Book excerpt: Colloquial Dutch: The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed by an experienced teacher to provide a step-by-step course to Dutch as it is written and spoken today. Combining a clear, practical and accessible style with a methodical and thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Dutch in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. Colloquial Dutch is exceptional; each unit presents a wealth of grammatical points that are reinforced with a wide range of exercises for regular practice. A full answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues can be found at the back as well as useful vocabulary lists throughout. Key features include: A clear, user-friendly format designed to help learners progressively build up their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills Jargon-free, succinct and clearly structured explanations of grammar An extensive range of focused and dynamic supportive exercises Realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of narrative situations Helpful cultural points explaining the customs and features of life in The Netherlands An overview of the sounds of Dutch. Balanced, comrehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Dutch is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Dutch. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.