Why the Dutch Are So Good At Speaking English

#languagelearning #learnlanguages

Can you imagine 90 percent of Dutch people speak English fluently?

Do you think this success just happened by chance?

In this video, we'll go over the 5 reasons why the Dutch are so good at English and how you can learn from them to improve your language learning.

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[teqfreak]

I’m Dutch, I think I can say I am fluent in English, but of course not perfect. I have to say I never felt like I “learned” English, I just know it since a young age. My capability in English has grown with the demand for it in my daily life. When I was younger and started to use a computer, everything was in English. From the commands I needed to type to the games I played. I don’t think English will ever replace Dutch. Dutch is a special language to us all, it also binds us as a nation.

My wife is Mexican, we hava multilingual house hold. Our daughter grows up speaking dutch, spanish and english. I speak Dutch with her, mom speaks Spanish with her, and between us we speak English. She is almost 6 years old, and where English used to be in the background we see recently that since she started reading, it becomes more important for her.

When people ask me why Dutch people speak English well and in general speak multiple languages I think there is one component that often gets overlooked, even by Dutch people themselves. And it is culture… and I don’t mean cultural expressions like movies, school or whatever. But really the culture of speaking languages. A dutch person will rarely feel embarrassed speaking a foreign language in a completely broken way, they just use what they know and go with it, perhaps sprinkle in something of a neighbouring language they do know. Where I notice that in many other cultures there is a fear of making mistakes or not being understood well that holds people back, a Dutch person can speak something in a completely broken form and feel proud the message gets across, and with that attitude you will learn faster, pick up more and practice more than any other way.

[mep]

This is very fascinating to know. I'm learning Dutch (and other languages) and I've already learned English (it isn't my mother tongue). Dutch is similar to English in the beginning. However, the more you learn Dutch, the less similar it becomes. English has many words which come from French or Latin. Dutch doesn't have so many of them. Also, Dutch word order is different from English. Sure, basic sentences have the same word order but the more complex the sentence is, the more different the word order will be. Either way, there's no doubt that Dutch is still very similar to English (and German too). That's a huge advantage. I wish my country followed this mindset with the English language. Unfortunately I know it won't happen anytime soon.

[ronaldderooij]

I am Dutch. This makes me think about my niece (4 y/o). I asked (of course in Dutch) the color of her dress. She answered in English "yellow". Still, I don't think that Dutch will go extinct. We had these periods before (like ages of French dominance in higher classes). Such periods change the Dutch language, but never eradicate it. Ask the Flemish. They still speak Dutch despite ages of repression of and contempt for their language.

[Quixotepr]

I hope that the Dutch language never dies and expands in the future, however I studied linguistics, language acquisition and bilingual education, and coming from a country subordinated politically and economically to an English speaking nation, while having a different language, I fear that Dutch lovers should be aware such a powerful language could surpass Dutch, in a short time if some changes are not made. I read of situations of native languages turning into a creole, education especially in universities all in English, and worst of all of some native people not teaching their kids their native language but English and belittle anyone who insists in keeping the original tongue, and assuming that anything in English is far superior to anything in the local language. I had seem all that. English is an useful tool which we use to communicate with the world, no doubt about it, but it should not replace the mother tongue in which we love, cry, learn, think, have opinions, and in general live and die. The lost of Dutch, will be a great loss not only for Netherlands but for humanity.

[alfonsmelenhorst]

I cannot believe this. At my work they were looking for some one who can speak English. Most people cannot and know only some basic sentences. There is a difference in the capitalcity Amsterdam and outside the capitalcity.

[barrysteven]

The Dutch are amazing at speaking English for all the reasons you talk about. But with other languages they are just the same as everyone else. I was really taken aback a few years ago when I met a Dutch person in Spain where I was living at the time who I was told spoke Spanish fluently. I automatically presumed she would be better than me even though I actually studied Spanish at university. She was Dutch. Of course she would speak Spanish pefectly. I was SO relieved when I found out my Spanish was way better than hers. And I also remember her being a bit surprised too.

[DavidPhillipsAustin]

Interesting! Thank you.

