You live in the Netherlands and you don't understand Dutch. Now what?
From supermarket signs to train announcements and coffee shop menus. For many newcomers, navigating daily life without speaking Dutch can feel overwhelming.
That was exactly the case for Veronika, a Latvian expat who already spoke three languages fluently, Latvian, Russian, and English, but still found Dutch to be a whole new challenge. In this blog, she shares her honest and inspiring story of learning Dutch: from the initial confusion and culture shock to discovering the joy of speaking a new language through real-life courses, fun classroom activities, and helpful tools like Duolingo.
"I am learning a fourth language... it is Dutch"
At Brave Ones, in partnership with A Piece of Dutch, we’re proud to support internationals that work with us, like Veronika on their language learning journey, helping them feel more at home in the Netherlands, one Dutch word at a time.
In her own words:
Hello! My name is Veronika, and in this blog, I want to share my journey of learning a new language - my fourth one, actually.
I am coming originally from Latvia, and I speak three languages fluently: Latvian, Russian, and English. However, let me tell you - none of them are like Dutch. When I first came across Dutch, it felt confusing and unfamiliar. The pronunciation and sentence structure are nothing similar to any of the languages I already knew. It honestly didn’t make much sense to me at the beginning, but it made me curious. I was uncomfortable for not understanding the language and always in the coffee places asking “Sorry, do you speak English?”. That’s when I decided to take the chance and apply for Dutch course.
The first thing that I already liked after a few lessons was the structure of the course. Each lesson focused on a specific real-life situation, such as doing groceries or talking about family. This made the language feel more practical and easier to apply in everyday life.
One of my favorite parts of the course was how every lesson was different and engaging, thanks to our amazing teacher, Debbie. I really enjoyed the variety of activities she created, they made learning Dutch feel fun and much easier. One of my favorites was a game where we competed to see who knew the most Dutch words. It was not only educational but also a lot of fun to challenge each other.
What I also appreciated was how Debbie made sure we learned about Dutch culture and traditions, not just the vocabulary and grammar. We talked about holidays like Koningsdag and events like the 4Daagse and even got introduced to Dutch icons like André Hazes and the Dutch national football team (Nederlands elftal). Debbie also shared helpful tips on how to keep learning outside the course, like listening to podcasts, watching 4-minute news, using various language apps and other tools.
Tip from me: One thing that really helped me outside of the lessons was the app Duolingo. It was a game changer for me. When I started the course, I didn’t feel completely lost because of using it beforehand. It takes about 5 minutes a day to complete one task. You can always do more, but even with a small time investment, you get a lot in return. You practise all the core skills- listening, reading, writing and speaking. On the other days when we didn't have the class Duolingo kept me going. Starting with very basics and repeating it every day and eventually the language starts to make sense.
Overall, I am really glad that I took this step to take Debbie’s course. She is an amazing teacher who created a supportive environment where you are not afraid to make mistakes. Thank you, Debbie, for your encouragement and thanks to my classmates who made these lessons feel more fun. A big thank you as well to the Brave Ones team for giving us this opportunity to learn Dutch.
