouwillenjoypositiveresultsevenmore.Thesamethingistruewhenyou
learnorspeakanewlanguage.Ifanegativefeelingturnsup,thenthisisperfectlyok.Just
continueyourworkandsoonyouwillfeelevenbetteraboutit.
Expectresistance
InDutchpeoplesay:alhetbeginismoeilijk,whichroughlymeans
thateachbeginningisalwaysdifficult.Thingswillgetalot
easierovertime,butofcourseyoumustmakesurethat
youdonotquit!
Haveyoueverplayedwithakiteinyourlife?Inthebeginningit
takessomeefforttoletitfly.Youhavetoruntoletitfly,soittakes
alotofenergy.But.onceyourkiteisflyinghighintheskythen
somethingbeautifulhappens.Itisasifthewindhasalwayscarriedit
andallyouneedtodoistopullyourcordsometimes.Wellyouget
themetaphorright.WithlearningDutchitworksexactlythesame!
Beforeyourkitestartstoflyitmeetsalotofresistancefromthewind.
Socertainlyinthebeginningyoumayhavethefeelingthatnothingisgoingsmoothlyatall
andthatmanythingsworkagainstyou.Butinsteadofgivingup,nowisexactlythetimeto
giveitallofyoureffortsandtogiveitanenormousenergyboost.Haveyouevernoticed
thatyourkitemayfallacoupleoftimesonthegroundbeforeitactuallystartstofly?Thisis
alsoanimportantlessonforunleashingyourDutch.Ifyourkitedoesnotfly,yourunagain!
Hereisthegoodthing:onceyourkiteisflying,itwilltakealotlesseffort.Sure,youmust
takecareofitnowandthen,but.onceitflieshighenough,thewindwillcarryit.Witha
newlanguageitisexactlythesamething.
Youmayhaveheardofthewordmomentum.Itistheenergyandpowerthatarocketneeds
inordertogetlaunched.Thefunnythingthatjustforlaunchingarocketitmayalreadyuse
up50%ofallitsfuel.Butonceitisflying,theneverythingissomucheasier.
24
Youmusthavenoticeditwheneveryoulearnedotherthings.Inthebeginningitwasreally
hard,right?Ridingonabike,workingwithacomputer,learninghowtoreadandtowrite.
Butaslongasyoujustkeepdoingthegoodwork,thensoonenougheverythingissomuch
easierandalotoflearningwilltakeofitself!
Thefirstgoalistolaunchyourlanguagerocket
Whenmostpeoplestarttolearnandspeakanewlanguage,they
erroneouslythinkthatthefirstgoalistomastereverythingperfectly.
Fortunately,nothingcouldbefurtherfromthetruth.Inthebeginning
youhavebasicallyonemaingoalandthatistolaunchyourlanguagerocket!
ThebeautyisthatonceyourlanguagerocketisflyinginDutchspace,alotoflearningwillgo
automaticallyandrelativelyfast.Butyourrocketneedstoleavetheatmosphereofyour
comfortzoneandlimitedthinkingfirst.Duringthelaunch,yourlanguagerocketmeetsalot
ofresistance.Thisresistancemaycomeinalldifferentkindsofforms.Theycouldbedoubts,
lackofclarityorconfusion.Hereisanotherone:youfeeltired.Butnowyouknowexactly
whattodo.Donotslowdown.Justgiveitmoreenergy!Reallygoforit!
SowhyisitthatmostpeoplefailsomiserablyatlearningandspeakingDutch?Youshould
beabletoguessit.Themaincauseisalackofenthusiasmandenergy.Whenmostpeople
starttolearnDutch,theywilldoitforonehourortwohoursperweekandthentheystop.
Nowjustbehonest:howstupidisthis?Inthebeginninggainingmomentum,thevast
amountofenergythatyouneedisalmostaholyprinciple.Withoutmomentumnothingwill
fly.Kites,rocketsandalsoyourDutchwillstayontheground.
Soonceagain,momentumisthathugeenergythatyoubuildupwithinaveryshorttimeso
thatsomethingcanstarttofly.Inordertomakeyourkitefly,youmayonlyneedacoupleof
minutes.Thesameistrueforlaunchingarocket.Nowunfortunately,forlaunchingyour
Dutchlanguagerocket,youwillneedmuchmorethanacoupleofminutes.Itdoestakea
muchlongertimeButcontrarywhatyoumaythinkitdoesnothavetolastforyears,not
evenamonth.Believeitornot,7daysinarowcanalreadydothetrickforlearningand
speakingDutch!Sobasicallyallyouneedisoneweektogiveityourfullattentionand
energy.Butthen,onceitstartstofly,youwillimmediatelynoticethatittakesmuchless
energytocontinueandimproveit.Itfeelsasifyouarecarriedbythewind.Withoutany
effortatall,youkeepflying.ForspeakingDutchitmeansthatonlynow,automaticlearning
takesplace.However,funnilyenough,inmostcasesyoumaynotevennoticeSohopefully
youstarttounderstandhowimportantthisprocessofgainingmomentumreallyis.
25
Howtolaunchyourlanguagerocket,onceandforall
Onceyouunderstandtheimportanceofmomentum,youarealreadymanystepsaheadof
anyoneelseAlso,onceyoutrulyunderstandthatverylikelyyouwillmeetresistance,
nowyoucanevenwelcomeit!Allyouneedtodoistokeepgoingforatleastacoupleof
daysinrow.Decidethatyougoonduringthesedays,nomatterwhat.Andthen,thisis
extremelyimportant:makesurethatyoulearnfastwhilehavingfun!
Nowyoumaythink:thatsoundsgood,learningfastandhavingfun.But.howcanIdoit?
Letsbehonestaboutit.Noteveryonehaspositiveassociationswithlearning.Maybeyou
havesomebadmemoriesfromschool.SohowcanyouturnlearningandspeakingDutchina
positiveexperience?
Themainproblemisthatmostpeoplehaveaonetrackmind.Theyerroneouslybelieve
thatthereisonlyonewaytolearn.Butfortunatelythereare2pathsthatyoucantake.
Theyareperfectlyillustratedbythepicturesbelow.Justhavealookforyourself!
Thereisaslowsnailtrailandafunfasttrack.Wouldyouhaveapreference?
Itisalsogoodtoknowthatthereare4waysoflearningandspeakingDutch
Contrarytowhatyoumaybelieve,mostpeoplechoosetheslowsnailtrail.Why?
Yes,thereare4differentwaysoflearningandspeakingDutch.But.hereisthebadnews:3
waysbelongtotheslowsnailtrailandsomehowtheyseemtobeverypopular.Mostpeople
dontrealizethatthereisalsoa4thwaythatleadsyoudirectlytothegreatresultsofthefun
andfasttrack.Somehow,itseemstobeasecretpath,butnotfortoolongSoonenough
youwillbeabletosay:alittlebirdtoldmehowtolearnwithmorefunandfasterthanI
everimagined!Thatisright.Youaregoingtodiscover4differentwaysoflearningand
speakinganewlanguageandthenyoucansimplychoosethewayyoulikemost.Therefore,
youaregoingtomeetfourbirds,sothatyouunderstandtheideaimmediately!Whywait?
Letsinvitethe4birdsnow.Itistimetofly!
26
Type1:theostrich
OfallthedifferentlearningstylesforlearningandspeakingDutch,thisfirstoneistheworst
ofcourse.InmanycasestheostrichdoesnotsignupforaDutchcourseandisonlyafraid.
Maybethisostrichlistenstoomuchtoothercreaturesthattellhim/herthatlearningDutch
issuchadisastrousexperienceandthatitisextremelydifficult.Strangelyenough,the
ostrichoftendoesnotadmitthatheishidingforsomething.Iamjustlookingforvery
deliciousandtastywormstheostrichsays,Iamnothidingatall.AssoonasIhavefound
them,IwillstarttolearnandspeakgreatDutch.Butyoudonotneedsupernatural
powerstopredictthatthiswillnevereverhappen.
Bytheway,doyouknowwhatthebiggestproblemis?Mostpeopledonotevenrealize
thattheyareoperatingonthislearningsystem.Mostoftentheywillfanaticallydenyit.
Strangelyenough,itisasifthisostrichisinvisible.Butitisasafeassumptionthatitis
there.
Howdoyounoticethatthereisanostrichinsideofyou?VerysimpleOnceyoufeelthat
somethingisslowingyoudown,thenyouhavetheostrichatwork.Contrarytowhatyou
maythink,anostrichdoesnotdisappearwhenyousignupforalanguagecourseItis
exactlytherightmomenttopopupmoreactively!Doyoufeeldistracted?Areyoufeeling
tired?Doesaheadachecomeup?Congratulationsyouhavefoundyourostrichnow!
Onceagain,thisostrichmayhauntyouforaverylongtime.Youalsonoticethatyouhave
oneifyoukeepspeakingEnglishinsteadofDutchallthetime.Beveryawaretheostrichis
verycleverandknowsverywellhowtodisguiseitself.Usuallyyounoticeitspresencebythe
thoughtsthatyouhave:thisistoodifficult.Idonotwanttolookstupid.Illneverlearn.
Herecomesanotherimportantwarning.TheostrichalwaysstopsyoufromspeakingDutch.
OnefavoritetrickthatitusesissuggestingthatonlynowyourDutchisnotgoodenoughyet,
andthatthereisonlyatinylittlepieceofinformationthatyouneedbeforeyoucanactually
speakit.Thisisalieofcourse,butbeforeyouknowit,youmaybelieveit.
Rememberthattheostrichalwaysactsonfear.Andluckilythereisagentlewaytokeep
yourinnerostrichquiet.Youdonothavetokillit!Allyouneedtodoisletyourinnerostrich
knowthatthereisactuallynothingtofear!So,ifyougetintouchwithyourinnerostrich
thenneverapproachitaggressively.Alwaysbegentleandfriendly.Iftheostrichwantstobe
there,justwelcomeitanddothethingsthatyouwanttodoanywayForexample,ifyou
feelnervouswhilespeakingDutch,thandonotfightwithit.Simplygoahead.Whenyou
treatyourinnerostrichwithgentlenessandrespect,yourinnerostrichwillfeelatease.
Onceyourostrichrealizesthatitissaveitwillstopbuggingyou!
27
Type2:theparrot
Whatisthelearningstyleofaparrot?Allright,youdonothavetobearocketscientistto
understandwhatthisis.But.Letsstartwiththegoodnewsfirst.Thisparrotstyleismuch
betterthantheostrichway.Atleast,theparrotisthereanditistalking!Sothatisagood
start,dontyouthink?Thereisprogressatleast.
Butofcourse,thereareotherlearningstylesthataremuchbetter.
Althoughitisalwaysgoodtolistenandrepeatthings,ifyoudoitwithaparrotmindthen
resultswillnotbethatspectaculareither.Justcheckitforyourself.Youmayhavehadsome
conversationwithaparrotsomewhereinyourlife.Sowhatdidyoutalkabout?Wasthe
conversationengagingandhighlyinteresting?
Theproblemofthislearningstyleistheparrotmind.Theparrotdoesnotthinkforhimself
butmerelycopiessomebasicwordsandthenitstops.Althoughtheparrothassomeclueof
somemeaningofwords,actuallyithardlyknowswhatitissaying.Forexamplethefavorite
wordofparrotsinHollandislorrelorre,butnooneknowswhatitactuallymeans!
Soonceagain,althoughtheparrotismuchbetterthantheostrich,thebiggestproblemis
this:learnlikeaparrotandallyougetispeanuts.
Ifyouonlycopywordsthatyoudonotunderstand,thenyouarecertainlyonthesnailtrail!
