Customer Reviews

Spoken Dutch

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This is one of the courses produced during World War II, when the U.S. government hired the best linguists of the day to turn out courses that would teach languages to soldiers fast. It uses the same methodology now used to teach languages to U.S. diplomats. Some of the courses have become dated, but this one is still among the best.

Used with the cassette recordings, the student learns Dutch grammar and very good pronunciation. It is both effective and enjoyable. One caveat: The book and recordings cover only the first twelve of thirty lessons, and the second book may be out of print, although copies can be found in libraries. Students who have begun Dutch know how tricky pronunciation can be, and this course's contribution in this respect alone makes it worthwhile.

This book like many others I have read and reviewed in the SLS series serve as a good introduction to the language. They contain the most important elements of grammar and vocab needed for a prolonged stay in the country. There are not many texts available on this language and most of them are not very good. This one for pronunciation practice especially stands out as the best. Anyone studying this language will know how difficult the pronunciation of some vowel sounds can be. If you haven't read an SLS book before you can expect the following contents: 1-12 chapters (for book I and 13-30 for book II if you can get hold of it) split thematically rather than structurally. At the start of each chapter there is a dialogue split into three columns, one in english, one in dutch and one in phonetic transcription. Following that is the section on pronunciation practice and explanations of structures and idioms used in the dialogue. At the end of each chapter is a section on listening comprehension and conversation practice. You will be expected to listen to dialogues and take part in ficticious conversations using material learned up to that point. If you are stuck for words or have to pause when deciding on which structure to use or how to use it you will be instructed to return to earlier material until you have thoroughly mastered all the structures and learned the vocab by heart. This book is not for tourists I can assure you. If you are going to Rotterdam or Amsterdam with a group of friends this book is unlikely to be of any use when you are there. It is NOT a phrasebook, infact it won't even fit in your pocket so don't try. As I have said once, this book is designed for people who plan on a prolonged stay in the country and most of the dialogues reflect this.