I was born in the Netherlands to Dutch parents, but grew up in Argentina and Uruguay. I returned to the Netherlands to study at university in 1980. Even though my parents spoke Dutch to each other, I had done all my school work in English and Spanish. This meant that I had trouble communicating with my peers, because I used academic words instead of common ones. These were in fact literal translations of English and Spanish terms, with a bit of Dutch flavour.
I know like no other that trial and error will help you learn a language well. I recognise the difficulties of learning Dutch, because I have experienced them myself.