Isitalwaysabadideatousetheparrotstrategy?Notnecessarily.Sometimesitcouldbe
thebestthingtodo,justforashortwhile.Imaginethatyouliketolearnanotherlanguage
thathasnothingincommonwithyourlanguageorEnglishsuchasChineseorTurkish.Then
itmightbeagoodideatomemory500wordslikeaparrot.Justforgettingstarted
ForDutchitwouldbeawasteoftime.ItiscloseenoughtoEnglishtousemoreadvanced
andintelligentwaysoflearning.Wewilltalkaboutitlater.
Asyoumayhavenoticed,inonewayoranother,theparrotstyleisoftenacoreingredientof
manylanguagecourses.Youjustneedtorepeatoutlandishsounds,evenifyoudonothave
anyclueofwhattheymean.Somelanguagecoursespromisethatifyoukeep
doingthis,theneventuallylearningwilltakecareofitself.Sure,thismaybe
true,butthenonlyafteraverylooooooongtimeandaftermanydullandboring
repetitions.So,ifyouliketolearnfast,thenwhynotskipthisbirdasmuchas
youcan?
28
Type3:thechicken
Inaway,thelearningandspeakingstyleofthechickenisalreadyahugeleapahead.In
comparisontotheprevioustwobirds,thechickenalreadylookslikeageniusandifnot,
linguisticallyenlightened.Thedifferenceissomassivethatmanypeopleerroneouslybelieve
thatthisisthewaytogo(withoutrealizingthatthereisstilla4thwayofanotherbirdthatis
muchmuchmuchbetter!)Nowonderthatthislearningstyleisextremelypopularandyou
willfindthechickenapproachinmanylanguagecourses.
Thechickenisalotsmarterthantheparrot,sometimesyoucouldcallitevenintelligent,up
toacertainextend.Thechickenunderstandsthatifyoulearnanewlanguage,thenthereis
alsogrammar.Also,quiteoftenthechickenhasanenormousdrive,somechickenscaneven
lookambitious.Manychickensrunreallyfastandtheygraspeverythingthattheypossibly
can.Inaway,theyreallywanttolearn,sotheyrunfastatmanyschoolsandevenat
universities.
But.unfortunatelyifyouobserveagain,thenyouwillsoondiscoverthatitisnotso
positive.Surechickensarerunningaroundlikecrazy,theycackleandthen.well,thatisit.
Thesadthingisthatchickensareextremelyshortsightedandworstofall,theyneverfly!
Sohowdoyourecognizethechickenlearningandspeakingstyle?Therearemany
characteristics,butletsstartwithjustafew.Oneofficialwarningmanycharacteristics
maylookverypositivetoyou!
Itiseasytoseethedifferencesbetweentheparrotandthentheostrichandtheparrot
right?Thechickenisthefirstbirdthattakeslearningreallyseriouslyandthiswemust
admit,isagoodthingchickensarenotafraidtoputinalotofenergy.
Formanychickens,learningisanimportantthingandtheyareveryseriousaboutit.
So,herewehavetheproblem.Theyaretooserious!Theyalmostseemtoworship
seriousness,sothereforemanychickensdoliketheideaofintelligenceandscience
Butthereisonethingthatchickensoverlook.Manychickensdonotrealizethat
beingtooseriousisonemassivelearningobstacle.Howcanyoulearnfastifno
playfulness,creativityandhumorisallowed?Chickensinterprettheabsenceof
allthesethreeelementsasagoodsign.Forthemitmeansthatobviouslytheyare
learningonahigherlevel.Forchickenslearningoftenmeansstudying.
Nowondertheyfeelattractedtoseriousapproachesandtheyfeelathome
atuniversitiesandotherseriousinstitutions.Whenchickenslearn,thenmostoftentheir
maingoalisadiplomaoracertificate.Theyhopethatthislittlepieceofpaperwillimpress
otherpeoplesothatfinallytheycangettheapprovalthattheyarelookingfor.
Onemaingoalofachickenistopassexams,soyoucanalreadyguesswhatthenumberone
priorityofthechickenis.Itistheavoidanceofmistakes!Witheverymistakethatyoumake
29
yourscoregetslowerandfailingforanexamistheworstthingthatcouldhappenfora
chicken.Sonowyouunderstandthatallofasuddenmanychickenshaveoneimportant
drive:perfection!Makingmistakesisliterallyadangerousthing,ifnotaseriousthreaton
manydeeperlevels.Therefore,itiseasytounderstandwhyachickenissoseriousallthe
time.Thereisalotatstake!
Initiallytheurgeforperfectioncanbeanenormousdrivingforcethatcantakelearningtoa
higherlevel.Chickensknowthattheymustmastergrammarandthattheyshouldknowas
muchaspossible.Youcannotaccusethemofbeinglazy.Oftentheymayworkquitehard,
but.herecomesthenastypart.Workingharddoesnotautomaticallymeanthatyouwill
alsohavegreatresults,fast!Asamatteroffact,manychickensaresonervousandobsessed
aboutmasteringDutch,thatlearninggoesevenslower.Thisisthesadparadox,but.
unfortunatelythechickenrefusestoknowaboutit.
Althoughachickenlovestoimproveitsknowledgeandperformance,thereisonethingthat
thechickenabsolutelyhates:takingrisks.Themerethoughtthatsomethingcouldbewrong,
paralyzesachickencompletely.Therefore,theyarenotwillingtoplayandexperiment.
Informationshouldbegivenbeforehandandthenithastobememorizedintellectually.
Thereisnosenseofadventure,butthereisaconstanthungerformoreinformation,
becausesomehow,thisprovidescertaintytothemindofthechicken.Achickenconstantly
feelsthatsomehownothingisgoodenoughandthatthereforeinformationisalwaysneeded
Chickensareoftenquitecompulsiveaboutperfection,andthereforetheyhaveastrong
preferenceforcertaininformation.Chickensthinkinaveryspecificchickenway!
Thefirstwayforachickentoreduceitsuncertaintywithinformationisthattheylove
details!Althoughfocusondetailsisanimportantthing,itshouldnevereverbethemain
focusinthebeginning!Chickenstendtoseetrees,buttheydonotseethatthereisaforest.
Forachickenitisextremelyeasytogetlostintoomanydetails.Ontopofit,achicken
cannotprioritize.Forachickenalldetailsareequallyimportant,becausemostoften
thereisalackofabiggerpicture.Chickenshardlyhaveahelicoptervision,so
thereforetheytendtotreateachdetailasanisolatedfactaswellForchickensitis
hardtoseeconnectionsthatthingshavewitheachother,becausethatmeansthat
youhavetozoomoutandtakeastepback.Chickenshatethatidea,theyseereflectionasa
wasteoftime.Theyjustlovetowalkaroundlikecrazy,huntingforevenmorelittledetails.
Anothercomplicationisthatchickensareextremelyprocedural.Imaginethatachicken
wantstolearntheDutchalphabetforexample.Firstofall,itwantstobesurethatit
pronouncesalltheletterscorrectlybeforeitmoveson.Sonowyoucanimaginewhatwill
happenwhenachickenhitstheDutchletterGYes.thechickenwillfocusallofits
attentiononmasteringthissoundperfectlybeforeitcanmoveontoH.Thesadthingisthat
thechickendoesnotunderstandthatlearningwillbesomuchharderifyouonlyfocuson
thingsthatyoufindhardtodo.Certainlywithpronunciationitisagoodideatomoveonto
30
otherthings,becauseparadoxicallyenough,pronunciationwillgetbetterovertimeifyou
canonlyfocusonotherthingsthatyoucaneasilyhandle.Mostchickenserroneouslybelieve
thatpronunciationmustbeperfectfirst,beforetheycanmoveon.Thisisafatalmistake.
Althoughpronunciationisimportant,therearemanyotherthingsthataremuchmore
importantthanthat.Unfortunately,achickenwillalwaysmissthis
Chickensoftenactinakindofcompulsiveway.Theydonothavealotofflexibility.Soif
thereissomethingthattheyfinddifficult,thentheirfirsttendencyistogetstuck.Theywill
notmovetootherthingsthatareeasytohandleandeasytolearn,sonowonderthatquite
oftenlearningmeansalotofeffortandthatselfconfidenceisoftenquitelow..
Canyouseethefatalcombinationoftheloveofdetailsandactinginanextremely
proceduralway?Forfastlearningthiscanreallyworklikepoison!Proceduralmeansthatfor
mostchickensthereisaconstantlackofalternatives.Withproceduralthinkingthereisonly
onerightthingtodo,sothereforemanychickensalsouserightorwrongthinking.
Somethingisrightorsomethingiswrong.Thereisonlyblackorwhite.Nothingisgrey.
Chickensoftenbelievethatinmanysituations,thereisonlyoneright
wordtosay,ortomakeitevenworseandmoreridiculous,onlyone
rightsentence.Andthen.justinordertofeelsafe,thisright
sentenceshouldbememorized,preferablybeforehand.Nowonder
thatmanychickensstudyallthetime.Itgivesthemasenseof
control.Butattheendthissenseofcontrolisonlyanillusion.
Thereisanothertrickything.Forachicken,awordcanonlymeanonething.Whenchickens
learnanewword,theywillonlygiveitonetranslation.AccordingtoachickenaDutchword
shouldalwayshavethesamemeaning.Ouch!Nowthelearningdisasteriscomplete!Donot
trytotellachickenthatawordinDutchoftenhastwo,threeandsometimesevenfour
differentmeanings,alldependingonthecontext.Thiswillturnachickencompletelycrazy!
Chickensdonotliketoplaywithwords.Theydonotseehumorandtheydonotunderstand
punsorjokesorrecognizeironyandsarcasm.Canyoustarttoseehowlimitedthiswayof
learningreallyis?Thereisnotsomuchfun,dontyouthink?
Thereisanotherstrangething.Aschickensareextremelyprocedural,they
alsotendtobelievethatyoumustlearnanewlanguage,subjectbysubjector
themebytheme.Sooftentheystartwiththeusualclassicalthemesandwhen
youlookcloselyenoughyouwillseethattheyareallbasedonthetwolowest
levelsofthepyramidofMaslowandthatthemaingoalismerelysurvival.
Somehowthewordsurvivalisattractivetochickens.Theyactuallyloveit.
Thenasalogicalconsequencethechickenusessinglecontextlearning.Itmeansthatwhen
achickenlearnsnewthings,itlikestolimitittoonesituationonly.Forexample,ifachicken
learnsnewwordsabouttheweatherthenitwillonlylearnthingsabouttheweather.
31
Nothingmore.Aschickenslovedetails,chancesarehighthattheywanttoknowallthelittle
tinythingsabouttheweatherfirst,beforetheyfeelconfidentenoughtomovetoanext
subject.So,althoughproceduralsinglecontextlearninglooksverypracticalatfirst,youmay
nowstartstoseethatlearningfastisquitedifficultonceyouareonthistrack.
Hereisaquicksummaryofthechickenlearningstyle:
1Whenyouseeanewword,youimmediatelytrytomemorizeit
2Donotcheckifitmatcheswithsomethingthatyoualreadyknow
3Inordertomemorizeit,justhammeritin.Donotusefunorcreativity
4Onlygiveonemeaningtothisnewwordandonlyuseitinonespecificcontext
Onceagain,withthischickenlearningstyle,youaremuchbetteroffthanifyoulearnlikea
parrot.Ontopofit,thisstrategyissomehoweffective,certainlyoveralongperiodoftime
andwhenyouworkhardenough.Itcanserveyoutopassexamsandgetdiplomas.
Manychickensareproudofthefactthattheyarehardworkersandthattheystudyalot.
Thereisonlyoneproblem.Thisisnottherighttrackforlearningfastand.probablythere
isnotsomuchfuneither.
