In fact, 31st October wears a lot of different costumes around the globe. Some are spooky, some are sweet, and some skip the putrid party altogether.

So, grab your broomstick and join us on a whirlwind tour of bone-chilling fright fests across the planet.

The Party People Who Celebrate Halloween in Different Languages 

• Germany – Little monsters at the door warn “Süßes, sonst gibt’s Saures” = “Sweets, or it’s sour for you”. Who dares argue with that?

• Ireland – This is where it all began, so naturally they claim to do it best. Derry throws one of Europe’s biggest Halloween bashes. And you’ll find bonfires, fruity barmbrack and spooky carved turnips everywhere.

• Japan – Tokyo’s streets become a giant costume catwalk, where going all in on cosplay, dressing to impress and wishing everyone a Happī Harōin is the order of the day.

• Mexico – Día de los Muertos rolls out the welcome mat for the dead to walk once more. For this purpose, families build colourful ofrendas piled with marigolds, sugar skulls and their dearly departed’s favourite snacks to rouse them from their eternal sleep.

Spooky Assortment

•  Brazil – Some Brazilians celebrate Dia das Bruxas (Witches’ Day). Others champion Saci Day, which honours a cheeky one-legged trickster from Brazilian folklore.

• Catalonia – La Castanyada swaps sweets and chocolate for roast chestnuts and delicious little almond cakes called panellets.

• Costa Rica – 31st October means masquerade, specifically calling for giant handmade folklore masks.

• France – The real star of spooky season is La Toussaint (All Saints’ Day) on 1st November, which is a calm and reflective day for visiting family graves. Although fancy dress parties happen too, soundtracked by bloodcurdling cries of “Des bonbons ou un sort!” = “Sweets or a spell!”

No Delight in Fright 

• China – Halloween isn’t a big deal here. Instead, spirits get their moment during the Hungry Ghost Festival in summer.

• Mongolia and Uzbekistan – Authorities sometimes discourage Halloween celebrations, preferring to protect local traditions instead.

• Russia – It’s not officially banned, but the church and government keep it at arm’s length as an undesirable Western import. 

Treat Yourself to Another Language This Spooky Season 

So, which side are you on when it comes to Halloween in different languages? Team pumpkin, team marigold or team chestnut?

At la Academia, every celebration is a brilliant excuse to learn a new phrase.

Get in touch and book a class or course in whichever language sends shivers down your spine.

Why so? Well, the likes of French merci, German schadenfreude, Italian amore and Japanese ikigai have wormed their way into everyday British chat.

But you could say Portuguese has sat waiting on the sidelines, while steadily making its way up the queue over time.

So, here’s why the time is right to learn Portuguese now, in 2026-27.

Why Learn Portuguese?

Hands up if you’ve binged a Brazilian telenovela or hummed along to fado on the radio.

Anybody?

It’s not your fault. The thing is, Brazilian culture is brilliant, but it’s mostly contained within Portuguese speaking countries. For this reason, it doesn’t flood UK screens like French cinema, Italian opera and Scandi noir.

This is just one of many reasons why learning Portuguese is so exhilarating. It equips you to paint your own picture first hand.

But this doesn’t mean it lacks real substance. On the contrary, take a look at what the numbers demonstrate:

• 265-270 million speakers across four continents – This is global powerhouse level rather than a niche hobby

• Official language of burgeoning economies like Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique. The University of Leeds Portuguese course information explains why Brazil is an especially big deal: “Brazil is one of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) ‘powerhouse’ economies and the reputation of Portuguese speaking countries continues to grow on the world stage”.

• Named by the British Council as one of the languages most vital to the UK’s future prosperity

All the same, it’s churlish to underestimate the cultural richness of the bossa nova, fado, and a literary tradition you’ve never had the chance to discover until.

Right, Let’s Get You Speaking Portuguese

At la Academia, we’re launching our new season Portuguese Complete Beginners course this September:

• Where: la Academia, Cheadle
• When: Starts Friday 25th September 2026 for six consecutive weeks, with teacher Eulalia
• Time: 1.00 – 3.00pm
  Cost: £120.00 for the full course

A bit further down the line than a beginner?

Intermediate

• Saturdays 12.30 – 2.00pm with teacher Eulalia
• Cost: £90.00

Get in touch to learn Portuguese or fine tune your existing Portuguese skills, for career, travel, heritage, or sheer curiosity.

Well, Italian is the language of gelato, opera and, according to Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin, the times “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie”.

It’s always been a main character energy.  And it’s always a sassy choice to learn Italian for your career, learnability, and holiday plans.

1) Learn Italian for Career Fluency

In terms of popular modern foreign languages, everyone and their nonna seems to learn French or Spanish. But not so many learn Italian. This works in your favour for the following reasons:

• More demand, less competition – Fewer UK students study Italian. So, you’ll stand out from the crowd.

