Learning Dutch?

I would say my website is the best place for learning Dutch. No book or course on tape or audio CD will offer this ease of hearing words pronounced at a click of the mouse, right when you want them.

Fietspad ('Bike Path')

Don't wait!

Suggested Method A nice page to start (Colors and Materials)

I think it's best to take the instruction in small doses, like ten minutes once or twice a day. For most people that will be much more effective than a few long sessions.

It's probably best to study the pronunciation first. How are the letters said in Dutch? Listen to the sound files. Wouldn't pronouncing Dutch words be a nice way to spend some time with a friend? Compare with how I say the words and rate each other's efforts.

Then I would recommend to familiarize yourself further with the spelling rules. This is not as hard as it may look, for Dutch spelling is much more straightforward than English - but still, Dutch has exceptions too (save for later.)

After that, work on the pronunciation exercise. Try to say the words correctly, then listen to how I say them; invite a friend and work on it together. Listening to the sound files on this page is also good for getting a sense of the language. You could also work on the Listening Exercise.

At this point it would be good to learn some common Dutch phrases like "Good morning," "Thank you," "Please" and "What's the price?"

From there, I would recommend you try to memorize ten to fifteen words a day. The nice thing is, it's not like in school, that you have to learn all the words in the book. Choose words from a field that has your interest, or words that you think will come in useful, and feel free to skip other words. You could start with the 'Everyday Items' pages, like:

media

necessities

clothing

the house

the outdoors

beauty

electricity

fire

traffic

Another group of picture pages with words:

meals

food

kitchen

bicycles

tools

animals

chess

more

• Learn the basic numbers, the days of the week, telling Dutch time etc.

• Familiarize yourself with basic verbs for Dutch 'to be' and 'to have'

• After 'to be' and 'to have' learn the personal pronouns and the general verb rules

• Sometime you'll have to start studying the Word Order: where do the components in Dutch sentences go?

From time to time, revisit old pages like spelling and pronunciation.
Dutch Vowel Sounds Compared - Dutch Consonants Review - exceptions.

Imaginary conversations are a good tool to learn a language, they'll make you to think of the everyday words and structures you'll need.

Once you have a basic knowledge of Dutch you could start reading something simple, maybe Annie MG Schmidt's children's stories, like 'Jip and Janneke,' or 'Pluk van de Petteflet.' Some of her books are also available in audio versions.
You can find Dutch books at abebooks or at Amazon.com special orders (see below.)
When visiting Holland, do step into a bookstore; you could also look in at the 'HEMA' supermarket chain for their 'Jip and Janneke' series and other children's books and CDs (or order online)
The children's Bibles 'Kijkbijbel' (graphics by Kees de Kort) or 'Bijbelse Verhalen voor Jonge Kinderen' (by D.A. Cramer-Schaap and Annemarie van Haeringen) might also be useful. Unfortunately there's no 'Basic Dutch,' so you'll have to start with children's books.

2BDutch.nl short Dutch videos with both Dutch and English subtitles

A New Start:

A Strict Program of Lessons

Lesson 1
Listen to Dutch - Vowels (1) - Vocabulary - 'Holland' and 'Nederland'

Lesson 2
Listen to Dutch - Vowels (2) - Vocabulary (man, family) - Numbers 1-10 - 'Dutch'

Lesson3
Listen to Dutch - Spelling Short and Long Vowels - Vocabulary (Food, House) - Numbers 10-20 - Broadcasting in Holland

Lesson 4
Listen to The Dutch Anthem - 'Voiceless E' - The Article - Vocabulary (Clothing) - Numbers 20-100 (#1) - The Dutch Revolt

Lesson 5
Listen to a children's song - Colors - Adjectives - Numbers 20-100 (#2) - The Catholic Minority in Holland

Lesson 6
Numbers 100-9999 - Time, Days, Months - This and That - Cognates

Lesson 7
From A Famous Book - Personal Pronouns - To Be (Present Tense) - High and Low Numbers - Chatham

Lesson 8
The Finest Dutch Writing - To Have (Present Tense) - Consonants - Polders: The Reclaimed Land - Weather - Simple Arithmetic

Lesson 9
More of The Finest Dutch Writing - Verbs: The Simple Present - Useful Phrases - Ordinal Numbers - The Large Water Projects

Lesson 10
Hear More Multatuli - Exceptions and Irregularities in Dutch Spelling and Pronunciation - Street Words - Fractions - Inches and Centimeters

More to Come ...