So.Wouldyouliketostayontheslowsnailtrailorareyou
readyforanewadventure?Luckilythereisa4thwaythatisso
muchmoreexciting!Oneimportantwarninghowever.Many
chickensabsolutelyhatewhattheywillreadinthenextchapter.
Somehowthemessagecanbeshockingandmanychickensfeel
reallyoffended.
Chickensbelievethatthenextbirdisarrogant.Thatwhathesaysdoesnotmakeanysense
atall.Thisisnotstrange,becausethenextbirdtalksfromahigherperspectiveandsees
whatthechickencannotsee..
Buthereisthegoodnews.Normally,chickensdonotliketoreflectonthings.Theyhate
seeingthingsinabroaderperspective,becausetheythinkthatthisisonlyawasteoftime
Chickensdonotlikeconsideringalternativesandtheideathattherecouldbemore
effectiveandmorefunwaysoflearningcanonlyfrightenthemButifyounoticethatyou
arecuriousnow,itmightbeafirstsignthatyoucanleavethischickenstagefarbehind.
Youmusthaveoutgrownthechickenway,ormaybeyourealizenowthat
youwerenevereverachickeninthefirstplaceChancesarehighthatyounoticethe
presenceofanotherbirdnowawonderfulbirdthatalwaysflieshigh!
Letsinvitethefinalbirdthatmakesallthedifference!
32
Type4:theeagle
Finally,wehavemovedtorealmoftheeagle.Oneofficialwarning:ifyoumainlyoperateon
thechickenstyle,thenreadingthisinformationmayupsetyouandevenmakeyou
extremelyfurious.Thefirstthingthatyounoticeisthattheperspectiveoftheeagleisso
completelydifferent.Itisactuallyflyinghigh.Logicallyenough,thechickencanneverever
imaginethattherecouldbeadifferentorhigherperspective.Rememberthatforchickens
onlyonethingcanberightandthattheyhaveoneobsession:chickenswanttoberightall
thetime.Thereisnothingworseforachickenthanbeingwrong,evenifitisonlyonceina
while.Beingwrongforachickenonlymeansonething:personaldefeat.WellIhopethat
youcanseethatthisthoughtisjustnonsensesoletsmoveon!
Canyouseehowrelaxedaneagleis?Itjustfliestherehighinthesky,enjoyingagreatand
magnificentview.Thisisthefirstsecretoftheeagle.Itstartsonahigherlevelandtherefore
itimmediatelyseesthebiggerpicture.
Therearemanydifferencesbetweentheeagleandthechicken.
Firstofall,theeagleisnotobsessedwithperfection.Itknowsthattherearemanywaysto
improvethingsandthatyoulearnalotfasterifyouarerelaxedaboutit.Themainattitude
oftheeagleisveryplayful.Whilethechickenthinks:Imustdoitright,theeaglethinks:Ido
something,andifrightthenbingo!Ifitiswrong,thenIsimplycorrectit.Attheend,Iwilldo
itbetter,soIalwayswin!Aneagledoesnotfeelstupidwhilemakingmistakes.Aneaglewill
onlythink:Hey!Ilearnedsomethingnew!ThatmeansthatIgotalittlebitsmarteragain!
Massiveaccelerationwithtwopowerfulquestions
Theeagleoperatesfromahigherandmoreintelligentperspective.Thefirstquestionis:
whatdoIalreadyknow?SoonenoughtheeaglediscoversthatEnglishandDutchhavemany
thingsincommon,sosoonenoughhediscoversthatheknowsalotalready.Buttheeagle
isalsointelligentenoughtounderstandthatsomehowsomethingsmustalsobedifferentor
evencounterintuitive.Sothenexttaskistofindoutwhatthedifferencesare.Sowhatisthe
fastestwaytodoit?Surprise,surprise.bymakingmistakes.Thousandsofthem!
Thereforetheeaglelovesmakingmistakes.Itisnotonlythefastestwaytolearn,many
mistakesareactuallyquitefunny.Thenwhentheeaglemakesamistake,thenheknows
thatnowitisthetimetolearnsomethingnew.Mostimportantofall,itcanallbedoneina
playfulandcheerfulway.Thereforeitdoesnotreallyfeelaswork..
Fromtheverybeginning,aneaglecanlearnnewthingsabouteachandeverythinkable
subjectinDutch.Theeagledoesnotfeelthelimitationthatfirstyouhavetodoonething,
beforeyoucanmovetoanotherAneagleplayswithmanydifferentthingsatthesame
time.
33
Whenachickenseessomethingnew,itsmainobsessionistomemorizeitimmediately.The
approachoftheeagleisdifferent.Firstitjuststartsnoticingthings.Aneaglejustplayswith
thewordsthatheseesandthenifheplayswithsomewordsagainandagainthenhewill
rememberthem,sointhissenselearningtakesplaceinaverynaturalway.
Theeagleisverygoodatprioritizingandunderstandsthatsomethingsaremoreimportant
thanothers.Sothereforeaneaglestartswithabigpicturefirstandonlyaftersometime
startstofocusondetail.Also,thereisanothersecretthattheeagleunderstands.Some
wordsaremoreimportantthanothers.Therearewordsthatyouusehundredtimesaday
andtherearewordsthatyoumayonlyuseonceamonth.Themainattitudeoftheeagleis
veryrelaxed.Itsimplystartstoplayandthenhewillautomaticallynoticethatsomewords
keepcomingbackagainandagain.Sowhilemainlyfocusingonthemostfrequentand
importantwords,allofasuddenlearninggoeswithsomuchmoreease
Wheneveraneagleseessomethingnew,hewillthink:isitimportantrightnow?Isthereisa
certainthingthattheeagledoesnotunderstand,thenitwilljustfocusonsomethingelse.
Theeaglediscoversthatwhenitgainsclarityaboutotherthings,confusionaboutother
thingsstarttodisappearandeverydaythenewlanguagestartstomakemoresenseand
turnsouttobemorelogical.Rememberthattheeaglehasabroadviewandthatthereforeit
canclearlyseewithgreatdetailhowthingsareconnectedwitheachother.
Anothergreatassetoftheeagleisthatitcanclearlyseealternatives.Althoughtheeagle
understandsthatproceduralthinkingisnecessarysometimes,heisalsoverygoodat
improvisingandseeingmoreoptions.Whywouldyounotseethem,onceyouflyhighand
whenyouhavesuchafantasticview?
Ontopofthat,aneagleisveryplayfulandcreativeanditloveslogicthinkingtoo.Many
thingsmakeabsolutesenseintheeyesofaneagle,whichmakesabsorbingnewinformation
soeasy.
Allright,letsbepracticalnow.Discoverforyourselfthedifferencebetweenchickenand
eaglelearning.Thenyoucanmakeyourownchoice!
LetstaketheDutchwordhetwerkandthenseehowthetwodifferentbirdsproceed.
Hetwerk...Oops.Thereisnoointhemiddlebutane.ouchIneedtomake
surethatIrememberthis.Werkiswork.AllrightIgetitAllright,atleastI
learnedonenewwordnow.
Hetwerk.Allright,itlookslikework.Thatisreallyeasy.ButIwonderisitonly
work,orcoulditalsobeajob?YesitworksNowIjustwondercoulditalsobe
apieceofartorsomethingwrittenbyShakespeare?SoinDutchyoucansayeen
werkvanRembrandtor:eenwerkvanShakespeareMMMM.Iswerkonlya
noun,orcoulditalsobeaverb?Yes!Itworks!IkwerkmeansIwork.Hey!NowI
34
cansay:ikwerkinAmsterdam!Wow!Thisisgoinggreat!WaithereIseeanew
word:werkwoord.Iwonderwhatthatcouldmean.WordiswoordIguess,so
whatisaworkword?ProbablyitissomethingwhatyoudoHowwouldwecallit
inEnglish?Aha!Averb!Ofcourse.Sowerkenisawerkwoordbutalsoslapen(to
sleep)andrusten(torest).Sowhilewecalltosleepandtorestaverb,forDutch
peopleitseemslikeworkandtheystillcallitwerkwoordMMMMarentDutch
peoplelazybastards?Hey!Bytheway,Iseethewordwerklooshere.Itlookslike
workless.Doesthismeanthatwerkloosmeansunemployed?Iguessso.Andhere
Iseethewordwerkgever.ItlookslikeworkgiverGevenistogiveright?Well
thisisactuallyafunnywordforemployer.Andnowlastbutnotleastthe
biggestchallenge.Dewerkingvanaspirine.Thatlooksliketheworkingof
AspirinSodoesitmeanhowitactuallyworks?MaybethisisanotherDutchword
forheteffect,whichistheeffectofcourse.
So,justcomparethetwoscoresnow.Justlookatallthered
wordsforboththechickenandtheeagle.Wholearnsthefastest
youthink?Whatyoucanclearlyseeishowtheeaglesimplyuses
logicalandcreativewaysofthinking.Nowonderthatitcanlearn
somanynewwordssofast!Whileplaying,theeaglemakesso
manyfunnydiscoveriesaboutDutch.Nowonderthattheeagleis
soexcitedaboutit.
Justforyourinformation,chickenshatethiswayofthinking.They
feelveryintimidatedoncetheyrealizethatsomanynewwords
comeupnow.Rememberthatquiteoften,themaingoalofachickenistolearnforanexam
andthisautomaticallymeansthatsomehowconsciouslyorunconsciously,thechickenwants
toreducetheinformationthatitneedstolearn.Eachandeverynewwordmeansthatthe
chickenhastostudyagaininordertoretainthenewinformation.Morethanoften,the
chickentreatseachandeverynewwordasanewitem.Quiteoftenthechickenwillnever
everseehowmanywordsarerelatedwitheachotherinlogicalandfunnyways.
Theeagleiscompletelydifferent.Unlikethechicken,it
understandstheconceptofsneeuwbaleffect(snowballeffect).
Theprincipleissimple.Putsomesnowtogether,keepitrolling
andthenincaneventurnintoanavalanche!Guesswhat?
TheprincipleforexpandingDutchvocabularyisexactlythesame!
So,whichbirdinspiresyouthemost?Thechickenortheeagle?
Itisyourchoicenow!
35
Whymostpeoplepreferslowlearning
Youalreadydiscoveredthattherearetwowaystolearnandspeakanewlanguage:
.Theslowsnailtrail
.Thefunfasttrack
Youhavealsoseenthatarethereare4differentbirds
1Theostrich
2Theparrot
3Thechicken
4Theeagle
Nowprobablyyoucanclearlyseethat3birdsdirectlyputyouontheslowsnailtrailandthat
onlyonebirdtakesyoutothefunfasttrack.Sowhywouldnteveryonefollowtheeagle?
Theanswerisquitesimple.Althoughtheeaglewayoflearningisthefastestwaytolearn
andgivesthegreatestresults,notsomanypeoplehavethecouragetochooseforit.Or
theysimplydonotknowthatthefunfasttrackactuallyexists.
WhenitcomestolearningandspeakingDutch,mostpeoplebelieveincertainmythsand
makefalseassumptions.Thereare5popularthingsthatpeoplelovetobelieveandhardly
everquestionThereforeIinviteyoutolookatthemandseeiftheystillmakesensetoyou.
Fortheaveragepersontheymakecompletesensebuthopefullysomethinghasalready
changedSurebelievingthesemythsisveryeasy,butitdoesgowithcertainrisks.They
willnevereverleadyoutothefunfasttrack!
5mostpopularfatalassumptionsaboutlearningandspeakingDutch
1Justmemorizewords+sentencesandlearningwilltakecareofitself
2FullDutchimmersionisthefastestwaytolearnit
3Learninganewlanguageisaboveallanintellectualactivity
4Aneveningcourse(afterwork)candothetrick
5Alllanguagecoursesarethesame
Oneofficialwarning:formostpeoplethese5pointsareabsolutetruths.Chancesarehigh
thatatleastyoustarttogiveitsomedoubts,whichisalreadyaverygoodstart.So,whynot
finishthejob?Letsbustthosemyths,onceandforall!
