I dunno. I like Dutch, and I never found it hard to learn from a book, or software, or in a classroom. My problem was that I'd go out ready to practise it on Dutch people, say something with my terrible foreigner accent, and they'd immediately switch to English for the rest of the conversation - every single time.

I think that's some kind of reflex we develop at some point in our lives.

I'm sure! It's friendly and sweet and considerate, and really really unhelpful for someone who's trying to learn .

I did consider making myself a badge or a sign to hang around my neck... but never got round to it.

Haha, excellent. Or just print it on a t-shirt. Also, my house is now 700.000 with about half the rooms covered. Oh my.