Remember when learning a new language meant sitting in a stuffy British classoom, poring over dry text books and mugging up on grammar with a teacher who was more interested in your mastery of the subjunctive tense than whether you were actually pronouncing the language in a way its native speakers could ever understand? Well, relax. Our four-page guide to learning languages - whether its the ever popular Spanish, French or Italian or the fast-emerging Russian, Japanese and Arabic - concentrates on learning in situ, among native speakers. And having some fun while you're at it!
Beginners
The more time you spend in the country, the greater the benefit. Students should try to stay with a host family, as this can double the language improvement in any given time and give a greater understanding of dialect and idiom. It's also the cheapest way of learning a language, as meals and accommodation are included and reasonably priced and you have the added benefit of building lasting friendships with native speakers. Any course shorter than two weeks is barely worth the effort. The first morning will be taken up with an initial test and the effects of the following daily classes will not be felt or consolidated in such a short space of time. Most language courses for beginners start on the first Monday of the month. Some languages are worth preparing for before you travel. If you're planning to learn Russian or Arabic, it's worth getting to grips with the alphabet before you head off.
Intermediate and Advanced
If you want to brush up basic language skills, a two- to four-week course can bring great benefits. If you don't fancy staying with a host family, most operators can organise student accommodation or a shared apartment with other language students. For those with specific needs, individual lessons with a tutor can be the best solution, and most operators can arrange a combined course where mornings are spent with an advanced group and afternoons in individual tuition.
Italian
Florence is packed with churches, museums and palaces, and cultural courses combine drawing, painting or history of art with Italian. Rome offers the Vatican, the Coliseum, Forum and Trevi Fountain. Siena is a perfect medieval city surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, and in July and August the Palio horse race takes over the central square. Learn Italy organises small week-long study trips to the hill-town of Montalcino in southern Tuscany, with lessons held in an 18th-century music theatre and trips out to the surrounding countryside - famous for its Brunello red wine - and nearby towns of Siena and Montepulciano.
French
Paris is the obvious place, but if you're on a budget one of the smaller French towns or cities will offer a cheaper option. For coastal glamour with the Alps within easy reach, Nice, or the more discreet Aix-en-Provence, are great locations. Weekends can be spent skiing, sailing, visiting Monaco or hopping over the border to Milan. Wine buffs should head for Bordeaux. Euro Academy runs courses in Aquitaine, at the heart of the wine region and close to the sandy Atlantic beaches. This provides one of the best locations to combine French with either cookery or wine-tasting (see Extracurricular Activites). For French with an exotic twist try the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe through Cesa Languages.
Spanish
This is the world's second most widely used language after Chinese and is spoken as a native tongue by over 350 million people in 19 countries. Apart from Spain, it is spoken throughout South America including Chile, Peru and Mexico, all of which offer language courses, often paired with dance or sports. Accommodation and teaching costs can be low, especially in South America. Barcelona offers great nightlife and is well placed for short trips along the coast into France or up into the Pyrenees. Or try San Sebastian, cultural capital of the Basque country on the largely undiscovered northern coast of Spain. The Spanish capital, Madrid, also offers vibrant city life with cultural attractions. Further afield, Quito, capital of Ecuador, or Cuenca, the country's third largest city, offer smaller classes among colonial buildings and ancient pre-Hispanic ruins. Weekend excursions into the rainforests to visit the local Shuar Indians are a major draw. Courses are run by Euro Academy to Cuenca and Cactus to Quito with trips out to the Galapagos Islands also a possibility.
Arabic
Modern standard Arabic is the formal written and spoken language of the Islamic world, spoken by more than 208 million people. After modern standard Arabic, further courses in colloquial Arabic in many of the variant dialects from various Arabic speaking regions can then be more easily picked up. Cesa runs courses in both modern standard Arabic and colloquial Moroccan in Fez in northern Morocco. Fez is home to one of the world's largest remaining medieval cities and classes are held in a Moorish villa surrounded by date palms and olive trees. Weekends can be spent exploring the Sahara on organised trips and there is a thriving cafe culture in the early evening and a cultural programme that includes everything from calligraphy to belly dancing.
Russian
Both Moscow and St Petersburg offer stunning architecture, art and visits to the opera, ballet and Russian baths. Schools here are relatively new and the country's infrastructure is far from that expected in the west. Power and hot water failures are commonplace and patience is required to get the most out of a stay. Individual tuition or a combination of individual and group classes is recommended to master this difficult language. It's also suggested that you become familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet before arrival and ask your language school or operator to assist you with getting a travel visa.
German
Since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, German has become a major European business language and is growing as a useful language for leisure and travel with many former Eastern Bloc countries as well as Germany, Austria and parts of northern Italy also speaking German. Besides Berlin and Munich, German can also be learnt in Austria and southern Germany which are full of beautiful small towns and cities. Operators include EF in Munich, Languages Abroad in Vienna and the Bavarian university town of Augsburg (complete with magnificent fairy tale castle), and Caledonia in Berlin.
Extracurricular activities
Sport
Cactus Language runs Spanish with tennis or golf in Marbella, and Spanish with diving for both beginners and certified divers in Havana. For those who want something a bit more active, watersports are also available on both the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts. Cactus now runs a new two-week course in French and surfing in Biarritz, made up of 22 morning language lessons and 10 afternoon surfing lessons per week, guaranteeing that you'll be as proficient hanging ten as you will explaining your surfing feats in the bar afterwards.