Bytheway.LetsturnitintoagameJustdiscoverforyourselfifyoucandiscoverthe
perspectiveofsomebirdnowineachandeverymyth
36
False assumption 1: just memorize words + sentences

and learning will take care of itself
Thisassumptionisverydangerousbecause.Itistrue,atleastpartially.Letsfaceit
learninganewlanguagealwaysstartswithcopyingwordsandsoundsright?SoinDutch
youmaystartwithhallo(hello)goedemorgen(goodmorning)andtotziens(goodbye),soit
reallyseemsthatifyoujustkeepdoingthis,thensomehowlearningwilltakecareofitself.
Unfortunatelyitisnottrue.Sureitisagreatwaytogetstarted,butfortakingyourDutch
toalevelthatreallymakesthedifference,youstillneedsomuchmore
Nevertheless,thethoughtthatyoucanmerelylearnhowtospeakanewlanguagebymerely
copyingsounds,wordsandsentences,isaveryattractivesuggestiontomanypeopleand
thisisexactlyhowmanylanguagecourseswork.Ontopofthat,itreallyseemstoworkand
ifyoudothisforavery,verylongtimethen.itmightevenbetrue.Butthisthoughthas
verylittlevalueifyouwanttolearnfast.
Whybadtranslationsreallyhurt!
Thefirstcomplicationisthatofteninmostcoursesyouwillgetbadtranslations.Soalthough
itseemsthatinitiallylearningisgoingfast,beforeyouknowit,youmaygetstuck.Hereis
onlyoneexample,sothatyoucancheckitoutforyourself:
Hallo,ikbenJohn.(HelloIamJohn)
Hallo,ikbenAlbert.Aangenaam(Hello,IamAlbert.Nicetomeetyou)
Didyouseeanyproblemswiththedialogueabove?Probablynot.Buthereitcomes
Couldyoutranslatethenextsentence?HetklimaatinSiberiisonaangenaam
So,whatdidyouget?Probablyyouhavetranslatedsomewordscorrectly:theclimatein
Siberiabutwhatdidyoudowiththewordonaangenaam?Didyourecognizethatitcame
fromthewordaangenaam?Thatwouldbeagreatstart.Maybeyouevenfiguredoutthat
onworkslikeuninEnglish.Sowehavevriendelijk(friendly)andonvriendelijk(unfriendly).
Areyoustillbusythinkinghowitwouldmatchwithmeetingpeople?Thatdoesnotreally
makesense,right?TheclimateofSiberiahasnothingtodowithmeetingpeople!Sohereit
comesaangenaammeanspleasurableinDutch.Itsimplymeansthatsomethingisnice.
Youcouldalsoapplyittoweer(weather)orsmaak(taste).Sowhenyousaypleasurableor
nicewhilemeetingsomeone,itsimplyimpliesthatyoulikemeetingthisperson.Then,in
thatspecificcontextyoucouldtranslateitwithnicetomeetyouifyoulikeButonce
again.Thewordaangenaambyitselfhasnothingtodowithmeetingpeople
Sohereisanimportantmessage.MemorizinganewforeignwordisonlyonethingFar
moreimportantisitthatyoucanbeflexiblewithit.Soonceyouknowaangenaamthenitis
alsohandyifyoucanrecognizeonaangenaam.Ontopofit,italsoessentialthatyou
recognizethatawordcanhavedifferentmeaningsindifferentcontextsSureyoumaysay
37
itifyouwanttosay:nicetomeetyou.Butthecoremeaningis:pleasurable.Sowhenyou
learnthisword,thenitisalwaysagoodideatoaskyourselfifyoucouldalsocombineitwith
otherwords,suchasweer(weather)andsmaak(taste).Then,thereissomethingelsethat
anaveragecoursewillnottellyou.Aangenaamisratheraformalword.Yes,itsoundspolite
thatmuchistrue,butitcouldalsokeepDutchpeopleatadistance,certainlyifyoumeet
Dutchpeoplethatarejusthangingoutandhavingfun.Oopsthisissomethingthatyour
languagecoursedidnottellyou,right?
Oops!Yourlanguagecoursedidnotmentionthis!
Areyoureadyforsomeothersecrets?Hereisanotherreasonwhysimplycopyingwordsand
sentenceswillalwaysputyouontheslowsnailtrackOneradicaldifferencebetweenDutch
andEnglishisthatEnglishwordsarefarmoreprecisethanDutchwords.Sotherefore,
wheneveryoulearnaDutchword,youshouldgiveitmoremeaningsinEnglishinmost
cases.Letstakethefollowingexample.HetweerisweatherinDutch.Sohowwouldyou
translatethefollowingsentence?Hetweerisweerfantastisch.Believeitornot,many
peoplegetconfusedhereSolvingthisproblemisveryeasythoughweercanalsomean
again.Sohetweerisweerfantastischsimplymeanstheweatherisfantasticagain.Yousee?
Itisnotthatdifficultbutyouneedtorememberthatmanywordscanhaveatleast2
differentmeanings,andsometimeseven3or4.Thisiswhysinglecontextlearningisaslow
process.Whywouldyoulearnawordforonlyonecontext?Onceyoulearnanewword,itis
alwaysagoodideatoseehowyoucoulduseitinothercontextsaswellIcallthismultiple
contextshiftingLearningtheforeignwordisalwaysthemostdifficultpartofthetask
andwhynotgiveitmoremeaningsinEnglish?Thenyoucanusethiswordfarmoreoften
andyouwillalsobeabletorecognizeitinordercontexts!
Letsdoanothertest.HuisishouseinDutch.Lookatthepictureonthe
right.Canyouseeeenhuis?Dutchpeopleseeitwithinonesecond
YougettheidearightHereisanotherthingwhatwouldhappen
toeenslak(snail)withouteenhuis?AccordingtoDutchpeople,forthesnail
itmustfeellikebeingnakedsothereforewithoutit,youcalliteennaaktslak!
Dutchisnotjustmemorizingwordsifisfarmorecreativethanthat!
Letsplayasecondgame.Howwouldyoutranslatethissentence?Ikhebgenoeginhuis
IkhebmeansIhave.GenoegisaenoughandinhuisisinthehouseorathomeMaybe
youwouldtranslateitwith:Ihaveenoughathome.Allright,thatisonecorrecttranslation
Butnowimaginethatonecolleaguesaysikhebgenoeginhuistoyourboss.Howwould
youtranslateitthen?Oramansaysittoawomanthatheisinlovewith.Doesitstill
makesensetoyou?SureitcanstillmeanIhaveenoughthingsathomebutinthiscase
itprobablymeansthis:Ihaveenoughthingstooffer(suchastalents,skillsorgoodlooks!).
Youseethathereyouusethesentenceinakindofmetaphoricalway,right?
38
HereisoneradicaldifferencebetweenDutchandEnglish.
AlthoughmetaphorsexistinEnglish,inDutchyouusefarmoremetaphors
thaninEnglish.Inmanyways,Dutchisaveryvisuallanguageanditisasif
peopleareconstantlyexchangingpictureswitheachother.So,oneofthefirst
thingsthatyouneedtolearn,ifyouwanttolearnDutchfast,istodiscover
howDutchpeoplereallyseetheworld.Thegoodnewsisthatitisnotabout
studying.Theonlythingthatyouneedistolookwithneweyesattheworld
aroundyouandthatyoulaughnowandthen.Manythingsarereallyfunny
Soonceagain,justtoshowyouhowlearningcangoalotfasterifyoudonotsticktosingle
contextlearning.Letssaythatyoulearndonder(whichmeansthunder).Nowyoucould
onlyuseitfortheweatherright?But.whynotlearndonderdagaswell?Thismeans
literallythunderdayandinEnglishyoucallitThursday.Orifthereisapersonthatyoudo
notlike,youcouldalsosay:donderop(thunderup!)Getthehelloutofhere.
Learningcangosomuchfaster.Haveanopenmindandplay!
Rulenumberone:alwaysgivemoretranslationstoeveryDutchword!
Morgen=Tomorrow+morning+goodmorning +maana!
Alsjeblieft=Hereyouare+Please+takethis!
Dag=Day+Hello+Bye!+noway!
P.S:dontyouthinkthatattachingmoreEnglishmeaningsisfareasierthanremembering
theDutchword?Thisisthefastestwaytodoubleyourvocabulary
39
Falseassumption2:fullDutchimmersionisthefastestwayto
learnit
Thisassumptionisreallytricky,becausesomehowitcanalsobetrue,butthenonlypartially.
SureyouwillnotlearnDutchifhaveyoudonothaveanyexposuretoit,butthisdoesnot
meanthateverythingwillbebetterifyouhaveafullexposurefor100%.Doyoufindithard
tobelieve?Welljustcheckitforyourself.IfyouliveintheNetherlands,youarealready
surroundedbyDutch.Justswitchonthetelevisionandyoucanhearit.But.Merelyhearing
orseeingit,doesnotmeanthatyouwilllearnitquickly.
Thisassumptionisalsoextremelypopularamongpeoplethatbelievethatsomehow,
someoneorsomehowhastoforceyoutospeakthelanguage.Onlyifyouhavenoother
choice,thenyouwillspeakit.Althoughitseemslogical,attheenditwillnotreallywork.
Whyforceorcompulsion?Allthatyouneedmaybeafriendlyinvitation
ManypeopleandcertainlyDutchpeopleraveabout
fullimmersionmethods.Ihavetoadmitthattheyalso
workedforme.YearsagoIwenttoMlagaforlearning
SpanishandlaterIalsowenttoIstanbulforlearning
Turkish.Therewasonlyonething.Icamereally
prepared.WhenIstartedtolearnSpanish,Ialready
knewEnglishandFrenchandalsosomeSpanish,soI
couldevenstartonahigherlevel.WhenIstartedto
learnTurkishImadesurethatIhadalreadystudiedsomeofitbefore.AlsoimportantIhad
loadsoftime.Thedurationofthesecourseswasatleastonemonthandthiswasno
problemforme.IwasastudentthenandIjustsawitasalongvacationSo,ifyouhave
somebasicknowledgealready,thenfullimmersioncandefinitivelywork.Alsoifyouknowa
languagelikeGerman,youcouldbenefitfromafullDutchlanguageimmersion.
Thereisonespecificdangerthatmostpeopleunderestimate.Thereisahighriskof
overwhelm.Ifyoureceivetoomuchinformation,yourbrainwillshutoff.Learningwillstop
brutally.
Thenthereisanotherpracticalproblem.Ifyoudonotunderstandgrammarthenwhywould
youliketolistentoanexplanationinDutch?Chancesarehighthatyouwontunderstandit,
andthatyouwillbemoreconfused.Then,learningwillgomuchslowerthanneeded.
Contrarytowhatmanypeoplebelieve,ifyouspeakmoreEnglishinthebeginningthen
learningcangoalotfasterthanwhenyouonlyspeakDutch.SpeakingEnglish(certainlyin
thebeginning)hastwohugeadvantages:youfeelateaseandyouhavemuchmoreclarity.
Wheneveryouhavedoubts,itiseasytotakethemawaybytalkinginEnglish.Ifyouonly
40
speakDutchthendoubtsbecomeusuallybigger.Themoreclarityyouhave,thefasteryou
willlearn,andthenthebetteryouwillfeel,thefasteryoucanlearn!
Also,listeningtoanewlanguageisverytiring.Afteracoupleofhoursyoufeelcompletely
drainedandthenalsoyourbrainwillclosedown.SoalthoughDutchimmersionisalwaysa
goodthing,toomuchofitcanalsobekilling.Luckilythereisagreatalternative.
