Has Anyone Taught Himself/Herself Dutch?

Question

hi all

I'm learning dutch on my own and I'd like to know whats it like to teach yourself, which books or other learning tools like CDs are best for this purpose and at last will you be able to talk dutch decently?

so far I've been practicing with hugo and rosseta stone dutch learning kits..how dependable are they?

Answer 1

I used Hugo (Dutch in 3 mos.) and was surprised at how well I did when I got to holland. I sat in my friend's kitchen and had a conversation with her with little problem. The only thing is, they teach proper dutch and I did have trouble understanding the amsterdammers. But overall, I was happy and I highly recommend the hugo course. I never tried rosseta stone so I can't comment on it.

Answer 2

If you're really interested in learning Dutch and the Dutch culture, the integration courses and the language courses at the University of Amsterdam use the Code Nederlands book. Not sure where in the world you are...and how available it is outside NL. Combines book and CD with a nice balance between vocabulary, reading, listening, grammar. You might want someone to practice speaking and look over your writing...

I would recommend also checking out the website dutchgrammar.com