The power of human communication is of inestimable value. We use language to share information, convey feelings and persuade others. The way we use language also shows others who we are.
This whole process goes pretty much automatically in your mother tongue, but when you do these things in a foreign language, it can feel like you’ve lost a part of yourself. Your fluent communication style with the occasional joke doesn’t measure up in that other language and can suddenly even seem inappropriate, which can make you feel insecure and uncomfortable.
Learning to communicate better in a foreign language remains rewarding, no matter how far technology has come in speech recognition and real-time translations. Having a chat with your Dutch neighbours, conversing confidently with a Spanish customer or breaking the ice in China with a few words of Mandarin - these skills are worth a lot.
Intensively learning a foreign language not only gives you a head start, but it also has a cathartic effect. You feel it the moment you step inside Language Institute Regina Coeli in Vught. The spacious building exudes tranquillity, and you see course members studying, chatting or just relaxing in the bar or garden.
A language course with the “Nuns of Vught” is an opportunity for focus, flow and introspection, a moment to reflect on how you communicate, even in your own language.
Many well-educated people with busy schedules choose to go to Regina Coeli to learn a foreign language. Students come to the institute for individual lessons, usually for several days in a row. Those who live a little further away stay the night in the on-site guest accommodation.
Everyone who comes in is both challenged by native speakers throughout their personal programme and able to relax at the same time because nothing else has to be done, and every detail has been thought of. Many students switch off their phones and experience how wonderful it is just to take their time.
When the private lessons start at 8.20 in the morning, a calm that harkens back to the cloister of yesteryear descends upon the building. A bell signals a change of pace after each lesson, and the students change rooms or continue their studies.
During the breaks, activity gradually picks up and students meet to keep communicating in a shared language. That could be in the bar with a wonderful latte in hand or while enjoying a lunch or dinner freshly prepared by Regina Coeli’s team of chefs every day.
But the most important reason that people choose an intensive course at Regina Coeli is the result. You learn the basics of a language and can have simple conversations in just a few days. Or - if you already speak the language - you work in a very targeted manner on the areas you still need to improve on, such as pronunciation, grammar or presenting. Precisely what you need!