Insteadofwaveuseweave!
ThereisagreatwaytocombinethebenefitsofDutchimmersionandspeakingEnglishatthe
sametime.Itgoessomethinglikethis:
Welkom
welcome
Webeginnen
Webegin
Eengoedbeginishethalvewerk
Agoodbeginningishalfofthework.Agoodstartis50%ofthejob
perfect!
perfect!
Canyouseewhathappens?Allofasuddeneverythingismuchlessintimidatingright?Now
youprobablythink:hey!Icandoit,soyounoticethatconfidencegoesup.So,insteadof
overwhelmingpeople,youcanalsousesomethingthatIcallaweavetechnique.Youstart
withasentenceinDutch,thenwithanEnglishsentence.
Theadvantageisthatconsciously,orunconsciously,yourbrainstartstodrawcertain
conclusions.Evenwhenyouguessedtherighttranslation,youcanfeelgoodaboutit,and
mostimportantly,yourbrainwillhaveaperiodofrest.Then,onlyverygradually,whatthe
teacherneedstodoistoraisethelevelofDutch.Inthebeginningallthewordsand
sentenceconstructionsshouldbequitesimilartoEnglish.
Manyteacherssomehowdousethismethod,butonlywithonefatalmistake.Althoughthey
maygiveitanEnglishtranslation,thewordsandsentencesarefartoocomplexandthenthe
weavetechniquewillnotreallywork.Soonceagain,certainlyinthebeginningitishighly
importantthatwordsandsentenceconstructionsaresimilartoEnglishandthatonlyvery
graduallyyougetmorecomplexwordsandsentenceconstructions.
Thebeautyofthissystemisthatitnaturallyignitesyournaturalabilitytolearnanew
language.Whileyoufeelrelaxedyoucandrawyourownconclusion.Soinsteadofthehuge
waveoffulllanguageimmersion,justaddanaandthinkofweave!
41
Falseassumption3:learninganewlanguageisaboveallan
intellectualactivity
Formostpeoplelearningisasynonymforstudying.Andalthoughsomepeoplelikeit,if
oftenmeansthatlearningisquiteaseriousbusiness.Inmostcasesitmeansretaining
informationorreproducinginformation.Inthatsense,youarealmostlikeacopymachine!
Bytheway,haveyounoticedthatcertainlywhenyoufollow
highereducationthatthereisatendencytointellectualize
things?Somehowpeoplemakeitmoreabstractandstartto
useanimpressivesoundingjargon.LearningDutchisno
exception.Beforeyouknowit,youseesomanycomplexthings
suchasonderwerp,naamwoordelijkdeelvaneengezegdeen
nevenschikkendvoegwoord.Ono!Holyguacamole!
Manypeopleerroneouslybelievethatusingthesecomplexwordsguaranteeslearningona
highlevel,butareyoureadyforashockingtruth?Onewarning,itmaybecounterintuitive
learninggoesalotfasterifyoumakeitsimple!Soinsteadofusingcomplexwordswith
impressivesoundinggrammaticalblahblahwords,youcouldusenamesthatarealot
simplerandifyoulike,youcouldeventhinkincolors!Then,allofasuddenconstructing
sentencesisjustlikeplayingwithLegoitisjustamatterofknowinghowtoputcertain
stonestogether..(ThisisanimportantprincipleofaDutchBrainwashCourse)
OneimportantskillthatyouneedforlearningDutchistothinkinvisualways.
Imaginethatyouwanttolearnthewordstofzuigerforexample.ThisistheDutchwordfor
vacuumcleaner.Woulditbeeasyforyoutorememberthisnewword?
Letsdoitinamorevisualwaynow.
Stof(dust)+zuigen(tosuck)=stofzuiger
Youseehowfunnyitis?Eenstofzuigerisliterallyadustsucker!
Nowanewchallengeforyou.Whatisabloedzuiger?
42
Bloed(blood)+zuigen(tosuck)=bloedzuiger
Canyouseethatbloedzuigerisaleechhere?Andsurewhynot,evenDraculacouldbeeen
bloedzuigerifyoulikenotaleech,butsomeonethatlikestodrinkblood.
Canyouseethegoodnewshere?Forgetaboutboringtheoryandintellectualism.Youcan
boostyourDutchvocabularybythinkinginsimplepictures!Nowyoumaysay:whatabout
grammar?Luckilyyoudonthavetoworryaboutitsomuch.Thiscanalsobelearnedinafun
way.Justforyourinformation,DutchislikeasimplifiedversionofGerman.So,itisverywell
structured,butlesscomplexthanGerman!WithasimplekindofLegosystemyoucanlearn
howtocreatehundredsandeventhousandsofsentenceswithinaveryshorttime!
Intellectislessimportantthanpositivefeelings!
Lastbutnotleast.Thisissomethingthatmostpeopletendtooverlook.Attheend,the
mostimportantthingisfeelings!Sure,youmustlearnhowtothinkandactinacertain
structuralway.Butfortherestthemostimportthingisthatyoulearnhowtoexpress
feelingsandhowtofeelpositiveaboutyourlearning.Thatiswhylearningfastwhilehaving
funisanimportantkey.Onceyouknowhowtofeelpositiveaboutlearningandspeaking
Dutch,yoursuccessisvirtuallyguaranteed!
Thereforeemotionalintelligenceisnotaluxury.Letsfaceit,wheneveryoulearnsomething
new,negativefeelingsmayturnup.But.aslongasyouareemotionallyfit,therearemany
greatandoutstandingthingsthatyoucando!Andbelieveitornotseeingthingsina
morepositivewayisalsoaskillthatyoucanlearn!
Mostoftenitisnotdifficultgrammarorlackofvocabularythatwillstopyoufrom
speakinggreatDutchthethingthatstopsyouisoftenonlyafeeling!
PS:onecriticalskillisthatyouneedtomakemanymistakesandifyoulikemakingthem
itisevenbetter!
43
Falseassumption4:aneveningcoursewilldothetrick
Ifyouarelikemostpeople,thenprobablyyouwillhavetoworkandthatmeansthatyoudo
nothaveallthetimeintheworld.So,thefirstchallengethatyouhaveifyouwanttospeak
anewlanguageistofindtime.Andthen,beforeyouknowityouwillwalkinthe
followingtrap:youdecidetodoitafterwork.
Yes,itlookslikeagreatidea.afterworkyouwillhavetime,right?Sure,thatmuch
istruebuthowmuchenergydoyouhave?Doesyourbrainstillfeelenergizedthen?
Chancesarehighthatyouarealreadytiredfromworkandthenyouarenotthat
receptiveanymore.Therefore,afterwork,learningisprobablyslow
Certainlyinthebeginning,learningwilltakealotofenergy.Alotofinformationisnewand
youhavetolearnhowtothinkindifferentandnewways.Trytodoitafterwork,and
chancesarehighthatyouwillonlyfeelexhausted.Nowthinkofyourmostimportantinitial
tasklaunchingyourlanguagerocket.Thiscannothappenifyoucannotgiveitallyour
attentionandenergy
Thestrangeparadox
Thedisadvantageofaneveningcourseisthatitwillnevereverenableyoutobuildupquick
momentum.Withatiredmind,youwilltrytopickup
somenewinformationforonehourortwo,thenyouwill
leaveitwhileprobablynotdoingyourhomeworkand
thereforeyouwillalsoforgetmostofthethingsthatyou
learnedintheclass.Whatawasteoftime!Nowonder
thatlearningisslow.Thegoodnewsisthatthereis
nothingwrongwithyou.Itisonlywrongtiming.
Socertainlyifyoufeelthatyoudonothavesomuch
time,thenitisimportanttotake1weekoffandlearnas
muchasyoucan.Onlythen,youwillbeabletobuildupthemomentumthatyouneed.
Rememberthatoncearocketoraplaneflies,thenitcancontinueflyingwithmuchless
energyButinordertoflyhigh,youneedmomentumfirst.
Bytheway,ifyouarenotentirelysureaboutyourabilitytolearnanewlanguage,then
timingisevenmorecritical.Inordertolearnitfast,youmustbementallyalertanditisso
muchbetterifyoufeelenergized.Learningduringdaytimeinsteadofduringtheevening
thereforemakessuchanimportantdifference!
Donotstopwhilelaunchingyourlanguagerocket!Unlessyouwanttostartalloveragain.
Whynotgoformomentum,quickonceandforall?SoonenoughyourDutchcanstarttofly
andyouwillsavemoretimethanyoueverimagined!
44
Falseassumption5:alllanguagecoursesarethesame
Mostpeoplethinkthatalllanguagecoursesaremoreorlessthesameandthatonlyprices
vary.NowthatyouhavealreadyreadsomuchofthiseBook,youmusthavediscoveredthat
therearemanydifferentmethodsandapproachesthatcanreallymakethedifference.So,
herearesomesuggestionsforifyouwanttochoosealanguagecoursethatisrightforyou.
Firstofall,yourteachershouldbesomeonethatinspiresyou.
Heorsheshouldreallygetthemaximumoutofyourlanguage
potentialanditisevenbetterifheorshecanenergizeand
motivateyou.Ifyoufeeldrainedorboredeverytimethatyou
gotoalanguageclass,thenthinkagainYoumightbewasting
yourprecioustime
Also,makesurethatyousurroundyourselfwithpeoplethatat
leastspeakEnglish.Otherwisetheywillslowyoudown.Dutch
andEnglishbelongtothesamelanguagefamily,theyarelikebrotherandsister,soifyou
learnwithpeoplethatdonotspeakEnglish,thenyouwillnevereverbeabletolearnfast.
Behappyifyouarenotthebeststudentinyourclass!
Anotherimportantthingtoconsideristhatyousurroundyourselfwithpeoplethatarereally
motivatedtolearnasmuchaspossible.Forexample,peoplethatdonotshowupregularly
inclasseswillhaveanegativeimpactoneverybody!Makesurethatyouworkwithpeople
thatarealsomotivated!Also,donotworryifyouarenotthebeststudentofyourclass.The
factthatsomepeoplearebetterthanyoucanactuallybeagoodsign.Nowitiseveneasier
tolearnalotmore!
Onedecisivefactorishowmuchattentionyouwillgetfromyourteacher.Therefore,asmall
groupisalwaysbetterthanalargegroupof20people.Makesurethatyourteacheristhere
wheneveryousaysomethinginDutch.Manyteachersletthestudentstalkwitheachother,
butithaslittleuseifnoonecancorrectyou.Thereisalsoanotherdangerthatcanhappenif
yourteacherisnotpersonallywatchingyou.Beforeyouknowityoulearnthingsthatare
completelywrong!
Dontsitbehindacomputerallthetime!Talkwithrealpeople!
Lastbutnotleast,withmanylanguagecourses(someofthemarequiteexpensive)you
mainlyworkwithacomputerorinalanguagelab.Thisisnotthefastestwayoflearning!
Youwilllearnalotfasterinthepresenceofrealpeopleandfromalltheinteractionsthat
youhavewiththem.Learninganewlanguageisnotjustamechanicalprocess,itisalso
aboutpeople.Makesurethatyougetthepersonalattentionthatyoudeserve!
45
Doyouhavethecouragetolearnfast?
Rightnowyouhavediscoveredthattherearemany
differentwaysoflearninganewlanguage.Youmaybe
opentotheideanowthatthereisaslowsnailtrailanda
funfasttrack.
Althoughlearningonthefunfasttrackisaloteasierand
morefuntoo,mostpeopletendtostayontheslowsnail
trail.Somehow,theslowsnailtrailissoeasytofindand
headingforthefunfasttrackrequiressomemore
thinkingandcourage!
