From our blog
News, developments and articles from Regina Coeli
The macho company culture in Spain
The macho company culture in Spanish-speaking countries is often a topic of discussion during the lessons in the Spanish Section.Machismo is deeply embedded in the culture of Spanish and Latin American countries and anyone doing business in these countries would do well to remember this.
Business in Spanish speaking countries
The ways of doing business in Spanish speaking countries differ from those of other cultures. What are key factors when doing business with people from Spain or Latin-America?
In Italian, what does the prefix ‘s’ do to the word?
Adding an ‘s’ to the beginning of an Italian word often creates the opposite, often negative meaning of the word.
Playing with modal verbs
In Dutch as well as in other languages, the six help verbs (otherwise known as modal verbs) add something to the meaning of the main verb. For those who have grown up with the Dutch language, this is nothing new. However, it’s a different matter for people learning how to speak Dutch.
El problema and la solución, a masculine/feminine problem
When someone says in Dutch ‘het fiets’ (the bicycle) or ‘de vliegtuig’ (the aeroplane), it can come across as irritating because it should be ‘de fiets’ and ‘het vliegtuig’. When you’re learning a foreign language, it is important to avoid making mistakes in the use of the definite articles.
Short refresher course in Italian
Earlier this year, Paul Luijten did a short training course at Regina Coeli to get his Italian back up to scratch. “Italians love it when you speak Italian with them but they won’t correct you. At Regina Coeli, they do!