Art
For art lovers, Euro Academy offers a four-week summer art course in Florence combining art history with painting and drawing and language lessons. As with many of the extracurricular activities, it is advised that this is best for those beyond beginner Italian level, as extracurricular classes are often conducted in the host language. Others offering courses include Learn Italy, with art, architecture and Italian history, and Caledonia with Spanish and Spanish literature and literary criticism in Granada.
Wine-tasting and Cookery
While learning French abroad, if you're interested in experiencing more than just the cuisine at your local restaurant, most operators will be able to organise wine tasting or cookery courses alongside your French course. Euro Academy also has an Italian cookery option in Siena. Bordeaux makes for good wine tasting, and for cookery Cactus has courses in Provencal cuisine in Aix-en-Provence. For budding Jamie Olivers, Cesa can complement morning French classes with afternoon cookery lessons at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Courses are also available in less obvious destinations such as Spain and Costa Rica as well as Italy and France.
Dancing
Spanish and dance is one of the most popular language packages available,. Cuba, Santiago de Chile, Seville, Madrid, Malaga and Barcelona all offer Spanish-with-dance, depending on budget and the length of your course. Caledonia runs courses in Cuban dance and Spanish in Santiago de Cuba - home of traditional Cuban music - with professional dancers from Cuba's famous Ballet Folklorico Cutumba tutoring in Spanish.
Volunteer Work
If you have a longer break in mind, volunteer work in Latin and South America can be organised through operators such as Cactus and Caledonia. Following a four-week language course you can spend another four weeks working in local communities in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba, Brazil or Peru. The work is varied and can involve everything from assisting with after-school activities to placements in the rainforest working with injured animals.
Junior Courses
Many operators run special courses for children as young as six. Cactus runs courses in June, July and August for six- to 19-year-olds in France, Spain and Germany. Language Courses Abroad has summer courses for young students with a range of all-inclusive courses for six- to 16-year-olds. These provide language classes, activities and excursions in Spain, France, Germany and Austria.
When to go
July and August are the peak months, so if you have limited time or budget, it is worth travelling in spring or autumn as courses are less busy, often giving you smaller class sizes, and travel is often cheaper. Language-course operators also report a rush in January and February - perhaps due to a well-meaning surge of New Year resolutions - that can make this period busy, with popular European destinations filling up quickly.
Accommodation
Most operators will organise a family to host and feed you and talk to you solely in the language you've come to learn, or they can arrange a hotel, B&B or shared self-catered accommodation that suits your needs and budget.
Costs
Confirm what you're getting for your money. Are course notes and books included? Is it far from accommodation to school? Some operators can book flights, transfers, accommodation and courses in one go, but it may be worth weighing up flights with low-cost airlines if you want to reduce costs.
Class sizes
Check the maximum class size you can expect. The maximum should be set at around 12 people, although smaller schools in less obvious towns or cities will have classes of three or four.
Language Books and CDs
French, Italian, Spanish or German with Michel Thomas Complete Course CDs(Hodder Arnold, £70 each)
Thomas, a Polish emigre who escaped the Nazis, has become something of a language course celebrity. He speaks 11 languages fluently and teaches six through his highly successful complete course. Over the years he has taught the likes of Grace Kelly, Peter Sellers, Woody Allen and Eddie Izzard along with a host of US politicians. His courses may be expensive but come with guaranteed results.
Teach Yourself Beginner's Language Series (Hodder Arnold, £19.99 each)
These course packs cover the basics of a wide range of languagues - French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, German, Turkish, Chinese, Hindi and more - with a book and double CD.
Berlitz Arabic Travel Pack (Berlitz Publishing, £12.95)
Part of the Berlitz listen-and-repeat approach to language learning, this travel pack provides an ideal way for travellers to pick up the basic words and phrases that will serve them well.
Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages, Mark Abley (William Heinemann, £14.99)
A fascinating and at times moving account of how languages die as they go out of fashion. Abley's journeys take him everywhere from Wales to Wadeye, Australia, in this brilliantly illuminating and unique language-travel book.
Tour operators
Caledonia Languages Abroad (0131 621 7721; www.caledonialanguages.co.uk)
Courses in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, plus activities such as Cuban dance.
Cactus Language (0845 130 4775; www.cactuslanguage.com)
A one-stop shop for advice, courses, travel and accommodation. Activity courses include French and surfing in Biarritz.
CESA Languages (01209 211800; www.cesalanguages.com)
A family-run independent agent that organises trips to Europe and more exotic locations such as Japan, China and the French West Indies.
EF (08707 200735; www.ef.com)
The world's largest language school network with flexible courses between two weeks and a year as far afield as Europe, Russia, China and Ecuador. Also tailor-makes business courses.
Euro Academy 020 8297 0505; www.euroacademy.co.uk)
Runs trips to France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ecuador, Russia and Greece.
Languages Courses Abroad (01509 211 612; www.languagesabroad.co.uk)
Founded by language teachers, it sends students across Europe and Latin America.
Learn Italy (01865 860984; www.learn-italy.com)
Small tour operator that runs one-week 'Study Holidays' with Italian classes in Tuscany.
NACEL International (020 7589 1427; www.nacel.orgwww.nacel.org)
Operates in schools in France, Spain, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan and China with courses from two weeks to a year.
STA Travel (0870 160 6070; www.statravel.co.uk)
Specialises in the 18-25 age group.
