Publisher's Synopsis
My Story!
This summer I started learning Dutch. I bought myself a flashcards starter, a picture dictionary and beginner's book. I have to admit that after two weeks of using them I gave them away for free to my friends and I let them suffer from that poor selection of language education.
What was the reason for my decision? Well, I was starting from scratch. I knew nothing about the Dutch language. Products I bought, despite being for "beginners" were teaching me complete nonsenses. Across many flashcards, I immediately have thrown away there were words like hooked nose or city council. What is the use for them for such a beginner like me? I couldn't say a sentence but I was able to name all the body parts and seasons. What's the point?
I decided to change that so I have created a list of words I need to memorize to be able to read and understand at least half of the text in my video game magazine. I only needed 50 most frequent words and some knowledge of English to figure out what's going on in the text. It took some time but by learning the right vocabulary I was able to understand half of the text instead of two sets of flashcards 500 words each. It was really a boost.
Frequency study?There are many words that you use way more often than others, which makes them more valuable to know. Therefore the simplest way to make a progress in your target language is to learn the right vocabulary.
How many words?250 - enough to go on holidays
1000 - covers 85% of speech
3000 - 98% of the spoken language
As you see the key is to learn the right words.
I selected the most frequently used words to give you the basics you need to understand the language. There are more than 300 words grouped into categories. Some words are also used in example sentences to help you understand the context.
