Hallo! Dutch is a Germanic language, the seventh most-spoken language in Europe and, with more than twenty-two million native speakers, the thirtieth most-spoken language of the world's thousands. It is a national language in the Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname in South America, and the Dutch Antilles, and enjoys status as a popular second language in Germany and the north of France. In Belgium, it's the official language of Flanders, the Northern region of the country, and is also spoken in Brussels (although the majority of the city's population speak French).

Dutch is also widely understood in former colonies such as the Dutch Caribbean and Indonesia. In addition, Afrikaans, which is spoken by millions in South Africa and Namibia, shares many of the same tonal intonations and grammatical structures as Dutch and they are mutually intelligible.

Meet

your Dutch Teachers

Margaret

Dutch teacher @ #BHLingual
for 4 years

The best part about living in Los Angeles is...

The sub-tropical climate and its natural beauty. Coming from the Netherlands, it's a dream to have so much sunlight and mild temperatures during the fall and winter. With the Pacific Ocean so close by, and the mountains and desert, there is an appealing variety of nature. The city of L.A. offers a wide variety of cultures and the Arts, and people in general are open and informal.

Recommend a place to visit where Dutch is the native language, and tell us why you like it.

Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands, my birth place. I have an affinity for the architecture of this Medieval City, with its canals and quaint canal-houses and house-boats, bow bridges and brown cafés, bistros and coffee shops The sound of church bells and street organs, and not to forget the noisy trams, cutting through the narrow streets, is engraved into my memory! Amsterdam has a rich cultural life. The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum are world renowned, as are as the City's Philharmonic and National Ballet. In my opinion, with its history and culture, Amsterdam is the best city to learn the Dutch Language. However, many of my students prefer The Hague or Utrecht.

What Dutch film or musical artist do you recommend students watch or listen to?

André Rieu with his Johan Strauss Orchestra is a joy to listen to and watch, especially because they give a very inviting, unorthodox and humorous presentation of classical music. As for movies, perhaps 'Black Book,' which portrays the Dutch resistance during the Second World War, against the Nazis. This movie is directed by Paul Verhoeven.

What most surprises your students about Dutch?

Students discover that some words and sentence structures are very similar to English and that Dutch has adopted many English terms—through the use of social media in particular. Dutch consonants are quite similar to their English counterparts and easy to pronounce. However, the vowels and combination-vowels or diphthongs take a bit longer to master. Spelling is very straightforward.

What one thing would you like your students to know about you?

I'd like students to be interactive language-learners. They need one another to practice the language in class and get over their inhibitions to speak a foreign language. I use the classroom as a language lab. Students need to be willing and able to put time into listening to the sound of the Dutch language—on their way to work or on a lunch break, in waiting rooms, etc.

Dutch is probably among the easiest foreign languages to learn for English speakers as it positions itself somewhere between German and English.

It is worth nothing that the Netherlands and Belgium are among the largest trading partners of both the United States and Britain, making Dutch an extremely important language in the import/ export business. With the majority of Dutch speakers being fluent in English, there may seem little reason to learn Dutch; but remember that even though you may buy in your own language, you will find it much easier to sell in a foreign language.

Mastering a new language can change your life.

More About Dutch

Like French, Dutch makes a distinction in the second-person pronoun 'you,' between the more formal 'u' and less formal 'je' and 'jij.' The formal 'u' is normally used for people you don't know, and the 'je' in all other cases.

English has one article (the), while German has three (der, die, and das). Dutch has two: 'de' and 'het,' and it is important to memorize which article each noun takes.

Just like German, Dutch sentences often place the verb at the end, which takes some getting used to. It also makes use of so-called 'modal particles,' lots of little words such as 'nou,' 'toch,' 'maar,' 'eens,' 'even,' which alter the mood of a sentence. They make a command less direct, or a request more urgent, and have no direct translation in English.

Online Language Classes at the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute

The Beverly Hills Lingual Institute offers the most comprehensive selection of language classes you'll find in the Los Angeles area.

Classes are held in live online sessions, where students interact with their teacher and peers in real-time.

Classes are held at our facility located at 8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 800 in Beverly Hills, California.

