Publication: The Guardian

Date: 1 December 2007

Circulation: 364,513

100 Learning Breaks

The perfect way to avoid Christmas and return knowing your alloras from your avantis, this course at the Sorrento Lingue Instituto includes 20 group lessons, a day’s excursion to Naples, sightseeing in Sorrento and – here’s the master stroke – cookery lessons with your host family on December 23, 24 and 25. The Italian for turkey is tacchino.

Cactus Languages (0845 130 4775, cactuslanguage.com) has courses around the world and many more in Italy; this one (December 16-27) costs £989pp including tuition and half-board homestay.