Hereisanothercatchyoumayhavedecidedforyourselfthatyouprefereaglelearning
now.Andsurealotofithastodowithattitude.Butthetruthisthatmostcourseshave
notbeendesignedforeaglelearners.Onedecisivefactorisyourteacherofcourse.Willhe
orsherecognizetheeaglewithinyou?
Eachandeverycoursehasbeendesignedforacertaintypeofbird.Sowouldaneaglegoto
aspecialschoolforparrotsorchickens?Chancesarehighthatarealeaglewouldonlyfeel
frustratedandboredthere
Sosomehow,learninglikeaneagletakessomecourage.Youmayhavetofollowapaththat
othersseeashighlyunusual.Youmuststandfirmonceyoufeelthatforyou,thisistheright
waytodoit.Butonceyoureallygoforit,everythingwillbesomucheasier.
Theeaglereallyhasabroadvisionandanopenmind.Fortheeaglestep2learnfastand
havefunisthemostlogicalsteptodo.Sure,otherbirdsmaynotunderstandit,andmaybe
theywillevenlaughattheeagle.But,onceyoulearnlikeaneagle,youreallydontcare.
Whyshouldyou,onceyouflyhigh?And..guesswhatwithstep3differenceswillonlyget
bigger.Theeaglewillboosthislearningevenmore,withfunandease!
46
Step3:beunstoppable!
47
Step3:beunstoppable
HereisthefinalstepforgettingtoDutchflownow.itisastepthatneverends.Asamatter
offact,itisalogicalconsequenceofthefirsttwopreviousstepsandactuallyitisquite
simple:beunstoppable.Justkeepitrolling!Strangelyenoughitisastepthatmanypeople
overlook.Itseemsthattheyseelearninganewlanguageasanastychorethatneedstobe
finishedasquicklyaspossiblebut.onceyouareinDutchflow,learningwillcontinuefor
therestofyourlife!Thegoodnewshoweveris,thatnowitwilltakemuchlesseffortthanin
thebeginning.Alotoflearningcaneventakeplaceautomatically,but.thiscanonly
happenifyoucontinue!
Ontopofit,thisisalsotrue.Nowthatyouhavecometostep3,youaretrulyina
beautifulplace.MostpeoplethatreallywouldliketospeakgreatDutch,nevergetthisfar.
Thevastmajorityofpeoplethattries,miserablyfailsforreasonsthatyoualready
understand.
Firstofall,youmusttakestep1.YouhavetodecidethatyouactuallyliketospeakDutch
andthenreallygoforit.Mostpeopledontreallymakeadecisionandiftheydo,theyforget
todetermineforthemselveshowmuchDutchtheywant.Sochancesarehighthattheir
ambitionistoolow.Anotherimportantreasonisthatmanypeoplelearnfordiplomasand
certificatesandthatthereforetheyforgetthattherealgoaloflearninganewlanguage
mustalwaysbe:speakingit.Noexceptions!
Step2isallabouttheimportanceoflearningfastwhilehavingfun.Alsoherethereare
manytraps.Itisveryeasytotakethepathofslowlearningwhereeverythingisboringtoo.
ThereasonwhymostpeopleneverevermakeittoDutchflowisastonishinglysimple:they
stoptoosoon.Formanypeopleitisevenamatterofhours.Theytryitfortwoorsixhours
orandthentheyquit.Nowhowsmartisthat?
Learningfastandhavefunisthesecondstepthatreallygetsyou
ontrack.Anditmustbefollowedbystep3beunstoppable.
Onceyouhavelaunchedyourlanguagerocket,itmustcontinueto
fly!Youmayevendescribeitlikethis:justcontinue,continue
havingfunandlearnevenmore!
Bytheway,step3shouldnotbethatdifficult,relativelyeasy
actually,onceyoustarttolookwitheagleeyes.SowhynotmakeyourDutchlanguage
successcontinuousandeverlasting?Itistimeforthesecretsoftheeagle!
48
Thesecretsoftheeagle
Manypeoplefindithardtobelievewhytheeaglecanhaveresultsthataresomuchbetter
thantheresultsofachicken,evenwithinashortperiodofonlyacoupleofdays.How
amazingitmaylooklike,itisdefinitivelynotrocketscience.Themassivedifferencebetween
resultsisveryeasytoexplain.Thefunnythingisthataneagledoesnotnecessarilyhavea
higherI.Q.thanthechicken.Themaindifferenceisanotherperspective.Whenitcomesto
learningandspeakingDutch,chickensandeaglesthinkindifferentways.
LetsseehowchickenslookatlearningandspeakingDutch
Themainfocusofachickenislearning.Somehow,achickentendstothinkthatitneedsto
learnalotbeforeitcanactuallypracticeitineverydaylife.Ontopofthis,achickenisoften
obsessedwiththeideaofperfection,somanychickenswillnotstarttospeakDutchinreal
lifeunlesstheyareconvincedthatitisperfect.Manychickensneedalotofpreparation
time.SomechickensevendecidethattheywillonlystarttospeakDutchwhentheypassed
acertainexamoronthedaythattheyreceiveanimpressivediploma.Butthetragedyis
thisevenonadaylikethis,manychickenswillsensethattheirDutchisstillnotperfect
enough.So,chancesarehighthattheywillwait.
Anothertypicalchickenthoughtisthatyoulearnthelanguagefromonebook.Chickens
oftenhopethatoncetheystudyharshenoughthensomehowtheywillhavetheperfect
knowledgetopracticeDutchintherealworldNowonderthatyearscangobyfora
chickenwithoutspeakingDutch.
Thepicturethataneaglehasiscompletelydifferent.
Hereinthispictureyoucanclearlyseethatfortheeaglethereisnodifferencebetween
learningandspeaking.Ifyouspeakthenyoulearnandyoulearnbestwhenyouspeak!
FortheeagleeachandeveryconversationisaperfectmomenttobringhisDutchtoawhole
newlevel!Iftheeagledoesthingsright,thenitisalreadygreat.Butiftheeagledoes
somethingwrong,thenitisalsoperfectlyokAllthataneagledoesistoseewhatelseis
49
neededandthencorrectit.Aneagleisalwaysoptimistic,becausethere
isalwayssomethingtogain,ineachandeveryconversation.Theeagle
alwayswins!Theeaglealsounderstandsthatlearningfromabookisonly
onewaytolearnit.Buttheeaglealsounderstandsthatthebestwayto
learnitisineverydaylife.ThereforetheeaglestartstospeakDutch
alreadyondayoneortwoinalldifferentkindsofplaces.Evenwhenthe
eaglesaysonlyoneDutchword,hefeelsgoodaboutit.Theeaglejust
knowsthatmorethingswillfollowandthatperfectionisnevereverthemailgoal.Compare
thistothemainattitudeofthechicken.Whatadifference,right?
SowheneveraneagleholdsaconversationinDutchthenaneaglealwaysfeelsgoodabout
it.Firstofall,theeagleappreciatesallthethingsthatwentwell.Sometimesthiscanonlybe
afeeling,certainlyinthebeginning.Forexample,ifyoustarttofeellessnervousabout
speakingDutch,thenthisisalsoamassivegain!Thentheeagleaskshimselfaverysimple
question:HowcanIimprovemyconversationjustalittlebitnexttime?
Actuallytherearealwayslittlethingsthatyoucoulddotoimproveyourconversation.
Maybeyourpronunciationcouldbeabitbetter,youmayhavetoadjustyourgrammara
littlebitmoreormaybeyoucouldusesomeotherwords.Canyouseetheradicaldifference
withtheattitudeofthechickenhere?Achickentendstoremainmorepassivebecauseitcan
onlyworryandbitchaboutallthethingsthatwentwrong,whichisalogicalreactionif
perfectionisyourmaingoal.
Hereisanotherdifference.Mostofthetime,achickenonlyworriesabouteverythingthat
wentwronginaconversation,andthereforeitisimmediatestuckinthepast.Theeagleon
thecontraryimmediatelylooksatabrighterfuture.Withthethingsthattheeaglejust
learneditiseasytoimaginehowyoucouldhavebetterandimprovedconversationsina
verynearfuture.Thegoodthingisthatonceyoucanlookatafuturethatonlygetsbetter
andbetter,itiseasytofeelexcited,motivatedandenergized!
Themainproblemofachickenisthis:itisextremelyshortsighted.Itcanonly
seeallthelittlethingsthatarewrongonlynow,anditlackstheskillstosee
howthingscouldturnoutmuchbetterifyouonlyhadaviewonalongerterm.
Eaglesnaturallyhaveit,butsomehowchickensseemtobeblind.Allthatthey
candoistocomplainwhyprogressissosmallrightnowandsomehowthey
automaticallyassumethatthisisalsohowtorestofthefuturewilllooklike.
Ontopofthat,thereisoneimportantprincipleinnaturethattheydont
understand,whichwillberevealedonthenextpage
Whyabreakthroughmaybecloserthanyouthink
Hereisthethingthatmostpeoplefinddifficulttounderstand.Theycannotsee
thatthefirstsentencethattheysayinDutch,evenifitsoundsridiculousandstupid,is
50
alwaysadoorwaytoafinalbreakthrough.Thereisonlyonecatch.Youmustnot
stopthenandyoumustcontinue.Thetruthis,smallthingscanbeanimportant
steptowardsamassivebreakthrough,ifyouallowit.
Thereisonlyoneimportantprinciplethatyouneedtoremember:everythinginnature
startsverysmallandevenlooksinsignificant.Justthinkofafrog.Howdoesitlooklikeinthe
beginning?Hereisthedifference.Achickenonlyseesatadpole,buttheeagleseesthefrog
too.Then,whynotthinkofyourselfhowdidyoulooklike,averylongtimeago,whenyou
justleftyourfatherandstartedtoswiminthebodyofyourmother?
Thesecretisverysimple.Dontworryifprogressissmall,justappreciateit.Soonenoughit
willgrowandthenitwillbecomebiggerandbigger.Onceatadpolegetsbiggeritiseasierto
recognizethecomingfrog.SojustputoutsomeDutchcrapthere,makemanymistakesand
thenlittlebylittleyouwilldiscoverthatthereisrealDutchinthere!
Youmusthaveheardthateverythinginnaturealwaysgrows.Itisthenatural
principleofcontinuousexpansion.Soletsstartwithastupidquestion.How
muchcanyouexpandifyousaynothing?Yes,0,00000000%
Butwithonlyonesentence,somethingmagicalhappens.Evenwithastupid
Dutchsentencelikeikwilkoffie(Iwantcoffee),expansioncanstarttodoitswork.Adding
newthingsiseasynowJustaddmetmelkensuiker(withmilkandsugar)andyouhavea
longersentencenow.Ikwilkoffiemetmelkensuiker.Then,dontstopherejustseeif
youcansayitinawaythatreallysoundsfluent.Congratulations.Yougotyourfirstlittle
tinypieceofDutchflownow.Sureitisstilllikeatadpole,butnowitcangrowintoafrog
andwhoknows?Eventuallyitmaybecomeaprince(oraprincess!)
HereisanotherreasonwhysayinglittletinysentencesinDutchinallkindsofdifferent
placesissoimportant.Inthebeginningyoumayfeelexcited,nervousormaybeeven
embarrassedaboutit.Butthen,aftersometimeitwillstarttofeelgewoon(normal,nothing
specialatall).Congratulations!Youhavedonethemostimportantjobnow!Youhave
startedtoturnspeakingDutchintoagewoonte.Itissonormalforyounow,thatithas
becomeahabit.Thewayofstep3isnowopenfortherestofyourlife!
Themoralofthestorysofarissimple.StartspeakingDutch,speakitinalldifferentkindsof
places,nomatterwhat!Havefunmakingmistakes,learnsomethingnewallthetime,gently
correctitandmoveon.Takeyourfirststeponthewayofcontinuousimprovementnow!
