When to ask for one on one tutoring?

Learning Dutch Forum - Ask a Tutor
1

Hi

I’ve just joined Lingq with a premium account. I have used LingQ before on an off but I decided to commit to it and see where it takes me in Dutch so I signed up for one year.

Like with LingQ, I’ve been studying Dutch on and off for a while but I really want to up my level as I feel frustrated at my slow progress and still feel like a new beginner. I have read that as Dutch is so close to English, even after a few months study a learner should have a basic knowledge of the language and can communicate at a basic level and join in with basic conversations.

I would like to ask at what point do you feel ready for personal tuition on LingQ or via iTalki etc.? I would think when you have only learned one or two lessons in LingQ or with a book you are still too green and the language is still too new to get the most from personal tuition as you have nothing to say in the language and you will not understand anything the tutor says in your target language.

So how do you judge when you are ready for interaction with a native speaker and benefit from personal tuition?

2

Ik denk dat je eerst een behoorlijke woordenschat moet hebben. Misschien moet je deze vraag maar eens stellen bij het Open Forum, want je hebt nog geen reactie gekregen op je vraag.

3

Ik zou zeggen dat je kunt praten wanneer je maar wilt. De studiebegeleider moet zich aanpassen.

4

I believe that having conversations in the language you are studying will help you greatly, no matter how “bad” you are. Having conversations is the ultimate immersion, it will force you to really think in that language and you will get instant feedback by a native speaker.

It is easier said than done, but you should not care about making mistakes; you should learn from them. And if you are really serious about speaking the dutch language I would advise you to really focus on the pronunciation of words in particular the vowels, since it is really hard for foreigners to get it right.

I wouldn’t definitely say that English and Dutch are very similar, maybe in its structure (germanic), but the individual words are completely different. It is much much easier for a Dutch person to learn English than the other way around.