Some of our 80-minute classes are scheduled during the evening with the first session running from 6:00 to 7:20 pm, and the second session running from 7:35 to 8:55 pm.

Classes are also offered during the day. See the schedule for a complete list of all classes.

We all speak one.
Some of us speak several.
A few of us know dozens.

Languages are a staple of everyday life, a necessity for getting by in the world and communicating with each other. They can help you get jobs, help you enjoy another country and culture—and even get you out of trouble.

Learning a new language can change your life.

Knowing how to say at least a few words in another language will break the ice at any business meeting, and will certainly make your vacation more pleasant.

You may also want to get in touch with your heritage by learning some of the language that your ancestors spoke. Language is a particularly good bridge in this regard, as it can often be a guide to the ways in which different cultures express not only ideas, but emotions. By exposing you to every aspect of the human condition, language allows you to study the past, understand the present, and ponder the future.

Choose a language and begin to enjoy the extraordinary benefits of being bilingual or multilingual.

Private Classes

Some students prefer private lessons instead of a scheduled class, or occasionally take private classes to augment their existing, scheduled group course.

Private classes are more flexible than Group classes. They are tailored to specific learning and scheduling needs. They can be useful if a student's language knowledge is uneven, if a more intensified study program is needed, or if privacy is a concern.

With our large staff of native speakers, we can schedule private lessons in most languages.

Private lessons are available in packages of eight, 80-minute sessions; or, if you are enrolled in a group class, your private lesson can be scheduled individually.

Please write us or call (323) 651-5000 to schedule your private class.

Alternative Programs

The majority of our scheduled language classes are designed for adult students who want to learn another language. We also offer the following alternative programs.

English · Accent Reduction

Classes evaluate the student's problem areas and focus on exercises designed to target and remedy those areas. Our Accent Reduction course focuses on pronunciation, stress, enunciation, diction, tonality, musicality, syntax, and articulation, through vowel and consonant exercises, work chants, tongue twisters, and readings. Individual attention is given to each student's area of difficulty.

English · Native Speaker

These classes are for those who grew up speaking English but want to improve and refine their English. Designed to give you the critical edge in English communication, they target grammar, spelling, and pronunciation.

Little Linguals

Designed for children aged 6 - 11, our "Little Lingual" classes meet once a week during the afternoon for one hour. Class content includes Alphabet, Songs, Games, Practical Words and Phrases, and Basic Dialogue. Children aged 12 and above can join our regularly scheduled adult classes.

These exciting classes are geared to get an early start on language learning while helping children enjoy and appreciate a different culture. This is the best time for them to learn a foreign language. The younger the learner, the better they are at mimicking new sounds and adopting pronunciation. The brain is open to new sounds and patterns in preadolescence.

Young children have the luxury of taking in a new language naturally. A child's brain is like a sponge, soaking up new vocabulary, sentence structure, words stress, pronunciation, and everything that makes up language quickly, easily—and, most importantly, without explicit grammatical instruction.

When you're an adult, learning a new language takes a bit more effort!

Young children have time to learn through play-like activities. Language lessons can be informal. Children's minds are not yet cluttered with facts to be stored and tested. Before children become self-conscious, they can try out their newly acquired languages without fear of embarrassment.

Children who grow up learning about languages develop empathy for others and a curiosity for different cultures and ideas. They're better prepared to take their place in a global society. In later years, career opportunities increase for those with additional languages to offer.

Studies by Harvard University confirm that learning additional languages increases critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility of the mind in young children. Moreover, pupils who learn a foreign language outscore their non-foreign-language-learning peers in standardized verbal and math tests, indicating that learning additional language is a cognitive—and not just linguistic—activity. The brain, like any muscle, functions better with exercise. Learning a language involves memorizing rules and vocabulary, which helps strengthen that mental muscle.

Travel Classes

Our Travel Classes are designed for those who are planning a trip and want to get more out of their travel experience. These classes are held twice a week for one month. They are language classes focused on travel conversation, pronunciation, and culture.

Translating and Interpreting

With a roster of over eighty native-speaking teachers in over 30 different languages, the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute has the expertise to address many translating and interpreting challenges. This is a highly customized service. Please contact us to discuss your translating or interpreting requirements.