Before we discuss the pronunciation of vowels and consonants, let us look at the syllables of a Dutch word.
First of all, understanding the way a Dutch word is divided into syllables is absolutely necessary for correct spelling of Dutch words.
Second, you need it to determine how a Dutch word is pronounced, and third, if a word needs to be divided in two because it does not fit on one line, we need to break it off at the border between two syllables.
Enough reason not to skip this section, I would say.
Dividing a word into syllables
In Dutch, we do not use the same method for dividing words into syllables as in English.
A word is divided into syllables by its vowels. If two vowels are pronounced as one, we consider it one vowel.
Together with one or more consonants, each vowel (or combination of vowels) forms one syllable. So where do we divide the word?
Questions? 
