Dutch Class

A couple of days ago our Dutchclasser’s Iphone App went live in the iTunes App store. It is now the #1 Paid for App in the News & Current Affairs section of the Dutch App store having overtaken even the BBC App which is at #3.

NLTV2 is Number One

The first update of this App is already in the works and apparently those of us with iPhones and iPods are supposed to help test it… again. Maybe he will make us a Dutch homework App next so we too can impress when classes start again after the holiday.

One of our Dutchclassers has now written an iPhone App to aid in learning Dutch and in the spirit of true Dutchness has also placed this app for sale on the Apple App Store. The App is called NLTV2 and it allows the user to watch the latest podcasts of a number of Dutch news and current affairs programmes by streaming them directly to an iPhone or iPod touch. No need to download or sync podcasts, the App just streams the material directly to your iPhone.

NLTV2 can stream both the NOS Journaal and the NOS Jeugdjournaal. The Dutch main news programme and the version of the news for younger watchers. Unsurprisingly the Jeugdjournaal is easier to watch and understand for Dutch learners but a lot of the normal Journaal can be gathered too even if you do get bizarre moments like watching Nigel Farrage being interviewed (in English) with Dutch subtitles.

We are actually rather impressed. Now if only we could understand all of that Dutch.

There’s good news for students of Dutch language who do not have access to Dutch television. The Dutch evening new programme NOS Journaal is now available as a podcast.

Obviously it’s a great advantage to be able to watch and listen to “real life” (as opposed to purely “teaching materials”) Dutch media. The facility to download and view NOS Journaal as a video podcast makes this Dutch news programme available to all users of iTunes (though a PC or MAC computer). If you are lucky enough to have a video iPod or an iPhone it may be even more convenient to watch NOS Journaal while out and about, travelling, in cafes, or wherever you go.

To subscribe to the NOS Journaal video podcast open iTunes and goto the iTunes store to browse podcasts. NOS Journaal is free to subscribe to and very easy to find. I used the search term “NOS Journaal”. You might also want to browse other Dutch language podcasts (by specifying the language as “Dutch”).