Learn Dutch : Dutch Television and Radio Resources
Posted on 12. Apr, 2010 by sarah in Dutch Language
In my last post I introduced you to all the major Dutch newspapers to help with your reading comprehension. In this post I will provide you with plenty of resources to help with your listening skills. Listening skills are important for two reasons. The first is obvious: you need to know what people are saying to you! That is obvious. But the second is that you need to hear the language spoken by a native speaker in order to produce all those sounds yourself. You need a reference point, and you need to copy what those people are saying and try as best as possible to make those sounds yourself. Dutch is a language with a heavy focus on the vowel sounds, and those vowel sounds can be rather tricky. So use these resources as a way to hear the rhythm and the sounds produced by a native Dutch speaker, and copy those sounds as best as possible, even if you have no idea what they mean.
Television
Uitzending Gemist http://www.uitzendinggemist.nl/
Uitzending Gemist is the place to see all Dutch television shows. And I do mean all. So if you are interested in watching Dutch reality tv, there is plenty of that for you. There are also movies, documentaries, home improvement shows, sports…anything you can think of, this is the link for real Dutch television. Now, I am leaving you with this link assuming that it should work, but it is also possible that you can’t connect to it outside of the Netherlands. If this is the case, please let me know via the comments section.
NOS Journaal http://nos.nl/nieuws/
This is the nightly Dutch news, the one that everyone all around the country watches. It’s generally stays pretty politically neutral, and on a Sunday night you’ll see more human interest stories than anything, but this is the place to see real Dutch news reporting. There are other news broadcasts for the different local regions, so if you have an interest in a particular area, hunt around a bit and I’m sure you will find something you’ll like.
Jeugd Journaal: http://static.nos.nl/jeugdjournaal/voorpagina/index.html
Jeugd Journaal is a great way to start listening to news, especially if you are just starting to learn Dutch. It’s the news geared towards a slightly younger audience and because of this it’s actually a bit more fun than the regular nightly news. The vocabulary and sentence structure is simpler and easier to understand, and the Dutch is pronounced a bit clearer.
Het Gesprek http://www.hetgesprek.nl/
Het Gesprek is a network that airs conversations and discussions. On this station you will find discussions on anything from a current news item of interest to an interview with an author or politician, to a debate on the environment or philosophy.
Pauw en Witteman http://pauwenwitteman.vara.nl/
Pauw en Witteman is a nightly news talk show, in a way similar to Larry King Live, or something of that nature. If you’ve seen something on Dutch nightly news involving a political party, the guest of the night might be someone from that political party answering questions. It’s a very popular show, and covers a variety of topics from news to pop culture.
Radio
Nederland.FM http://www.nederland.fm/
This site is very comprehensive. It is a website where you can listen to all of the Dutch radio stations live, whether it’s pop music or talk radio. Some of the major stations include:
Radio 1: news
Radio 2: Dutch language music
Radio 3: pop music
Radio 4: classical music
Radio Netherlands Worldwide http://www.rnw.nl/nederlands
Just like with newspapers, there are plenty of ways to use Dutch radio and television to actually learn Dutch. In my next blog, I’ll share with you some tips and pointers that I’ve used to get the most out of Dutch television and radio.
If you think I’ve left out something that should be added, leave us a comment below! And while you’re at it, tell us all about your favorite Dutch television program or radio station.
Thanks for the fantastic resources! I’m having a great time with both the newspaper and television sites you listed.
Just a quick note that your actual hyperlink to NOS Journal appears to be broken: all the browser sees is http:/// when you click on it. The actual text is correct.
Thanks again!
Just to confirm, uitzendinggemist works fine outside The Netherlands. Also, i’ve found the best way to watch the NOS Journaal is via their podcast in the iTunes store. It’s smaller (i.e. lower resolution) which means that it downloads much faster and I can sync it to my iPhone and watch it in a cafe.
Hi Guys!
Thanks for all your great comments!
Knik, thanks for checking the link, I wasn’t certain about it. You’re right about it being slow and hopefully the podcast works better.
I fixed the link Patrick, hopefully it will work now!
Groetjes-
Sarah
Thank You Sarah! I can not wait to get home and start watching the TV shows! I have been looking for somthing like this, so THANK YOU!
Hi Kate,
You’re very welcome! Enjoy!
Thank you so much for this blog, it is wonderful, especially this post. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the positive feedback! We seem to be getting a lot of great responses to the resources I provided, so I’ll keep ‘em coming.
Groetjes!
Do you know if there any television shows in the Netherlands or Belgium that teaches Dutch? So many people can’t go to class because of small kids or whatever reason and those who may go, would like a back-up to review points.