• Made in Italy, sold in the UK – Italian fashion houses, automotive design studios, luxury retailers, and gourmet food brands have deep commercial ties with the UK. And no surprises they’d rather deal with someone who doesn’t need Google Translate.

• Opens EMEA job doors – Learning to speak Italian can make you the no-brainer candidate for job roles in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

2) Cognitive Cheat Code

Italian and English share a Latin family tree. This means:

• You’ll recognise more words than you might expect from your very first lesson.

• Pronunciation is refreshingly logical because it’s mostly spoken the way it’s spelled.

• Grammar quirks aren’t soul destroying, which can be a real kicker with some other languages.

3) Aligns with the Finer Things in Life

• Ordering the right wine?
• Haggling at a Sicilian market?
• Understanding your waiter’s eye roll when you ask for Hawaiian pizza?

Learning Italian is a career strategy. But it’s also your not-so-secret weapon to living a little more dolce.

Why Bother Learning Italian in 2026?

Roughly 85 million people worldwide speak Italian. But truthfully, you’re not going to sign up for Italian lessons to pad out stats.

You’re doing it for the good stuff – the food, the wine, the art, the history, and the wonderfully animated people who talk with their hands as much as their mouths.

At la Academia, our students have a blast in the classroom when they learn Italian. Will you be joining them?

NEW Complete Beginners Italian

• Start: Wednesday 23rd September 2026 with teacher Guido
• Time: 7.00 – 9.00pm
• Duration: Six weeks (same day and time weekly)
• Cost: £120.00

Intermediate

• Fridays 10.15am – 12.15pm with teacher Guido
• Cost: £90.00

Italian isn’t the obvious choice, which is rather the point. So, get in touch to book your place in the cool class.

But things can get lost in translation once the final whistle blows. This is when teams and staff are faced with things like press conferences, contract negotiations, even going out for a meal in a new city.

English has become the dressing room lingua franca at top clubs. But it’s not unusual for a single squad to speak a dozen different mother tongues.

Additionally, not every star signing, coach, or agent arrives fluent.

For all these reasons, languages for football have become a reliable set piece off the pitch for many clubs.

Languages for Football Kick Off Multiple Benefits

Language links the whole team in many and varied ways you might never have even thought about. For example, it:

• Cultivates team spirit – One Premiership manager wanted his whole squad speaking the same language, figuratively and He achieved this by arranging lessons club-wide, ensuring a multilingual dressing room was a united one.

• Aids international signings – A Spanish manager threw himself into six weeks of intensive English coaching as he settled into UK life and became a press conference pro.

• Clears the Home Office hurdle – Football icons aren’t exempt from the official exams need to work on UK soil. As you can imagine, a red card isn’t an option.

• Supports the next generation – Young players, apprentices, and players’ children often need extra help with GCSE and A Level tuition in English, Maths and Sciences as they acclimatise to their new home.

A Final Score You Can Reliably Predict

At la Academia, we’re here to make sure nobody, from managers to midfielders and mothers, is left on the touchline by language barriers.

Get in touch with your questions about learning languages for football and score yourself a guaranteed home win.

Their language learning frenzy started in February with Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance. And it’s continued to soar ahead of his DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS World Tour dates, with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the only UK venue on 27^th and 28^th June.

Correspondingly, fans are going feral to speaks the same language as their idol.

Tap Into the Zeitgeist of the Super Bowl and Spurs

Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio did something revolutionary when he took to the Super Bowl stage earlier this year.  He performed entirely in Spanish. And it transformed one of the biggest TV moments into a celebration of Latin culture.

Language Magazine article Spanish & Sign Language Take Center Stage reported Bad Bunny telling a press conference, “This moment, the culture – that’s what makes these shows special.”

Colonies of fans worldwide are feeling this, social media is exploding, and you don’t have to scroll far to discover lapine activity such as:

• Non-Spanish speakers selling out Spanish courses – The desire to deeply understand his lyrics is feral

• Puerto Ricans breaking down his slang – There’s layers to this man’s lyrics any self-respecting fan needs to know about

• Everyone else scrambling to catch up before the tour arrives 

Bad Bunny Has Spoken. Now It’s Your Turn to Learn Spanish

Want to sing along at Spurs? Hold your own on a Spanish holiday? Understand the music living rent-free in your head?

At la Academia, no previous experience is needed to learn Spanish in a relaxed, friendly, and high impact environment.

