When I was young and I didn’t listen, my parents threatened me by saying they would kick me out of the house and send me straight to the worst place I could imagine: a boarding school. “…where they hit you!” they said. Ever since, I’ve been afraid of boarding schools.
Believe it or not, this week I am actually at a boarding school. I’m staying at the well known Language Institute Regina Coeli, also known as ‘de nonnen van Vught’. (And they haven’t hit me… yet)
I am here to improve my English, because of my career switch from musician to public speaker. Since I’ve been a “musical speaker” my clients have asked me more and more if I could tell my story in English, if I would do my workshops in English, and if I’d be willing to do my keynote presentations in English.
Well, I’ve done it a few times already. My international clients were very happy, but me, I was too focused on the language, instead of my story. And when I give a presentation, I don’t want to think about grammar, word order or pronunciation. So to get my English presentations at the same professional level as my Dutch, action was needed!
That’s why I’m here, and I must say, I am totally overwhelmed by the quality of the course and the personal style of the one-on-one lessons, as well as the facilities, the internal hotel, relaxing chairs, and amazing catering. I almost would have said “I’m loving it”… But the grammar of this ‘burger-slogan’ is not totally correct, because I know now that ‘love’ is indeed a state verb. So let’s change it into “I love it!” 🤓
It is Wednesday morning now, so I’ve got three days to go. I’m curious what my level will be by the end of this week. In any case, my fear of boarding schools wasn’t necessary. Although, this is definitely more luxurious, and a real boarding school is more than just one week. However, I could easily stay a bit longer… as long as they don’t hit me…!