Beginner's Dutch: An Easy Introduction (Teach Yourself) [Paperback]

Gerdi Quist (Author), Lesley Gilbert (Author)

Book Description

Series: Teach Yourself | Publication Date: June 1997

For those who find learning a new language daunting, Teach Yourself Beginner's Language series is just what the language teacher ordered. Each friendly and practical course introduces the new language without overwhelming the reader and includes:

• Lively dialogues and exercises
• A pronunciation section
• A vocabulary list
• A glossary of grammar terms
• Language and cultural information

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gerdi Quist

Extensive experience in language teaching at various levels and currently lecture in Dutch at the university level

Dennis Strik

Extensive experience in language teaching at various levels and currently lecture in Dutch at the university level --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Teach Yourself (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844237124
• ISBN-13: 978-0844237121
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,681,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A practical book for the common man, December 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Beginner's Dutch: An Easy Introduction (Teach Yourself) (Paperback)

Gerdi Quist's and Lesley Gilbert's book is an introductory course to a foreign language for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of money on foreign language classes, has little experience working with foreign languages, has, indeed, little knowledge of their English grammar, and basically wants to get a good working knowledge of Dutch. All the most important grammatical rules are touched upon; however, it could use some more excercises, in my opinion. I would not recommend this book for the scholar or someone who wants to learn Dutch throughly and also quickly, but for the accidental tourist it's adequate. (Though for the latter I would recommend finding a tourist phrase book to go along with Quist's and Gilbert's book, for the sake of a little more thorough treatment of useful phrases.)

The book is decent for the American, but I get the impression that it is designed for the Jolly John Bull. The authors have included a lot of cultural notes interspersed with the basic grammar, along with some comments on such diverse, unlinguistic things as banking, housing, and employment. The phrasing is definitely British, and, Yankee that I am, it's a little annoying. The Dutch speakers on the cassette tapes (also available) are ridiculous to an extent, but maybe it's just the natural sound of the language as I know it to be, a little embellished. I've heard English speakers do the same on English-language tapes.

But for those who don't mind the Anglo-isms, Quist's and Gilbert's book presents the basics of Dutch grammar in a comprehensive manner with a good emphasis on practicality. For its price, (half the cost at Amazon what I paid for it at a bookstore) I certainly consider it well worth expense.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars difficult to follow this book, December 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Teach Yourself Beginner's Dutch (Paperback)

This book and two cassettes contain a lot of useful information, however it is paced EXTREMELY fast and contains little translation of the Dutch conversations it presents. It is impossible to listen to the tapes while driving and make any sense of it. You must read the book carefully and listen to the tapes a bit at a time...AT HOME!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cassette or audio cd should be a must for beginners, May 6, 2003

By 

K. Magdeleine (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginner's Dutch: An Easy Introduction (Teach Yourself) (Paperback)

Learning a new language is almost impossible without hearing the pronounciation of the words. The book is good however without the audio material the quality is strongly reduced; especially since it is said to be for "beginners". The book itself indicate that there is a cassette which accompany's it, however this is not the case. I have had it shipped to me twice without receiving the cassette. With the appropriate cd or cassette I would give this book at least 3 stars because it has basic everyday words and sentences.