Thenextchapterisalsogoingtobeexciting.Itwillshowthatonceyoumaster3essential
skillsabreakthroughisguaranteed!
51
3criticalskillsthatwillunleashyourDutchonceandforall!
HaveyoudecidedthatyouarewillingtoplayandexperimentwithDutchasmuchasyou
can?Good!YouhaveopenedthedoortoDutchfluencynowAtthesametime,thereare3
criticalskillsthatareimportanttomasterifyouwanttogettoDutchfluencyfast!So,here
theycome:
ThreeessentialskillsthatwillunleashyourDutchonceandforall:
1developapsychologicalmindsetthatisveryhelpful
2learnhowtosimplify
3theartofdecoding
1apositivepsychologicalmindsetthatishelpful
Letsfaceit.speakingfluentDutchwillbeachallenge!Sowhynot
acknowledgethisinallhonesty?However,onceyouhavedonestep
1decide,thenyouarealreadyconvincedthatnomatterhow,itis
worththeeffort!
Mostpeopleerroneouslybelievethattheonlychallengesof
speakingDutcharecausedbyvocabularyandgrammar.
Thisisonlypartiallytrue.Atleast50%ofyourchallengewillbe
psychological.Howwillyoudealwithsetbacksforexample?
Willyouadoptamindsetthatisreallygoingtohelpyoutogetthethingthatyouwant?
SureifyouwanttospeakDutch,chancesarehighthatalsonegativitywillturnup.Many
peoplegetstuckbecausetheyonlygettrappedbytheirownnegativethoughts.However,
youmusthavediscoveredbynowthatsomehowyoucanalwaysfocusonthepositive!By
theway,thegoodthingisthatonceyouovercomesomeobstaclesforlearningandspeaking
Dutchyouwillalsobenefitfromitinotherareasofyourlife.
Learningandspeakinganewlanguageissomuchmorethanjustmemorizingsome
vocabularyandgrammarrules.Onceyoutrulyunderstandthatanewlanguagehelpsyouto
discovermanyamazingthings,itisquiteeasytofeelexcitedaboutit!
Hereisoneofthemostimportantskillsthatyouneedtomaster.Alwaysbekindfor
yourself!Whywouldyoubeatyourselfupiftherearesomethingsthatyoudonotmaster
yet?Whywouldyoucallyourselfstupidifthereissomethingthatyoudontunderstand?
Contrarywhatyoumaybelievenegativitytowardsyourselfwillnevereverhelpyoutolearn
faster.Alwaystreatyourselfwithloveandrespect.Ifsomethingdoesnotgorightthentry
again.Ifthereissomethingthatyoudontunderstand,thensimplyaskforhelpifneeded.
Alsomakesure,thatyougivethebesttoolstoyourselfforlearninganewlanguage.Always
bekindandgentletoyourself.Itisthefastestwaytospeakanewlanguage!
52
2Simplify
Onemassivethingthatkeepsmostpeoplestuckiscomplexthinking.So,ifyou
wanttomovefastthenfullyembracesimplicity!Forthemind,simplicity
issomethingdifficulttoaccept.Somehowthemindtendstobelievethat
complexandcomplicatedthingsarealwaysbetter.Themindhasanatural
resistancetosaythingsinaverysimpleway.Butcontrarytowhatyoumaybelieve
itissimplicitythatwillmoveyoutohigherlevelsfastandthenyoucanevenenjoyallthe
complicatedthings,muchsoonerthanyoucouldeverimagine!
WhenmostpeoplewanttospeakinDutch,theytendtothinkintheirownlanguagefirst,
andthentranslateit,wordbywordWellthebadnewsisthisitwillnevereverwork.
Translatingismuchmoredifficultthanspeakinganewlanguage!
Justcheckitforyourself.Whathappensifyousaysomethinginyourownlanguagefirst?
Probablyitwillbealongsentences,therewillbemanywordsthatyoucannottranslatein
Dutchandalsothegrammarmaybemorecomplicatedthanyouthink!
Soinsteadoftryingtotranslatethesentencesofyourownlanguagewordbyword,whynot
startwithsomeeasyDutchsentencesthatsoundridiculouslysimple?Believeitornot,it
reallyworks.Justsimplify!Makeshortsentencesforexample.Soonenoughtheywillturn
intosentencesthataremuchlongerthanyoucouldeverimagine!Soifyousayasentence
thathasonly3words,thencongratulations!Youjustdidagreatjob!
Alsosimplifyyourthinkingwhenitcomestosentences.Herearesomeexamples:
1IamanemployeeofMicrosoftIworkforMicrosoft(Ikwerkbij/voorMicrosoft)
2IjustreceivedapackageIhaveapackage(ikhebeenpakje)
3Themanisbittenbyadogthedogbitestheman(dehondbijtdeman)
Yougettheidearight?Juststartmakingshortsentences,leaveouttoo
manydetails(thatoftenarenotthatrelevantanyway)andusesimple
grammarconstructions.Whatwillyounoticeisthatonceyousee
thebeautyofsimplicity,creatingsentencesinDutchwillbealoteasier
andthen.allofasuddenyouwillstarttonoticethatyourDutch
startstoflow!
Bytheway,haveyouevernoticedthatwateralwaystakesthewayofleastresistance?
Guesswhat?Fluencyinanewlanguageisnoexception.Justkeepitsimpleandallowthe
firstflowtocomein.Thenagreatthingwillhappen.OnceyourDutchstartstoflow,itwill
continuetoflow,moreandmore.Butcanonlystarttoflowifyouarewillingtodoone
thing.Goforsimplicity!
Bytheway,doyouthinkthatthinkinginasimplewayisquitedifficult?DontworryLuckily
thisisaskillthatyoucanlearn,andonceyouseethegreateffectsofit,youwillloveit!The
53
mostimportantthingfornowisthatyoucanseethebeautyofsimplicityandthatyouare
readytoembraceit!
3Theartofdecoding
Thisthirdskillisanamazingskillthatwillhelpyoutomoveyour
Dutchtoawholenewlevelfast.Imaginethatyouhavealready
startedtospeaksomeDutchandthatyoucanalreadysaymany
thingsasyouknowhowtothinkinsimplewaysThenwhatwill
happenisthatyouwillhearmanywordsaroundyouthatyou
havenevereverheardof.Butnowcomesthegoodnews
withtheartofdecodingyouwillbeabletoaccuratelyguess
therightmeaningandthen,ifyoulikeyoucanusethisword
aswellinyoureverydayliveconversations.
Letshavealookatthefollowingthreewords:
1kijkcijferkanon
2mishandeling
3dedader
Doyouknowwhatthese3wordsmean?
Justforyourinformation.Thisiswhatmostpeople(andchickens)do.Whentheyseeaword
thattheydontknowtheywillsay:!@#!$Idontknowthiswordandthentheywillstop
thinking,stopconversationsandswitchovertoEnglish.But.fortheeaglethefunonly
begins,becausetheeagleunderstandsthatoneofthemostimportantskillsthatyouneed
forspeakinganewlanguageisyourabilitytosolvelittleriddles..
Allright,letsstart.OprahWinfreyiseenkijkcijferkanon.Doesthatmakesensetoyou?
Haveyoueverheard:evenkijken?Thisroughlymeansletmelookforawhile,sokijkenisto
lookandalsotowatch.Eencijferisacipher,sokijkcijferhastodowithacertainnumberof
watchers.Wouldyouagreethatitcouldberating?Eenkanonisacannon,akindofheavy
gun,sowhatwoulditmean.?Thatshehasfewviewersormanyviewers?Soeen
kijkcijferkanonisapersonorprogramthathasloadsandloadsofviewers!
LetsdecodethenextwordthenmishandelinghandeleninDutchmeansthatyouact.You
canseethewordhandinthere,sothereistheideathatyouuseyourhands.Nowlookat
thewordmisinfrontofit.Doyouthinkthatitwouldaddsomethingpositive?Well,in
Englishyouhaveuseandmisuse,sonow,somethingisdefinitelywrong!Therefore
mishandelenmeanstomaltreatortoabuse.Finalconclusion:mishandelingisabuse!
54
Letsgotothethirdworddader.Couldyouseetheworddaadinit?
Woulditbeeasyforyoutoacceptthatdeedmeansdeed?Thenlets
lookaterandplayinEnglish.Youhaveaplayandplayer,auseand
user.Wouldyouagreethatbyaddinger,youturnitintoaperson?So
daderliterallymeansdeeder,apersonthatdoes(ordid)adeed.In
Englishyouwouldcallitthepersonwhodidit.Soifyouhave
mishandeling(abuse),thensomenastypersonmustalsobededader!
Canyouseewhathashappened?Insteadofjusttryingtomemorize
Dutchwordslikecrazy,youcanalsoturnitintoafuncameinwhichyouusecreativeand
deductivethinking.
Theproblemwithmostpeopleisthattheyonlyfocusonmemorizingwords,insteadof
learninghowtoplaywiththewordsthattheyjustlearned.Theradicaldifferencebetween
DutchandEnglishisthatDutchisfarmorevisualandmetaphoricalthanEnglish,soifyou
canonlytakethingsveryliterallythenyouwillbestuckwithinminutes!
Takethenextsentenceforexample:ikzitopzwartzaad.
ThisliterallymeansIsitonblackseed.Soonceagain,allyouneedtodoistocrackthecode
ofthemetaphor.Imaginethatthecolorofyourseedswerebrown,doyouthinkthatblack
wouldbeagoodcolorforyourseeds?Probablynotitjustmeansthatyouaresittingon
seedthatisworthlessnowso,logicallythisisaveryDutchwayofsaying:Iambroke
Contrarytowhatyoumaythink,Dutchvocabularyisverylogicalandwithsomebasic
knowledgeyoucaneasilyguesstherightmeaningofmanymanyDutchwords.Somakesure
thatyoudecidetomastertheartofdecoding.Allofasuddenyouwillunderstandsomuch
moreandlearningnewwordswillbeeasierthanyoucouldeverimagine!
Andhereisthegreatnewsdecodingisnotsomethingthatyouneedtostudy!Allyou
needtodoistogethundredsoffunnyexamples.Then,intuitivelyyourbrainwillcrackthe
secretcodeandfurtherlearningcantakeplace,allbyitself!
55
TwotipsforspeakingDutchineverydaylife
HerearesomelasttipsforonceyouhavedecidedtospeakDutchinreallife.
YoumusthavenoticedthatDutchpeoplelovetoswitchtoEnglishallthetime
Inthebeginningthismaybequitediscouragingofcourse,butyouaremuchmoreincontrol
thanyouthink.ThereisawaythatimmediatelystopsDutchpeoplefromswitchingto
English.
AllyouneedtoknowistounderstandthetriggersthatcauseDutchpeopletospeakEnglish
toyou.Oneimportanttriggeristhatittakesabittoolongbeforeyoucansaysomethingin
Dutch.Thereforeitisimportantthatyouusesimplethinking,sothatyoucanseesomeeasy
things,fast!
Alsowhenyoulookhelplessortroubled,DutchpeoplewillswitchovertoEnglish
immediately.Themorerelaxedyoulook,thelongerDutchpeoplespeakDutchto
you.Thatiswhyitissoimportantthatyoucanputyourselfateaseallthetime.Have
abreak,takeiteasyrelaxandsmile!ThisisaverypowerfulinvitationforDutchpeopleto
speakDutchallthetime!
Anothergreattechniquethatyoucoulduse,ifyournativelanguageisnotEnglishisthat
youpretendthatyoudonotspeakEnglish!YougiveDutchpeopleonlytwochoices:
yourlanguage(whichisnotEnglish)orDutch.Certainlyifyouspeakadifficultlanguage
suchasRussian,ChineseorHindithenDutchpeoplewillsticktoDutchwithinonlyacouple
ofseconds.Thetechniqueisextremelyeasy,allyouneedtodoisthatyoustandfirm.Inthis
sensetheonlythingthatyoureallyneedissomeinnerpower.
