A favourite saying of mine is that a bottle of wine is best drunk in its country of origin. The same applies to learning a language.

Many Third Agers decide they would like to learn a language and it is an opportunity to combine travel with pleasure and studying in the most pleasurable way you could imagine.

Believe me, if you are in the country whose language you wish to learn it is so much easier. It is the natural way to learn, and the way you learned to speak English as a small child. In fact it is so easy that you don’t remember learning your mother tongue, and you will be amazed at how much more quickly you pick up words and phrases in a native speaking situation.

We English are lazy when it comes to languages. Perhaps it is because we are an island race, but we lag far behind the French, Germans, Italians and Spanish, most of whom are generally fluent in two or more languages.

Remember your school French? Go to France and you can forget most of it because life in the real world of French is fast and furious. If you attempt a simple phrase you will be met with a lightning swift response, usually at some length, and only then will you realise it’s time to tear up many of the rule books, throw away the phrase book and go back to the drawing board.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing too. I remember having dinner with French friends 30 years ago and announcing at the end: “Je suis pleine.” I couldn’t understand why they were all having hysterics. Pleine to me meant full and I thought I had just said: “I am full.” Oh no, the colloquial phrase: “Je suis pleine,” means, “I am pregnant.”

I should have said: “J’ai suffis.”!

The fun of a language learning holiday is that you can combine learning with a little joie de vivre. Why not go for French and Cooking?

I can think of nothing more blissful than spending two weeks in Nice having 20 language lessons and eight cookery lessons in local cuisine in a local chef’s apartment-cuisine. Expect to pay around £700 for a week’s learning, accommodation and half board in May, one of the most beautiful times of year to visit anywhere in France.

You can go to any region, study at any level from beginner’s to advanced and mix and match a variety of options.

If your passion is Italian, German or Spanish the same choices are available, and if you really prefer to stay at home to do your learning, many of the courses can be done in the UK!

This really is a marvellous way for Third Agers to enjoy a holiday, broaden the mind and pick up a passion for that long forgotten language from schooldays. But do be careful, and don’t get pregnant at the restaurant!

Graham Smith for Third Age.