The truth is French has stubbornly refused to budge from its spot as one of the top three languages UK adults want to learn.Pourquoi? Let’s take a closer look.

Learning French Isn’t Starting from Scratch

Chances are you didn’t subconsciously blank from memory everything you learned in your school French lessons.

So, half-remembered vocabulary and verb tables hiding in your head make learning French friendlier than wrestling with a brand new alphabet. 

You Can Use French – a Lot

The many and varied benefits of learning French are proof of why it continues to entice UK language learners. For example:

• France is a neighbour – France, Belgium, and Switzerland are a short hop away, making them ideal for holidays, second homes, emigration or retirement.

• French a career flex – French pops up everywhere in fashion, aerospace, hospitality, tourism, food, finance, and diplomacy. For this reason, it’s handy to learn French if you want to sound sharp at an international event, meeting, or on a Zoom call.

• It trains your brain younger – French classes are a workout for your mind, besides the sheer satisfaction of nailing a tricky tense and gradually increasing your fluency over time. 

Even royalty and rock stars are on board. 

Famous Brits Who Speak French

King Charles has been chatting away in conversational French for decades on official duties, while his son Prince William holds his own in French during royal tours.

And rock icon Mick Jagger is fluent enough for French interviews and owns a 16^th century château in the Loire Valley.

If it’s good enough for them…

Parlez Vous Francais?

At la Academia, we’ve got courses for every level to learn French at our Cheadle school with tutor Elisabeth: 

NEW Complete Beginners

• Starts: Monday 28th September 2026, 1.00pm – 3.00pm
• Duration: Six weeks (same day and time weekly)
• Cost: £120.00

Conversation course

• Tuesday, 11.00am – 12.00pm
• Cost: £70.00

Intermediate

• Monday, 7.00 – 8.30pm
• Cost: £90.00

Get in touch to book your place. Allez!

The good news is the PPA gap in the timetable is the ideal opportunity to introduce your students to the magic of MFL in an age-appropriate way.

Why are More Primary Schools Seeking MFL Specialists? 

A December 2025 report in the House of Lords Library – Modern foreign language education in England – demonstrated a key reason demand for MFL support for primary schools is soaring.

It stated: “The committee noted that many subjects had experienced teacher shortages, but that particular subjects had been “acutely impacted”, including MFL. A lack of specialist teachers can make it hard for education providers to put on courses in those subjects.”

Moreover, specialist outsourced MFL teachers make PPA time really count rather than just plugging a gap. Here’s why:

• Expert help = happy school teams – Specialist support for languages gives your teaching staff the breathing space they need to plan and mark, helping avert burnout.

• High energy teaching – Outsourced specialist teachers are armed with fresh ideas, enthusiasm, and lessons children don’t think of as learning in the traditional sense.

• Curriculum-aligned learning – Sessions are purposefully designed to complement what your pupils are already learning. So, language lessons slot naturally into the school day without feeling added in.

Everybody Benefits from Expert MFL Support for Primary Schools  

Many benefits are felt by different stakeholder groups when Spanish and French sessions are delivered by experienced language teachers who love doing it:

• Flexible scheduling – PPA cover, lunchtime clubs or after school sessions can be planned to suit your school day.

• Joyful, inspiring lessons – Forget worksheets and fingers on lips. Think storytelling, songs, games and giggles instead.

• Certified and verified primary school support – A leading MFL partner like la Academia employs experienced, DBS-checked MFL experts with specific experiences of teaching primary linguists.

Cross MFL Off Your To Do List 

Early language learning sharpens young minds and opens them up to a wider world.

At la Academia, we also make sure it’s ridiculously fun along the way.

Get in touch if you’re looking for well-reputed MFL support for primary schools to spice up your students’ lives, while easing the pressure on your over-stretched team.

Well, here’s something that might sway you.

“Say you are leading a team project, and everyone is working hard and doing their part. Yet, somehow, deadlines are being missed, errors are cropping up, and people are getting frustrated. What’s the problem? The answer could be poor communication,” suggests President & Founder of Valens Project Consulting Claudio Gutierrez in his article Why Effective Communication is the Key to Successful Teamwork.

He has a point. Fortunately, business language training can help you tackle it head on.

What Makes Business Language Training an Impactful, Inclusive Team Pursuit

 One of the most gratifying things about learning a language for business in the 2020s is not doing it alone in a corner with a dusty textbook.

On the contrary, it’s most effective when you’re bantering, role-playing, and fumbling through a mock negotiation with your teammates.