HereisanotherimportantthingManypeoplethatliketospeakDutchallofasudden
decidethatfromacertaindayon,theywillonlyspeakDutchwiththeirpartneror
colleagues,thewholeday!Sure,itdoeslookambitious,butitdoesnotwork.
Takeiteasy,certainlyinthebeginning.DontoverreactJustuseaverypowerful
toolwhichiscalleddekookwekkerstrategie.Yousimplytakeakookwekker(kitchentimer)
andthenyouonlytalkDutchfor5minutes,eachandeveryday.Aftersomedays,youwilldo
itfor10minutes,then15minutesyou,soyoujustexpandyourspeakingtimegradually.All
ofasudden,somethingmagicalwillhappenOnedayyouwilldiscoverthatyoucantalkfor
hoursandhours!
Bytheway,talkingaboutkookwekkersTimingisimportantDonttrytospeakDutch
whenyourpartnerjustarrivesexhaustedfromworkorwhenyourcolleagueisworkingon
someseriousbusiness.ChoosesomegoodmomentsinwhichyouandyourDutchspeaking
partnerarebothrelaxed.Startwith5minutesandalwayshavefun
56
Thisisnottheend,onlythebeginning.
Some50pagesago,youstartedanewadventure.Westartedwith2simplequestions:
1WouldyouliketospeakDutch?
2Ifso,whynotnow?
ThenyoureceivedtheinstructionsofasecretformulaforgettingintoDutchflowfast:
THE SECRET FORMULA

3 SPECIFIC STEPS:
1 DECIDE
2 LEARN FAST AND HAVE FUN
3 BE UNSTOPPABLE
Doallthesewordshavemoremeaningnow?Ifnot,thenreadtheeBookagain!
Sure,learningDutchmaybeachallengeandmanypeoplecomplainthatlearningand
speakingDutchissoextremelydifficult(maybeinsecretyoustilldo),butwiththenew
insightsthatyougainedsofar,howdoyoulookatitrightnow?
Basically,itisverysimple.WheneverpeoplearestrugglingwithDutch,thenitisalways
becauseofthefactthatsomehowtheyforgottoapplyoneofthese3stepsinavery
specificway.Forexample,youhavebeenlearningDutch,butnotfastandwithoutfun.Just
checkitforyourself.However,andnowcomesthegoodnews,justbyapplyingeachand
everyprincipleinacertainway,Dutchflowisvirtuallyguaranteed.
Attheenditisnorocketscience.Somethingspromoteslowlearningandotherthings
promotefastlearning.Somethingsleadtostucknessandotherthingsleadtofluency.
Thereisalwaysachoice.ThereisonlyonecatchonlyYOUcanmakeadifferenceforyour
Dutch.SoifspeakinggreatDutchisyourdreamthengoforit!Takeactionnow!Decide,
learnfast,havefunandbeunstoppable.Dutchflowissuchawonderfulplace.Therefore,
dosomething,becauseIjustknowthatyouwillloveit!
AlbertBoth
57
Aninvitationthatcouldchangeyourlife!
HaveyoueverwonderedhowyourDutchcouldsoundlikeifyoujust
hadsomemoreclarityinyourhead,abitmoreconfidenceorsome
morefunwithit?OrmaybeyoualreadyspeaksomeDutchalready,
butyouwouldjustlovetohavemoreofthegoodstuff.
NowthatyouhavereadthiseBook,youmustunderstandthatalot
ofyourDutchfluencysuccessdependsonyourmindsetandalso
yourabilitytodealwithgrammarandvocabulary.Peoplethat
aregoodatlanguagesoftendonotstudyalot,theyjustsee,feeland
understandthings.Thereforeforthemprogressisgoingfast,without
toomucheffort.Haveyoueverwishedtobemorereceptiveforlearningandspeaking
Dutch?Ihopeso,becauseifyoudo,Ihavesomethingthatyoumaylike.Itisaspecial
invitation,butitisonlyaninvitationforthosepeoplethatarereallyinterestedandtruly
motivated
Whatifyoucouldjusttakeashowerforyourbrain?Imaginethatyoucould
simplywashawayallthosestupidthingsthatstandinyourwayofDutch
fluency.Whatcouldhappenifyoucouldrefreshyourwholemindandjust
starttolookateverythingwithwholeneweyes?
ThiswasexactlythethoughtthatIhadwhenIcreatedtheDutch
Brainwashfouryearsago.DontworryitisnotatechniquefromNorthKorea!Youdo
nothavetoburnyourclothesorstayawakeatnight....Butyougettheidearight?
RightnowIhavegivenmorethan30DutchBrainwashcourseswithallkindsofpeoplefrom
alldifferentkindsoflevelsanddifferentcultures.ItisthemostpowerfulprogramthatIhave
createdsofar.Withinashortperiodofonly7daysyouwilllaunchyourownDutch
languagerocket,sotospeak!
Itisamazinghowmuchyoucanlearnifyouworkandhavefunfor7dayswithasmall
groupofpeoplethatareallmotivatedandsupportivetoeachother.Herearesomeofthe
thingsthatyoucanlearn:
.createmanysentencesaboutanytopicthatyoulike,withease
.rapidlyincreaseyourvocabulary
.Predictthemeaningofnewwordsthatyouhavenevereverseenbefore
.FullyunderstandthelogicalandcreativesystemofDutch
.Getoutyourtunnelvisionandthinkoutofthebox
.HowtohavefuninDutch,howDutchhumorworks
.HowyoucanuseEnglishorotherlanguagestolearnDutchevenfaster
.Howtosoundintelligent,evenwithalimitedknowledgeofDutch
58
.Simpletechniquesthatinstantlyincreasefluency
.Howthinkinginpictureschangeseverything
.Howtouseeverythingthatyoualreadyknowtoyourmaximumbenefit
.ReallyunderstandDutchgrammar
.Howtolearnfastandsavehundredsofhoursofstudyingtime
.Experiencedifferentlearningstylesandfindoutwhatsuitsyouthemost
.Activateyournaturalabilitytolearnandspeakanewlanguage
.Muchmore,manysurprisesandthingsthatyouwillnotexpect!
Groupsarealwayssmall(max6persons),becauseIwanttogiveeachpersonalotof
attention.Atthesametime,youcanalsobenefitfrommanypositivegroupdynamicsas
well.ThemainfocusisspeakingandatthesametimeyouwillalsoreadandwriteDutch,so
thatlearninggoesevenfaster.Onethingiscertain:after7daysyourwholeideaaboutDutch
willbedifferentandyouwillbebrainwashedinapositiveway!
Onceyouareofficiallybrainwashedyoucanjoinmonthlyfluencyactivationsessionsfor
free.Duringtwohoursyoucantalkinasmallgroupaboutanythinkablesubjectandwith
somepersonalfeedback,youcanboostyourfluencyevenmore.Itisthatgreatthingthat
guaranteesthatyourfurtherprogressiscontinuousandunstoppable.
IfyouliketheideaofaDutchBrainwashthengoto
http://dutchflownow.nl/dutchbrainwashformoreinformation.
Orsendmeanemail:albertboth@dutchflownow.nl
Ifyouliketoexperiencemanyofthethingsthatyouhaveread
inthiseBookinaliveclassenvironment,thenhereisanotheroffer
thatIthink,youcantrefuse
Every6weeksIalsoorganizeafreeworkshopFindingDutchFlow
Inthisspecialworkshopyoucanfindoutforyourselfwhatexactlyisstopping
youandhowyoucanopenthefloodgatetoDutchflow.
Youwillseemanythingsfromanewperspectiveagainandthereisalsosomegreatstuff
thatyoucannotfindinthisebook
Formoreinformation:
http://dutchflownow.nl/findingdutchflow
orsendmeanemail:albertboth@dutchflownow.nl
59
Finally:themostimportantthingthatyou
need!
ThisisthemostimportantthingthatyouneedforlearningandspeakinggreatDutch
InDutchitiscalledeenblikopener
Probablythisdoesnotmakesenseright?EenblikopeneriscanopenerinEnglish,sowhat?
Yes,ImustadmitinEnglishitisnotfunny.Butasyoumayhavediscoveredbynow,
Dutchisdifferent
Sureblikiscan.Butitalsomeanslook.Therefore,ifyouuseyourfantasy,youcouldalso
seeitaseyeopener
BoostingyourDutchisallaboutopeningyourmindandyoureyesRememberthatmany
Dutchwordscanhavemanymeanings.
BythewaywhatdidObamareallymeanwhenhesaid:yeswecan?Allright,letsstopit
itistimetofinishmyeBook.Ithoughtitwouldbenicetofinishwithapersonaltouch
60
Somethingaboutme
Hello!MynameisAlbertBoth.Someofyoumayknowmealready,
because5yearsIagoIpublishedanothereBookWhyYouHateLearning
Dutchand7SecretstoChangeit.(Youcandownloaditforfreeat
http://www.talencoach.nl)
Inthose5yearsmanythingshavehappened.ImovedmyofficetotheKeizersgracht(inthe
historicalheartofAmsterdam)andIcreatedawholenewcoursetheDutchBrainwash,an
intensivecoursefor7daysinarow.Whilehavingmanyinteractionswithmanypeoplefrom
allkindsoflevelsanddifferentculturalbackgrounds,Idiscoveredmanynewthings.
Firstofall,Idiscoveredthatmostpeopleseemtobetrappedinakindoftunnelvisionwhen
itcomestoactuallyspeakingDutch.IttooksomeyearsformetorealizethatalthoughDutch
andEnglishareverysimilarlanguages,therearesomeradicaldifferencestoo.SothenI
noticedthatformyteaching,ashifthadtakenplace.Oneofmynewprioritiesistomake
surethatpeoplereallyopentheirmindsandstarttoseethingsinamuchbroader
perspective.
Sure,itcouldsoundvagueforyou,anditisnotsomethingthatlanguageschoolstellyou.
Itisnotsomethingthatyoulearnwhenyoufollowacourseforbecomingalanguage
teacher,notevenattheuniversity.ThereforeIcanonlybegratefulforallthenewinsights
thatIgot.InthatsenseIreallyfeelluckythatIlovesomanydifferentthingsatthesame
time,suchasmanylanguages,coaching,NLP,acceleratedlearning,theatersport,public
speakingandstandupcomedy!
Anyhow,itseemedtomethatfluencyinDutchissuchawonderfulgoaltohave.Contraryto
whatmanypeoplethinkitisnotthatdifficultatall.So,nowisthetimeforaneweBook.I
hopethatyoulikeitandchancesarehighthatmuchmorewillfollowthereisstillso
muchmorethatIcouldshare!
OnefunnythingisthatlereninDutchmeansbothtolearnandtoteach.Thereissomelogic
init.Whileyouteach,youwillalsolearn.ThatiswhyIlovetohavepersonalinteractionwith
mystudents!Onceagain,enjoyreadingmybookandifyoulikeyoucanalsosendmea
mail.Itisalwaysgoodtohearsomethingfromyou!
Vrolijkegroet(cheerfulgreeting),
AlbertBoth(Mr.DutchBrainwash)
61
Notes+ideasforaction:
P.S:whatareyouwaitingfor?
62

Dont Worry Speak Dutch

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Dont Worry Speak Dutch

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

2013AlbertBothwww.dutchflownow.

Albert Both (Mr. Dutch Brainwash)

THE SECRET FORMULA

False assumption 1: just memorize words + sentences

THE SECRET FORMULA

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen