Listen to the audio and answer the questions:
Fill-in exercise and answers in the free PDF
Where to find short Dutch texts
As soon as you’ve learned a couple of Dutch words, a student feels ready to start reading simple, short texts. So what are your options?
The first option should be your textbook. Many handbooks contain short texts just at your level. Often overlooked, but useful and with exercises. Also check if there is a workbook that comes along.
Wablieft is a website dedicated to simple Dutch. There is a section with newspapers, called kranten. Some of the articles are for free but you can also get a subscription with a newspaper in paper. Additionally, there’s a list of books according to their level.
Often recommended by teachers is Nedbox. It’s a regularly updated website with texts and videos from the Belgian news. Exercises are added, which can be adapted to your level.
Lingua.com published over 30 texts and listening exercises, plus some premium ones. The texts are on different levels.
Reading the media is only recommended to intermediate students. You may find newspapers at the local library, where you’ll also find books for young adults. These are typically easier to read.
Last but not least: I wrote a book with simple texts for A2 level, as well as one for A2-B1 level. The difficult words are marked in bold, so you’ll learn plenty of new words.
Best Dutch dictionaries
Looking for the best Dutch dictionary? Search no more, here’s an overview to pick your online Dutch dictionary. The first three translate from Dutch to English and English to Dutch.
- Google Translate
Yes, it isn’t always accurate. Yes, expressions are sometimes translated literally. But it has the most languages. It can translate texts pretty well. It reads words out loud. It gives alternatives. And if you type in an URL, it translates the whole website. Did I say it’s fast? No wonder Google Translate is the first translator I open during lessons. - Deepl
Translates a little better than Google Translate, but has fewer features. Can also translate documents. - Reverso Context
My favourite for expressions, conjugations and other idioms or words usually used together. This website compares many documents and matches English and Dutch translations. Very handy for words and expressions having multiple meanings. Only disadvantage: a bit slow. - Van Dale
This is THE dictionary for Dutch-speaking people. It does feature English to Dutch and vice-versa translations, but it’s the reference book. I use it to check if words exist in Dutch, and for sample sentences and the different meanings of words.
Dutch for business: start speaking Dutch at work
Do you need to start speaking Dutch at work? Good news: with my course, you’ll learn over 250 phrases you can use now as soon as you go back to work.
Using dialogues and many practical examples, you’ll learn what to say during presentations, meetings and other situations at work.
The level of the course is around B1, so make sure you already know 1000 words before starting. The course is completely in Dutch.
Dutch grammar for beginners: new book
Pleased to announce my latest book: Dutch grammar for beginners. Most English speaking beginners have the same questions about Dutch. That’s why I wrote this brand new book, which serves both as an exercise book as well as a reference book.
Included are all the different pronouns, the tenses beginners need to learn, many prepositions, and more. A link to the appropriate videos on my YouTube channel is added.
Enjoy!
English speaking jobs in Belgium
Surely, learning Dutch definitely helps to get a job in Belgium, and here’s your place to start your journey. But where do my students who haven’t reached fluency yet work? Who are the people actually recruiting English speakers?
A first group of students works at multinational companies. Due to the international nature of the companies, English is often used as the working language. So check out if they have job openings at industrial companies like Volvo, Volvo Trucks or Bekaert. Chemical company Dow is just over the border in Terneuzen. Tech company Google has offices in both Brussels and the French-speaking region in the south. Other companies include Eastpack, Unilever, Petronas and travel company Booking.com. There are many more companies around the port areas of Ghent and Antwerp.
The second group works in Brussels for international governmental institutions. For example, for the European Union, which almost exclusively recruits EU citizens, or NATO. However, there are many ngo’s and lobbying companies collaborating with these institutions. A list of these jobs can be found on EuroBrussels. Also check if your embassy or consulate isn’t recruiting.
The third – and biggest – group of students have their own company. Even though having your own business can be quite a big responsibility, it’s relatively easy to start one in Belgium. First step would be to go to a social secretariat like Acerta to register your business. My students are active in various sectors, from baking to consulting.
Many students are doing their PhD and sometimes continue working at a university. They do their research in many fields, and as the academic environment has become increasingly international, Dutch isn’t mandatory for many positions. Technically, doing a PhD isn’t work, but it’s considered normal to get a decent wage when doing one. For example with scholarships.
Other students are working at mid-level companies, mostly as specialists. I’ve had medical experts and engineers, some people working in industrial environments like in Brose or in IT companies like DataRoots.
The last categorie would be foreign language teachers, either in a secondary school or in a language school.
6 Best Dutch learning websites to learn Dutch with
Which websites should you bookmark while learning Dutch? Obviously no websites for absolute beginners, as you’ll quickly improve. The websites below are almost all in Dutch and from Belgium.
Most students know the obvious suspects: Duolingo, Dutchgrammar.org, all the YouTube channels and other popular apps or websites. But which ones haven’t you heard of?
Nedbox: even though it’s completely in Dutch, this little gem offers articles and videos to practice your comprehension skills. Choose a topic, choose a level (the little stars on top), choose to learn Dutch.
NederlandsOefenen: again completely in Dutch, the main point of this website is to put Dutch learners together. Groups a lot of activities like reading classes, language exchanges, group classes per region. Plus some inspiration and other tips.
Wablieft is a lovely initiative to make reading easy. Has a newspaper with easy articles and links to many books for foreigners while indicating the level of the book.
Even though the visual aspect and the navigation are… well, ready for improvement, Dutch with Ambition offers intermediate students many high-quality exercises. Click on the tabs on top, you’ll see options.
ZichtbaarNederlands makes grammar visual and I do refer many times to their explanations. Only one on this list with English version and from the Netherlands.
For experts, Taaladvies answers most of their questions. Only for advanced learners, mostly at C-level.
Dutch course for advanced beginners
Since I’ve already published several Dutch courses for beginners, it was time for the next one. If you’ve followed the previous three ones, you’ll know exactly what you need to know to start this one… for intermediate students.
What do you get? With my total immersion approach, only Dutch is spoken, from the very first lesson on. I explain words using Dutch, facial expressions, dialogues, synonyms, a story to follow and so on. This will help you to directly thing in Dutch, an essential feature when learning new languages.
After each video, there’s a list of words as well as a test and MP3s to listen to, so you can practice wherever you like. And what’s different about this course? It’s for intermediate students and follows directly the previous ones.
How did I choose the content? Mostly based on questions of intermediate students, as well as tricky grammar points on that level, like ‘waarvoor’ and ‘daarvan’. Being a fan of ‘most common words’ lists, I put as many words I could from the 2000 most common words in the course. Here’s the promo video:
I’m looking forward to your feedback on this brand new course.
New book: 10 stories to learn Dutch with
After a few months of writing, I’m happy to publish my latest book. It’s for advanced beginners who want to learn new words while reading stories in Dutch. You’ll also learn about Belgian (and Dutch) culture.
Almost no past tenses are used, so it’s for people who haven’t reached the intermediate level yet.
The book can be bought via Amazon or Bol.com (affiliate links).
Dutch adjectives: when to add e
Why is it ‘een goed antwoord’ and ‘de goede auto’? And why do we say in Dutch: ‘Dat is goed?’ Let’s learn when to add an e at the ending of Dutch adjectives.
Dutch grammar rules can be… complicating. But luckily, this rule is rather easy. So, when do you say goed and when do you add -e at the end of goed?
First, we only add an -e when the adjective is in front of a noun. For example: ‘interessante dingen.’ If you put the adjective at the end with a verb, it doesn’t take the -e: ‘Die dingen zijn interessant.’ So as in the first example ‘dat is goed.’
And what about two adjectives? They’ll both take an -e: ‘Dat zijn goede, interessante dingen.’
If the adjective is in front of the noun, there will be some specific cases where you won’t use the -e. And they are: if the noun has ‘het’ as an article and if the article before the adjective is undetermined.
Examples:
– Een goed boek. (het boek, een is undertermined)
– Een goede auto. (de auto)
– Het goede boek (het boek, het is not undetermined)
And that’s it. Not sure whether to put an -e? Know that most nouns have de as an article, so your best bet would be to put an e. Also don’t forget the het changes into de in the plural, so your adjective will adapt accordingly:
– De goede boeken. (het boek)
Another case where an -e is added, is ‘mine’, ‘yours’, etc… :
– Dit is jouw boek, en dat is het mijne.
If you’re learning Dutch, try out my courses via the webshop!