From our blog
News, developments and articles from Regina Coeli
About the b for vaca
One of the first things to learn in Spanish is the pronunciation of the alphabet, not for the sake of pronunciation but to be able to understand what is being said. Spanish doesn’t hold many mysteries for Dutch speakers but there is one exception that goes against the grain for the Dutch. That is the pronunciation of the letter ‘v’.
I have overcome my fear of speaking
“During my first week, I thought to myself, ‘I’ll never get through this.’ A week of language training at Regina Coeli cannot be compared with anything I’d ever experienced before. It was very intensive and yet it absolutely hit the nail on the head. Due to the fact that the programme was completely tailor made to my needs and because the staff were welcoming and friendly, I felt very much at home. I actually overcame my fear of speaking Spanish! I was there for three weeks and I really miss Regina Coeli now.”
If you want to do business or invest money in a foreign country, you have to speak the language
European Commissioner, Frans Timmermans, speaks a number of languages and this has been a great advantage to him throughout his career. He encourages businesses to invest in learning languages because it has a beneficial effect on Dutch exports. We spoke to him about his own experiences and about his interpretation of how languages play a role in doing business internationally.
German language training, armed with business objectives
In order to get off to a flying start in his new function as Managing Director of Aon Affinity and Member of the Aon Risk Services Management team in Germany, Mr Goudswaard decided that his German needed bringing up to scratch. He arrived at Regina Coeli, armed with his business objectives and agenda.
Those wretched little dots!
It’s amazing how two innocent little dots can affect a language! The umlaut (¨) which appears above certain vowels in German words not only changes the pronunciation of the word but can also drastically change the meaning of the word.
Is using academic titles showing off unnecessarily?
In Germany, more importance is attached to titles than in the Netherlands. The Dutch sometimes joke about the Germans and their titles but in fact, when it comes to doing business with the Germans, they would do better to show more respect.