So, I just moved to the Netherlands and I don't speak Dutch. Right now I'm a housewife, but I have a master's degree and in my home country (the US) I was a social worker (mental health professional). Even though "everyone in the Netherlands speaks English" I need extremely good language skills to continue on in my desired career path. Also, while it's true that everyone speaks English, for most jobs you need Dutch. You especially can't serve vulnerable populations and have no language skills.
I have my A1 Dutch certificate already. Monday I start my 0-A2 class which is intensive and lasts 2 months (I figured it would be good to re-take A1). After that I intend to take the A2-B1 and B1-B2 classes consecutively. I'm going all the way through. Also, my husband is Dutch and he's excited to speak Dutch to me at home. We bought the Videoland subscription (Dutch Netflix) so I have unlimited Dutch TV choices. I also bought a library card so all the Dutch books I could ever want are a bike ride away.
So I'm all set, but I have some worries. My primary worry is that I won't be capable of learning another language to fluency.
I lived in Mexico for a few months and developed a working knowledge of Spanish, but definitely not enough to work in a Spanish-speaking job. This is, of course, after having Spanish classes from age 12 to age 20, so I'm worried there's something sub-par about my language learning skills. I have never reached that fluency level in any language but English.
I worry that maybe sometimes adults don't learn a second language despite immersion because some people just aren't neurologically capable? Is that a possibility? Like, what if my brain actually just can't make those connections anymore. I'm 31, which is well beyond primetime for language learning.
So basically, what if I'm too dumb to learn Dutch? What then? I'm not the kind of person who can thrive staying home and isolated from society. I want to integrate.
Anyway, if you've gotten this far, thank you. I might be wigging out because there is just so much riding on this. I know a lot of people here are knowledgable about this subject and might be able to...idk...give me some comfort?
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