Highly rated Dutch training courses

Most Regina Coeli attendees follow a one-week training course. You work according to a well-defined rhythm of private lessons, independent study hours and group activities, which together form your unique training programme. The trainers are all highly qualified and frequently have a great deal of experience in the business world in fields including marketing, HR and technology. Together you work on your Dutch based on your level, what you need it for and your learning style.

Highly rated

Regina Coeli’s intensive training courses are highly rated. In 2023, Dutch students rated their training as follows:

• The training received an average rating of 9.2 (on a scale of 0 to 10).
• The teams of trainers were even given a 9.4.
• 92% of course participants said they could communicate confidently in Dutch after their training.
• 95% of trainees were highly motivated to put all their knowledge straight to use.

When would you spend a week with the Nuns?

However quickly you may learn the language over the course of a week, five days of lessons is obviously not enough to transform a beginner into an accomplished Dutch speaker. To get to that point, you can attend training for different objectives at various points in your learning journey. Below are a few examples:

• As a beginner: You get a big boost in the language. After a week, you know the basics and can manage in Dutch in simple situations. From there, you can gain experience using the language.
• As an intermediate-level student: You can generally follow Dutch reasonably well and have knowledge of its grammar but cannot yet really speak the language. In this case, we can spend a week working on your active language skills.
• As an advanced learner: You speak the language well, yet Dutch people still speak to you in English. Your accent and minor grammatical errors give you away. Make short shrift of them in partnership with your trainers.
• When starting a new job: A different employer may have higher expectations or tougher requirements when it comes to your Dutch skills. Practice professional jargon, writing skills, giving presentations—you name it—at Regina Coeli.

Mother tongue or supporting language comparisons

During your training, you mainly speak Dutch, of course, but there are also times when we do fall back on your mother tongue or another language you speak well. We use that knowledge to help you learn Dutch faster. We do this in the following ways

1. Comparative grammar
Your trainer compares Dutch grammar to that of your mother tongue or supporting language. If you speak German, for example, your trainer will show you how the sentence structures correspond. For other languages, the main differences might be up for comparison.

2. Vocabulary similarities
You already know more Dutch than you think. Many words are exactly the same as words in other languages, or you can derive the meaning from a similar word.

3. ‘False friends’
There are also words—called false friends or false cognates—that can lead you astray. These are words that bear strong similarities to those in your mother tongue yet mean something completely different. Your trainer will point them out to you so you can avoid those pitfalls.

Relax for a while in another language

If the language is fairly new to you, you will not manage to speak only Dutch all week long. That is why we advise you to occasionally chat with others in a language you speak well during your breaks. There is always someone in-house who speaks the same language you do, and otherwise, there is bound to be another student who is learning your mother tongue. If you hit it off, you might even stay in touch after your course so you can keep practising together!