Club 50 language courses for the "young at heart"

Are you over 50 and never got round to learning a language? Perhaps you did master one or more modern languages at school or picked up some phrases for a holiday abroad. In that case, will have experienced the satisfaction of being able to communicate with the local people in their language. No matter how old you are you can learn a new language and this is demonstrated at Apple Languages, in Loughborough in Leicester, where over 50s are welcomed and encouraged to learn from a choice of Spanish, French, Italian and German alongside like-minded people of their own age.

Club 50 language courses are perfect for both mature students and senior citizens who would like to spend a holiday learning a modern foreign language, combined with a variety of cultural activities and excursions.

The courses comprise 15 or 20 language lessons every week, all taught by fully qualfied and experienced teachers. The lessons are communicative with the greater emphasis placed on speaking. Writing skills are also taught but are secondary to normal active everyday communication, which is key to language acquisition.

Spanish courses are located in Barcelona, Malaga, Nerja, Palma de Mallorca and Seville. For French courses, students can opt to go to Guadeloupe, Montpellier, Montreux or Nice. German courses take place in Kitzbuhel, while the biggest range are of Italian locations which include Rome, Milan, Lake Como, Elba, Florence, Sorrento and Taormina.

Mature students can opt to live with carefully selected host families, which enable them to immerse themselves in the language and culture of their chosen country. However, if they do not wish to opt for this, then a range of private studio apartments as well as hotel accommodation and on site residences, equipped with private ensuite bathrooms and swimming pools, are available for Club 50 plus students at the language schools in for example Malaga and Nerja.

Along with the language learning are a range of cultural activities such as trips out, guided walks, theatre trips, dancing, cookery lessons and wine tasting.

Although these courses are especially designed for the older language student, people of all ages, in their 50s, 60s and 70s, are welcomed on Apple Languages' standard language courses, which also include Portuguese, Russian and Greek.

Learning a new language in later life, perhaps for the first time, will certainly go a long way to keeping you young at heart. It will also do wonders for your brain keeping those grey cells forever busy and productive!

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