Language Hub

Belgium has not one but three official languages, Flemish/Dutch, French and German. The two most common are Dutch and French, spoken in Flanders and Wallonia respectively. Outside their regions, English is usually preferable to another national language.

This section is full of resources for learning any of the languages of Belgium. Being able to speak the local language always adds that little bit extra to a trip abroad, even if not strictly necessary.

There is some debate as to whether Flemish and Dutch are different languages, however DrinkBelgium.com takes the view that as they are mutually intelligible, they are one language. By that I basically mean, if you can speak Dutch in the Netherlands you'll understand the people in Flanders, and if you understand the people in Flanders you'll understand the people in the Netherlands. To make a comparison with English, the difference between Dutch and Flemish is similar to that between British English and American English.

Dutch is a Germanic language so has a lot of similarities with German, however, if you only speak German you will not understand Dutch, although you may often be able to get the general point. Dutch also has influence from French as well as many similarities with English too.

Dutch is consistently ranked as one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn so if you would like to try there are three Drink.Belgium.com Approved ✅ resources below:

• Preply✅ - Using Preply you can find tutors for video call lessons. This is probably the best way to learn a language, 1:1 lessons with a tutor. There are many tutors for both Dutch and Flemish you can learn either dialect, with lessons suited to you. The only downsides are the costs, which can be quite high as well as the less flexible timings, as you have to pre-schedule lessons with the tutor. Using this link you can get a discount on Preply and support DrinkBelgium.com.
  
• iTalki✅ - iTalki works in much the same way as Preply, however there are different tutors registered on both so you can cast a wider net by using both. In my experience iTalki website is slightly less user friendly but the tutors are just as good. Using this link you can get a discount on iTalki and support DrinkBelgium.com.
  
• Assimil