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! During the course, I took advantage of the opportunity to refine my Italian language skills still further. And, as a result of my lessons with the language trainers, my confidence to communicate in Italian has been given a significant boost!” 

Paul Luijten is Senior Director of External Relations of the Schiphol Group. This organisation not only owns and exploits the airport in Amsterdam but also owns three other regional Dutch airports and has part ownership of or involvement in a number of airports in other countries. Although he has many international contacts through his work, his reasons for learning Italian were mostly personal.

To buy a house in Italy

“Ten years ago, I wanted to buy a house in Italy. At that time I was going to Italian evening classes, which was fine, but at a certain point you want to make faster progress. When you buy a house in Italy you want to be able to understand what’s going on. So, I chose to come to Regina Coeli for two separate weeks. In the first week, especially, I made enormous progress.

Italian skills back to where they were

Because I don’t speak a lot of Italian in my daily life, my level had dropped slightly. Every time I go back to Italy, I have to get back into the swing and then I can make myself perfectly understood. And when I’m in the Netherlands I try to watch Italian television programmes, listen to Italian radio or even to Italian music. The short training course at Regina Coeli really helped me to get back up to scratch.”

A significant advantage if you speak Italian

Luijten also knows all about doing business in Italy. In his job at the Schiphol Group, formal business communication is always in English, but for the more informal occasions, he prefers to speak to his Italian business relations in their mother tongue. “Speaking Italian gives you a significant advantage if you want to build up a business relationship.”
Most of the time, Luijten is required to speak English at work. He wanted to improve his skills in this language, too, so last year he came to Regina Coeli for English. “I wanted to improve my presentation skills. I was given several very good tips which have helped me to tell a more convincing story when I’m giving a presentation. I very much enjoy doing such courses at Regina Coeli. I’m able to completely relax there and work hard on the language.”