For all these reasons, the best business language courses are designed around real human interaction, such as:

• Group training – Learning shoulder-to-shoulder with colleagues, comparing boo-boos, and getting instant practice with humans rather than an app

• Individual tuition – 1:1 in person or remote business language learning is ideal for advanced learners or any team members needing sharp, industry specific vocabulary, like business French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, etc

• Living a language outside the classroom – Many business groups spice things up with cultural awareness sessions, eating out at authentic restaurants, or even international dance lessons 

More Than Ordering Croissants

“When team members communicate openly and honestly, it can create a more positive and collaborative work environment,” Gutierrez continued. “This can lead to improved team morale and a more engaged team, which translates to better project outcomes.”

Win: win!

At la Academia, business language training is a different vibe than teaching you how to order a gelato in Milan. This is why we customise the programme around your business and its specific needs, not the other way round.

Get in touch if you’re thinking about giving your team the words to win at work.

This summer’s tournament is once again proof the beautiful game is a universal language, spanning iconic powerhouses to exciting debut nations.

48 teams are heading to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. So, fans will hear a colourful mix of languages echoing through stadiums, fan zones, bars, and city streets.

Play with a World of Words

 The teams competing represent more than 40 different languages, reflecting a phenomenal linguistic melting pot.

Intrepid first-time qualifiers include:

• Jordan – Primary language = Arabic
• Uzbekistan – Primary language = Uzbek
• Curaçao – Primary languages = Papiamentu and Dutch
• Cape Verde – Primary languages = Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole

Elsewhere, familiar faces are making a long-awaited return:

• Scotland – Primary languages = English and Scots
• Norway – Primary language = Norwegian
• Haiti – Primary languages = French and Haitian Creole

And then, there’s the many teams whose mother countries are home to multiple languages.

Take One Team with Four Languages

 Most countries rally around a single national language. But Switzerland likes to keep things interesting.

Depending on where you are, you’ll hear:

• German
• French
• Italian
• Romansh

“Thus, there are different versions of the salutation you’ll hear the most when following the Nati: Hop Suisse/Hopp Schwiiz/Forza Svizzera/Ancora Svizra,” explains the New York Times Athletic’s The Language of Soccer series. “They all mean the same thing – ‘Go Switzerland!’”

Kick Off with Host Languages

 The tournament’s 16 host cities mainly speak the following languages:

• USA host cities – English
• Canadian host cities (Toronto and Vancouver) – English, plus French also an official language nationally
• Mexican host cities (Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey) – Spanish

At la Academia, you don’t need any excuse to experience new cultures, hear new languages, and realise passion for the game sounds similar everywhere.

Get in touch whether you’re cheering in Spanish, Arabic, Norwegian, French English… or just the language of football.

But May is International Mediterranean Diet Month, when fresh ingredients, bold flavours, and shared meals bring people closer together.

And the languages of the Mediterranean are as rich, expressive, and full of personality as the food.

So, why not fall in love with a language if you’ve already fallen in love with a Mediterranean country via your stomach? There’s a veritable buffet to choose from. 

Learn Spanish 

Spanish is everywhere, from Andalucia to Alabama. So, it’s seriously useful.

What’s on the menu:

Paella, tapas, tortilla, fresh seafood, olive oil, vibrant veggies

Why learn Spanish:

• One of the most widely spoken languages globally
• Ideal for travel, business, and social confidence
• Business Spanish helps you build corporate and trade relationships besides order wine (although… priorities)

Learn French

 French is romantic. But it’s also influential across business, culture, and travel.

What’s on the menu:

• Ratatouille, bouillabaisse, crusty baguettes, cheeseboards and a lot of good wine

Why learn French:

• Spoken across multiple continents
• Perfect for both leisure learners and career climbers
• Business French = added confidence in meetings and at exhibitions

Learn Italian

 Italian is a gateway to passion, people, and plates of perfection.

What’s on the menu:

• Pasta, pizza, risotto, espresso, gelato

Why learn it:

• Intensifies cultural experiences and menu knowledge
• Brilliant for business with Italian partners
• Fun, expressive, and genuinely joyful to learn

 Beyond the Classic Mediterranean Languages

 The Mediterranean is a linguistic mosaic, extending further than its most commonly known and spoken languages.

In addition, there’s Albanian, Arabic, Croatian, Greek, Maltese and Turkish.

And each one opens a different door, both culturally and professionally. 

Ready to Order? What’s Your Next Flavour?

 At la Academia, our expert tutors bring Mediterranean languages to life, for travel, business, or sheer enjoyment.

Get in touch for the French, Italian and Spanish courses available now, from beginner to advanced, including tailored business language training.

And the rest of the Mediterranean languages? They’re equally as tasty and valuable. But available on request and custom designed around demand.

