"The pronunciation of Portuguese makes it extremely difficult"

In one year, Rosalie will be moving to Portugal with her Portuguese husband. She wants to be well prepared for that. Speaking the language is definitely a part of this. With a five-day Portuguese language training course at Regina Coeli, she wants to boost her language skills. We spoke to her during a study hour on Regina Coeli's terrace.

“I've had Portuguese lessons for four years. Every Wednesday morning, I take a private lesson and on Tuesday evening a group lesson, “says Rosalie. "I mainly do the group lesson because I like to follow a book. I can now make myself understood quite well. The grammar of Portuguese is similar to that of Spanish and French. The pronunciation makes it extremely difficult."

"What I like here is that I first get an explanation and then have to apply it myself"

Although Rosalie was already quite proficient with the language, she wanted to take her Portuguese to a higher level. “Everything I've learned here has yet to be put into practice,” she explains. What she particularly appreciates about the training is the approach in which theory and practice connect seamlessly: "What I like here is that I first get an explanation and then have to apply it myself. I can't do all the exercises I get in the time that I have. I have chosen to do the written exercises here and save the online exercises for after my training."

"I notice that I can indicate exactly what I want here"

The tailor-made approach of the language trainers ensured that Rosalie could really focus on her own learning goals. "I notice in any case that I can indicate exactly what I want here. The language trainers go along with this." This personal approach gave Rosalie the space to take her Portuguese language skills to new heights, such as at the language table, dinner with a Portuguese language trainer: “Then I spoke with a language trainer in Portuguese for three hours. Really about everything: family, the differences between Portugal and the Netherlands, life in Portugal. I can do that well.”

To fully concentrate on her training, Rosalie decided to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. “During my training week at Regina Coeli, I left my social media behind. I have to say, I didn't miss it. So that's something I do want to persevere with.” She deliberately chose to stay in her own bubble, which gave her the peace of mind to focus entirely on Portuguese. "Because everything is well arranged here, I don't have to think about anything else and I can fully focus on the language training."

“From now on, my husband and I will only speak Portuguese at home”

Rosalie is looking forward to the next phase of her life in Portugal and has already taken a new step to make the language even more a part of her daily life. "From now on, my husband and I will only speak Portuguese at home." With her time at Regina Coeli, Rosalie has laid a solid foundation for confidently speaking the language of her new home country.