From our blog
News, developments and articles from Regina Coeli
What language do you communicate in?
When you zoom in on language, you find that a multitude of languages are spoken in the Netherlands. Recent research has shown that 25% of adults here prefer to speak a language other than Dutch at home.If you aren’t required to learn Dutch, you can generally get by with English. An important question then is: is your English and that of your conversation partners up to scratch? And you could also ask yourself whether you’re comfortable not being able to understand and speak Dutch.
A solid foundation in the Russian language
That Russian is not a language you simply learn overnight can be confirmed by Veronique Jourdain. Russia and its language are part of this French artist manager's life. "Now I wanted to finally build a solid foundation in the Russian language so I can speak Russian with the musicians I support. Regina Coeli came highly recommended by the director of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of the Netherlands. And for that tip, I thanked him wholeheartedly after the training.”
How long does it take to learn a language?
How long it takes to speak a foreign language depends on several factors: the desired level, your starting situation, the language you want to learn, the number of hours you put into it and the effectiveness of the method.
Once upon a time, ‘er’ was a little word...
Anyone who learns Dutch as a foreign language gets to take on the fun challenge presented by the simple combination of two letters: the word 'er'. ‘Er’ seems to be an insignificant word which doesn’t mean much of anything, yet it is used all over the place in Dutch and you cannot just omit it.
The language of Dutch weather
One of the hottest topics in the Netherlands is the weather. That’s not surprising of course, since it changes quite a lot. If you’re learning Dutch—no matter how early in the process you may be—it’s best to learn how to chat about the weather. It’s always a good way to strike up a conversation with someone.
‘To be able to manage, it’s useful to speak Russian’
Paul van Deuren took a Russian course at Regina Coeli about a year and a half ago. Because of COVID-19, he spent less time in Russia than he would have liked. But, now that the Russian lockdown is over, he’s working at the McDermott office in Moscow again. We reflect with him on learning the Russian language.