There is a wise saying in Dutch that seems to make a lot of sense: Ga niet over één nacht ijs, which means do not go over ice of one night.... The intention of this spreekwoord (saying) is easy to guess of course... If you ar ready for a new adventure, do not start too soon.... it is better to wait a little. Because, if you want to skate and if it has only frozen one night, then you will get very very wet.... :(
So, this advise is quite useful.... do not marry after one night, do not start your own business after one night.... just wait enough and then once time is ready really go for it!
But.... is it useful for speaking a new language? What if you want to speak fluent Dutch? Would it also be a good idea to wait then? MMMMMM.... not necessarily so....
Sure.... if you get stuck in your conversation, it may feel like falling through the ice and yes... some people even freeze.... but..... for speaking great Dutch this is not the best piece of advice!
Most people love the thought ga niet over 1 nacht ijs. So they take courses, listen to cd's but... and they wait. Hoping that one day circumstances are good enough to finally speak it.
Well guess what? This moment will never come of course, if you only wait! So forget about ice and skating if you want to speak great Dutch! Why not think of a nice sea in stead? And then what you can do is to dive in to it.... or at least get in the water, even if it is with one toe! :)
So, just start saying words that you know already. Or if you can start with very small sentences... It may not look impressive for you in the beginning but.... at least you are in the water.... All you have to do is to feel comfortable with it and.... one thing is certain, if you do it again and again, you will soon notice that it is more fun to dive in!
So, if there is one word that you can say in Dutch, then by all means say it! Yes, it may look and feel insignifcant, but.... it is a really good place.... it is the place where great fluency can really start!