On one hand, there’s the so-called tiger mums, dads, guardians and staff. They’re prepared to do whatever it takes to give their children competitive edge. And on the other are those who feel language classes at nursery schools are a bit too much too soon.

Each to their own opinions.

But there are many and varied reasons pre-school is the prime time for baby steps towards learning a language.

Children between ages three – five are soaking up the world around them like tiny, enthusiastic sponges, after all.

They’re building confidence, mastering motor skills, and finding their voices. So, why not add another language into the mix?

National Preschooler’s Day, every 11^th March, spotlights this vital stage of development, alongside the case for language classes at nursery schools.

Why Start So Young?

 Research consistently shows the earlier children start learning a language, the more naturally they pick it up.

This is especially the case at pre-school age, when they:

• Have a brilliant ear for sound and accent
• Mimic pronunciation without the self-consciousness that comes over time
• Absorb vocabulary through play, song and repetition
• Build confidence in communication from day one

And truthfully, there’s nothing cuter than a class of nursery children singing in French or Spanish.

How Leading Language Classes at Nursery Schools Make Learning a Joy

 Engaging, age-appropriate fun is key to teaching languages to small children, without any pressure or worksheets. These will follow soon enough in the school system.

Here’s how it works when nurseries work in partnership with award-winning language school la Academia in Manchester:

• An early years qualified French or Spanish teacher visits weekly or fortnightly
• Sessions last 45 minutes
• All songs, games, stories and resources are provided
• Other languages are available on request

This method meets children where they are, with the daily activities they already love. And it introduces language learning to them in a playful and exciting way.

Give Them a Lasting Head Start

Primary schools now teach a second language as standard. For this reason, language classes at nursery schools set up pre-schoolies beautifully for future learning.

At la Academia, we believe starting early makes all the difference when it comes to learning languages.

Get in touch if you’d like to explore a FREE introductory language session for your nursery to try for fit. We’d love to help.

Mocks are on the horizon. The real exams aren’t far behind. And suddenly, “Let’s see how it goes” attitudes become pit-of-the stomach panic.

You’re not alone if you’re nodding along. And GCSE tuition continues to be a not-so-hidden weapon in the battle against abject exam misery.

Why GCSE Tuition is So Powerful 

Secondary school is intense. Both staff and students are juggling large classes, packed syllabuses, and limited time. For all these reasons, some students slip through the cracks, especially in subjects like languages, which call for confidence besides content.

To be clear, MFL GSCEs shouldn’t be underestimated, because many Russell Group universities expect a modern foreign language at GCSE. So, getting it right can open or quietly close doors when Admissions come up on the agenda in due course.

This is one of many reasons GCSE tuition comes into its own, to:

• Target specific problem areas – Lessons focus on what your child needs, rather than piling on even more generic revision.

• Build exam confidence – Ease the panic and make mocks feel like the practice run they are.

• Reduce stress at home – Less unhelpful in-fighting. More progress.

A Parent’s Verdict

16-year-old Stephen wasn’t exactly over the moon at the prospect of more lessons outside school hours. But he’ll hopefully come to thank his supportive mum Catherine for it one day.

Here’s what she had to say about their experience: 

“My son is easily distracted and doesn’t enjoy English. However, the tutor from la Academia was able to get meaningful work from him and he passed his GCSEs. Would highly recommend!”  

Ultimately, professional GSCE support can turn a scraped pass into quietly smashing it.

Flexible, Engaging GSCE Support Teenagers Get on Board With

 At la Academia, you won’t spot another dull worksheet or bored teenager staring at the clock.

GCSE tuition is available:

• 1:1 or small group sessions
• In person at the language school in Cheadle, Cheshire, or online from home
• With vastly experienced tutors who know how to keep distracted teens on a productive learning curve

Get in touch to enquire about your options for the following subjects:

• Languages – Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese
• Core subjects – Maths, English
• Humanities – Geography, History, Psychology
• Sciences – Biology, Chemistry, Physics

• Stretching your brain
• Expanding your world
• Proving age is absolutely not a barrier to learning something new

In fact, adults are smashing language learning, with sharper memory, boosted confidence and cognitive resilience thrown in for good measure.

Here’s how learning a foreign language delivers the merry.

Why Ageing and Language Learning are a Power Duo

Picking up a new language later in life brightens up your new year in multiple ways. For example, it:

• Strengthens your memory and mental agility
• Improves problem-solving and multitasking
• Boosts confidence and wellbeing
• Delays cognitive decline
• Makes you feel like an international jetsetter, even if you’re only in Tesco’s

You could say learning a new language is the ultimate anti-ageing strategy, without a miracle serum in sight. And this month is an opportune moment to spring into action.

