Teach Yourself Dutch

I recommend this book for anyone looking to pick up Dutch from scratch. There are sixteen chapters, each with varying themes. The vocabulary is presented in chunks, most often alongside audio dialogues. The grammatical aspects of the language are presented one at a time clearly and concisely. The dialogues never get ahead of themselves in this respect either. Overall, this is an excellent book. I would prefer that there were more written exercises (the later chapters will become much more useful if you learn with a partner), but with an active imagination, this is not an issue.

I moved with my family to the Netherlands five years ago. Both my wife and I worked hard on this book before we left the USA, and it turned out to be time well invested. The amazing thing is that the dialogs we encountered (supermarket, neighbors, job search) were extremely close to the ones in this book, so we were really prepared. The grammatical explanations help without being too cumbersome, and the practical tips were right on the mark. It's hard to see how the book could be better for its purpose. The lessons are in manageable chunks and give plenty of useful pratice. There is nothing in those book I haven't used!

You have to have some context in which to use what you learn. I took this book, without the tapes, to Holland on a year abroad and found it indispensable. The lessons and exercises are very clear, though not so clear that you don't have to do any thinking for yourself. I imagine the book is of limited use to someone who does not have the opportunity to put what s/he learns into practice on a daily basis. If you're in Holland and are looking for something more advanced, I highly recommend going to any academic bookstore and purchasing the _Lezen, Las, Gelezen_ series.

I had bought this book with audiocassettes last year before moving to Belgium, together with the ones of Berlitz. I am actually taking Nederlands (Dutch) lessons and I can assure you that if you are going to live (even just to travel) in Nederland (Holand) or in Belgium, this will be the perfect set to buy. It has everything, from conversation, comprehension, grammer, exercises,... it can not be better. The Berlitz set is just for traveling. When I go to my Nederlands lessons, I also take with me the "Teach Yourself Dutch : A Complete Course for Beginners (Teach Yourself)by Lesley Gilbert, Gerdi Quist". Buy it; you will never regret it!

So, is Dutch your bag? Well, Gerdi Quist and Lesley Gilbert are gonna make it easier for ya! This book is custom-made for people just like yourself who have always wanted to learn Dutch, but never quite found the appropriate study guide to use. The book contains 18 lessons, each broken up into 8 parts: a dialogue, the vocabulary to the dialogue, a true or false test,things you need to know about grammar and culture, important words and expressions, language patterns, exercises, and further dialogues testing your comprehension. The book is very easy to get through. You can go at your own pace, and you can also use the book as a grammar reference once you've advanced to a higher level. With this book, you're bound to advance quickly if you're serious about learning Dutch!