Available formats include:

• Beginner through to Advanced levels – face to face in the Cheadle school
• Intermediate levels available on Zoom
• Spanish Conversation Class to use it so you don’t lose it

Selling fast… our next legendary NEW Spanish Complete Beginners six week courses:

• Wednesday 23^rd September, 7.00 – 9.00pm weekly, £120 at the Upper Room Café, Cheadle

• Monday 28th September, 9.30 – 11.00am weekly, £120 at the school with Andrea

Get in touch to start your Spanish era here.

You can expect the Prime Minister’s speech, parades, concerts… and, more often than not, inclement weather.

“Icelanders like to joke that it is always raining on this national holiday. Unfortunately, this weather is all too often in the forecast, with some towns having moved festivities indoors to local sports halls,” Visit Iceland’s Icelandic Independence Day article explains.

“The tradition of soggy celebrations began with the very first ceremony in 1944, remembered for its pouring rain.”

But a spot of rain won’t deter you from falling head over hiking boots for the Icelandic language.

Why Iceland Is Cool in More Ways Than the Weather

Are you one of the increasing number of Brits choosing Iceland as your next holiday destination? Well, Iceland already had main character energy long before you booked your flight.

It’s blessed the world with:

• Erupting geysers and jaw-dropping Northern Lights
• Skyr (Nordic style thick, tangy yogurt)
• Adorable puffins waddling around like little tuxedoed reps
• Musical legends Björk and Sigur Rós
• The thriller series Trapped, followed by what feels like exponential amounts of home-grown Scandi noir

It’s little wonder learning Icelandic is also on an upward trajectory. 

Reasons to Learn Icelandic Right Now 

It might not be top of your language wish list to learn Icelandic. But it should be.

The Icelandic language is fascinating, rewarding, and you’ll wonder why you ever hesitated once you start. Here’s why people are obsessed: 

• Linguistic time travel – The Icelandic language has barely changed in a thousand years, meaning you can read original ancient Norse sagas. No translations needed.

• Locals will warm to you – A little effort goes a long way. Expect heartier welcomes, better tourist tips, and quite possibly even a homemade meal.

• Brain workout – Complex grammar and archaic roots make for a satisfying challenge your neurons will appreciate.

Don’t Just Visit Iceland, Speak Iceland

At la Academia, learning Icelandic opens up a world of fire, ice, and literary heritage.

Get in touch to learn Icelandic in person at the school, or remotely on Zoom or Teams. Gangi þér vel.

Think military parades in Rome and Frecce Tricolori jets painting the sky red, white and green. Oh, and did we mention Italians in their hordes raising a glass of something divine.

It’s a feast for the senses that really makes you want to go all in and learn Italian. 

Italian is More Than a Numbers Game 

“It is the second most widely spoken native language in the European Union with 67 million native speakers. About 13.4 million EU citizens speak Italian as their second language,” according to the World Population Review’s article Italian Speaking Countries 2026. “Including all Italian speakers around the world, the total number of Italian speakers is about 85 million people.” 

But truthfully, going with the flow isn’t why anybody falls in love with it.

You learn Italian because of:

• The food and wine – Yes, it’s world class to savour and quaff. And then there’s knowing what you’re actually ordering.
• The culture – Italy invented the Renaissance, after all.
• The people – Italians are known for being warm, passionate, and genuinely delighted when you try speaking to them in the mother tongue.

And then there’s your career prospects going up a notch or several.

Learn Italian for Work? Assolutamente! 

Italian business language training for corporate clients is also on the rise.

A case in point is the UK arm of a major Italian pharmaceuticals company in Cheshire. They work with a leading local language school, (that would be us, at la Academia). And we bring more to the festa than learning a language.

Moreover, real business savvy and cultural know-how are vital for business Italian. This is what equips staff at every level to get more confident, communicative, and productive when working with their Italian colleagues.

But today’s busy professionals don’t take too receptively to the dry teaching methods that used to send you to sleep in the school classroom. Instead, it’s kept engaging and fun with elements like:

• Role play
• Listening exercises
• Real life scenarios
• Popular culture 

Who Else Wants to Be La Bella Lingua Ready?

 Republic Day might just be the sign you need to learn Italian for business, pleasure, or both.

At la Academia, we’d love to hear from both total beginners and rusty returnees.

Get in touch about our beginners courses, private tuition, or a FREE try before you buy business Italian taster session at your office.

Unsurprising then, World Marketing Day every 27th May continues gathering momentum.

But here’s the thing. Even the most dazzling campaign falls flat if it doesn’t speak your audience’s language and literally gets lost in translation.

Enter marketing translation services.

What Makes Marketing Translation Services the Secret Weapon Leading Marketers Swear By?

 Behind every successful global brand is a brilliant translator making sure your marketing messages don’t mean something laughably unfortunate in another language. Yes, this happens, more than you’d think.