How to Celebrate Learn a Foreign Language Month – and Feel Brilliant Doing It 

Wondering how to get the party started and lay plans to kickstart the year ahead in bilingual style?

• Take a language course – Learn the basics with people who are just as nervous and excited as you.

• Be a culture vulture – Films, festivals, music – observe, listen, get involved.

• Share your language journey on the socials – #ForeignLanguageMonth and #LanguageLearning are trending as we speak.

• Set goals for 2026 – Ordering tapas in Spain? Reading a novel in French? Living la dolce vita in Italy? Your call.

• Connect with others – Language is meant to be shared, online or in person.

Why Learn a Language in 2026?

 Why now? Why wait another year for:

• Cultural understanding – Build bridges and broaden your perspectives.
• Personal growth – Expand your world view while boosting your brain power.
• Career and travel perks – Stand out professionally. And breeze through holidays.

Get in touch with us, at la Academia, with any questions about our classes timetable for January 2026.

And if learning isn’t on your own agenda right now? Give the gift of language this Learn a Foreign Language Month. Our gift vouchers make a meaningful Christmas pressie for anyone ready to expand their communicative and cultural horizons next year.

Perhaps you’re thinking about your career? Perhaps you’re coming at it from a cultural perspective? Or perhaps you’re just flexing your cognitive muscle? In any event, when you learn French, it still opens plenty of doors.

Not sure why this elegant language deserves a spot on your to-learn list? Let’s take a closer look.

Enjoy Career Perks and Professional Wins When You Learn French

 Want to up your career prospects? Speaking French can give your CV an edge in multiple different ways. For example:

• Global job market – Companies from fashion houses to finance firms love a candidate who can parlez français.

• Post-Brexit power move – Want to keep doors open to the EU? Learning French keeps UK professionals connected.

• Industry goldmine – Think luxury goods, aerospace, and international business. French sets you apart in all these sectors and more.

Tap Into Culture and Cuisine

 In addition to business, learning French offers you a front row seat to some of the world’s richest cultural experiences (and the best cheese).

French literature, cinema, and food culture? Oui please.

Yet, there’s more to the French vibe than snails and Sartre, although both have their place.

Moreover, learning French improves memory, multitasking, and problem-solving. 

Smaller World, Bigger Perspective

Looking to make global connections? French is a passport to at least 32 countries across five continents, and a different way of seeing the world. So, let’ say you can do more with it than practicing during a Paris city break.

A lot more actually, because the French language is diplomatic dynamite. In fact, it’s used everywhere important decisions get made, from the UN to the Olympics. 

Learn a Global Language That Will Always Matter

 French is still très relevant in post-Brexit Britain. And it always will be, as the language of diplomacy, culture, and love.

And at la Academia, your global glow up starts now. So, why wait a second longer to learn French?

Our next complete beginners course is the ideal opportunity to back your future self (and potentially impress a future employer):

Where?           la Academia, Cheadle
Teacher?        Elisabeth
When?            Monday 29^th September 2025           
Time?             10.00am – 12.00pm
Cost?              £130.00 for six consecutive weeks

Get in touch to reserve your seat. Or complete and return the application form by email.

What better way to level up than by learning a new language? And the good news? There’s much more to it than vocab lists (which comes as a ginormous relief to most would-be linguists).

What Makes Language Learning a Supreme Form of Self-Improvement?

Where to even start? Here’s just a few of the fundamental ways learning a language makes you a better version of yourself:

• Boost Your Brainpower – Learning a language is like taking your brain to the gym, minus the sweat. It sharpens your memory. Your brain gets better at storing and retrieving information, and your problem-solving power is heightened as you start to think in new, flexible ways. Plus, there’s long-term protection, because language learning is linked to better brain health as you age. 

• Feel Good Inside and Out – You might not think of language learning as sexy. But what’s more appealing than a confidence boost? Every conversation or new phrase is a mini win. As a result, the dopamine hit lifts your mood and you experience a greater sense of purpose. After all, connecting across cultures feels fabulous. 

• Grow as a Person – New language, new you. Your empathy increases due to a deeper understanding of life in someone else’s shoes. You even become more resilient, as you accept and learn from mistakes as part of the learning process. Not to mention you make new friends when meeting people you’d never have otherwise. 

• Open New Doors – Language learning is self-expansion. Career options multiply. Travel is transformed. And Netflix is so much better in the original language.

Meet Your New Favourite Version of You

French? Spanish? Arabic? Japanese? Something lesser known? Language learning is a love letter to your future self, no matter which tongue ticks your boxes.

At la Academia, we share all languages with hundreds of adult students every year. And we’re here to help. Get in touch to glow up your goals.