I wish you had allowed YouTube to auto-generate captions. All it takes is a one time checkbox in Creator Studio. I can't imagine why YouTube doesn't make it the default setting.

[taridean]

Now it makes sense about advertising in the Netherlands. When I lived there briefly in 2017, I notice a lot of English slogans, phrases and captions used in advertising media there which I initially found bizarre.

[JfromUK_]

Great video, thank you! I'd noticed English has a place in advertising and slogans, and you explained its olace well. Very interesting 👍🏻

[SkaffaS]

but it's also really easy to recognize a dutch person speaking english, you can clearly tell.

[oleksandrbyelyenko]

That's why my German is at A1, or A2 at max. I like German, I listen to German music. But I never had a need in it. Whilst I had to know English and Spanish therefore I learned them. Also, I have never been to German speaking countries. Neither for school, work or vacation. And so I struggle with my German. I put myself in strict condition to make me read and watch things in German, but my life doesn't depend on it and so I ease it away.

[snelly]

Audrey Hepburn her mother was Dutch. So it''s not a surprise that she speak Dutch. She lived in her young days in The Netherlands and Great Britain. She also learnt French and Deutsch at school. As the most dutchies do. Only French not so much.

[pietkeizer]

Audrey Hepburn was Dutch. Her mother came from Arnhem . Audrey was there in the war ( battle of Arnhem or..film.. a bridge to far).

[moparcorvette]

I hope Indonesia follow the dutch in terms of English language: Mandatory Language, English made official or recognized isn't necessary just mandatory language 🇺🇸🇮🇩🇳🇱

[papitogames]

at 4:04 it was not bad try do i heard worst
but at 5:10 dutch is not close to english at all maybe some words but is different we are close to german but english not
even the build up a sentice is also completly differnt

[pietkeizer]

The main reason why many Dutch people (especially the young) speak English so well is that they start school at the age of nine. At secondary school German and French are also added. Dutch people like languages. Americans think that everyone knows English, which makes them mentally lazy. In the USA, Spanish should be mandatory as a second language. By the way...I didn't learn English but French at school. Greetings from the Netherlands

[Jozignaico]

Hey! Is there any relationship between the numerous conditional that the English language teaches, to the survival of Dutch English? 1:05

[DenUitvreter]

Actually in 1993 the EEC became the EC, the EU was later. There was no big change in education. Kids learned 2 or 3 foreign languages depending on their level way before, pre WWII, simply those of the countries around us, that little stretch of water in front of Britain has never bothered the Dutch very much. So it also happened to be the languages of the main European powers and economies so it wasn't very difficult to figure out which ones to learn the children.

Dutch might be closest to English, English is not closest to Dutch, that's German. French was often skipped at the lower levels because it's harder, less close to Dutch. Exposure faded especially since the 70's and in particular compared to English which exposure expoded, thanks to the USA much more than the UK. Also more than German, allthough German TV was recieved before cable, but German music of those days... at least the French had chansons. German also lost a lot of enthousiasm after the War, but in the East that restored pretty quickly because of exposure, regional economic interests and actually dealing with post WWII Germans, while in the hard hit West resentment remained for much longer.

But the generation that was born in the 30's and 40's from a median education level speaks German and English and most should be able to reproduce some French still, but tend to be reasonably fluent if they have maintained it, by vacations to France for example. The main difference is that their accent is much heavier because that is about exposure at a young age, and that age has kept dropping hugely for English in the past decades. That's also why the foreign language education for the youngest children, they have an exceptional abiltiy to pick up on languages and it would a shame to waste that phase in development. Also, every next foreign language gets easier because there is learning a foreign language and foreign language learning, which do overlap but aren't the same.

[philipusher]

Outstanding, Netherlands.If only the British thought internationally.

[peteymax]

Be careful Dutch people, mind your own language. English has become such a pervasive language, a beautiful language like others but it has become so generic when spoken as a second language. Remember, once whole generations of speakers of any language start studying at university level in English or any international language the next generation is given the clear message that their native language is inferior to, in the case of the Netherlands, the English language. If you replace your language at post-grad level it will begin to decline in quality and prestige. Be careful Dutch speakers.