Business Italian in Amsterdam

Anywhere in the city

The Zuidas, Sloterdijk, the offices along the Amstel, Zuidoost around the ArenA, Noord on the IJ, the Houthavens or a canal house in the centre: I teach in a meeting room at your office, at a fixed time each week. Early morning works best, because hardly anything gets booked over it. Lunchtime and the end of the day work too.

I live in Ede, about an hour from Amsterdam by train, and the travel time is included in the rate. In weeks when you travel or work from home, we switch to online so the rhythm doesn't break.

What we work on

The situations on your desk this month, not a textbook chapter. A presentation to the Italian parent company. A negotiation about price or delivery dates. A trade fair in Milan or Bologna, where the small talk at the stand matters as much as the brochure. The weekly call with the Italian office, where everyone talks at once and you still want to get a word in.

Around that, the codes that trip up people used to Dutch or English directness: how long the warm-up before business should last, how to say no without closing a door, and when ci sentiamo means a follow-up and when it means goodbye. If you start from zero, we build the basics and your professional vocabulary side by side. More on the content: business Italian.

Italy is closer than it looks

The Italian Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands has its office in the WTC at Schiphol, just outside the city. It was founded in 1991 and has been recognised by the Italian government since 1993. It brings Italian producers together with Dutch buyers and runs seminars on doing business with Italy.

There is a lot of trade behind that. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the Netherlands imported €11.9 billion worth of goods from Italy in 2019 and exported €20.5 billion worth of goods to it. If you work in Amsterdam for an importer, a fashion or design brand, a logistics firm or the Dutch branch of an Italian group, there is a good chance someone on the other end of the line speaks Italian.

Sources: Italian Chamber of Commerce for the Netherlands · Assocamerestero · CBS, De handelsrelatie met Italië

Practical

• Location: your office in Amsterdam, or online
• Times: early morning, lunchtime or the end of the day
• On your own or with a few colleagues, as long as your levels are close
• Invoice with a KVK number, for your employer's training budget
• Travel weeks: we switch to online so the rhythm doesn't break
• No subscription, no minimum number of lessons, no notice period

What it costs

At your office in Amsterdam a lesson costs €80 an hour, travel included. Online it is €45 an hour. The first lesson is a free one-hour introduction. If colleagues join, I'll send you a proposal after we've talked. See also pricing.

At home, or outside the city

Lessons at home in the city: Italian lessons in Amsterdam. From anywhere: online Italian lessons. Office in Utrecht? See business Italian in Utrecht.

Frequently asked questions