For this reason, professional language services are the engine room of global marketing for the following good reasons:

• Clarity out of confusion – The wrong word choice can kill a campaign. But expert marketing translation services ensure your message attracts rather than repels.

• Cultural nuance is everything – Humour, tone, and idioms vary wildly across languages. That killer joke your UK team adores might raise eyebrows in Beijing or Berlin.

• It’s not just what you say – It’s how, when, where, and to whom you say it. Context is key. Language professionals understand this better than anyone.

So, what sort of business uses professional language services for surety everybody’s speaking the same language?

What Products or Services Can You Translate? (Spoiler: Pretty Much Everything)

If your audience sees or hears it, it deserves to be said perfectly in their language. So don’t think about language services in terms of sector specificity, but more for things like:

• Ad campaigns
• Social media content
• Website copy
• Email marketing
• Packaging
• Exhibition stands and associated comms

Speak Their Language, Win Their Business

 At la Academia, we get how marketing is about understanding people, their psychology, their culture, their world.

Accordingly, our marketing translation services make this possible across borders.

As Medichecks Marketing Manager Cerys Gardiner told the CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) in her recent article International Day of Marketing: Why it’s time to #CelebrateMarketing: “…if you’ve ever built a great campaign, introduced a content idea that people loved, or even helped a customer find the right solution for them, you’ve made a difference. And that’s something worth celebrating”.

Get in touch if you’re dreaming of success of non-English speaking countries.

The language of Miguel de Cervantes, Rafael Nadal, Shakira, and David Silva feels unstoppable. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed in the UK. 

The Numbers Tell the Story

Language Magazine’s recent article Spanish Growth Accelerates put the data into the discussion in no uncertain terms.

 The global Spanish speaking community grew by a massive 30 million people in 2025 alone = a 5% jump in a single year. That’s equivalent to roughly half the UK’s population deciding to learn Spanish in the same twelve-month period.

In addition:

• Spanish is now the third largest native language in the world, behind only Chinese and Hindi

• More than 120 million people have chosen to are learn Spanish outside of Spanish speaking countries

• Language experts predict there could be 100 million people learning Spanish by the turn of the century

This all beggars a burning question. 

Why Is Everyone Keen to Learn Spanish?

 There are many and varied reasons why learners across the UK (and beyond) are choosing Spanish:

• It’s genuinely not that hard – Spanish is one of the friendliest languages for English speakers to pick up. You’ll be ordering tapas with confidence proximamente.

• Hello, holidays – Spain is the UK’s favourite holiday destination. Sounding like a local rather than a tourist is priceless.

• Career gold – Spanish is the official language in more than 20 countries. Accordingly, there’s a lot of doors waiting to be opened.

• Culture is calling – Cultural relevance continues soaring, from Rosalia to Antonio Banderas or the pintxos and tapas trend. 

The World is Speaking Spanish. Ready to Join In?

 At la Academia, you’re invited to join out next guaranteed sell out Spanish Course for Complete Beginners:

When:             Wednesday 17^th June 2026 at 7.00 – 9.00pm for six consecutive weeks
Where:            la Academia, Cheadle
Cost:                £120.00

Get in touch to learn Spanish if you’re dreaming of Barcelona, eyeing a promotion at work, or want to finally understand what Daddy Yankee is getting all hot and bothered about.

This is firmly in your wheelhouse with business language training on your agenda, because there’s no single path to language brilliance in the corporate sphere. It’s completely subjective.

Plus, it’s a winner with employees too.

How Language Learning Gives Power to Your People

 Many workplaces are global workplaces circa 2026. This is why speaking your client’s language is a superpower, equipping your team to:

• Grow their mindset in a way they learn best
• Build resilience and confidence that goes way beyond the office
• Sharpen the practical skills that keep them adaptable and ahead

Business language training does all three. And here’s how. 

Group Classes = More Fun and More Practice

Group business language courses are comms gold, due to:

• Lively role plays
• Pair exercises
• Real conversation

All these interactive methods are designed to get them speaking faster, on a flexible schedule around your business, at your local language school or at your workplace.

And the added bonus? Many groups add cultural awareness training or international dance sessions to the mix. Yes, language training for work can be and should be fun if it’s going to maximise engagement and progress. 

1:1 Business Language Training Tailored to Your Specific Needs

 Need industry specific vocabulary?

Already past the basics in Spanish, French, Italian, or Chinese?

Individual tuition programmes are built around specific goals, in the language that matters for your work, and the vocab that demonstrates common ground. 

Make Language Learning at Work Count

At la Academia, we’ve had the pleasure of working with some seriously impressive companies. And they keep coming back because we make business language training  something to look forward to.

Get in touch and we’ll find the ideal fit for your people, on a group or individual basis, from beginner to boardroom ready.