Languages have never been the greatest strength of British people in general. The reasons are partly historical, with the days of the Empire ensuring that everyone from India to Australia should speak the Queen's (or King's) English, rather than adapt a when in Rome' attitude.

It is only recently that our mainstream education system started offering alternatives to French, meaning that future generations may at least be able to order a beer correctly, rather than shouting in broken Franglais at a bemused Spanish waiter.

And, of course, with English being the accepted language to do business in, we can become even more complacent about the need to stray from using our mother tongue.

That said, most would admit they are embarrassed when faced with the majority of ordinary Europeans who are quite proficient in a cluster of Continental languages.

In business terms this makes networking at international meetings a lot simpler and more effective.

It really is time we all caught up but, with time at a premium, what is the best way to approach filling this glaring gap in our education?

The popularity of learning a language as a concept can be proved by the popularity of courses provided by Sunday newspapers in the form of CDs.

But how many of us actually have the motivation to complete the course? The answer is, probably very few.

Now a new concept in language learning is being introduced at large companies in Oxfordshire.

Called Languages at Lunch, the concept is very simple and already it has had a remarkable success rate at Oxford University Press (OUP) where it has been running for several months.

It involves employees giving up a lunch time and attending a language class in their workplace. As a result they do not have to travel, or take up time dedicated to their families.

The concept was the idea of Rob Geraghty, a 29-year-old worker in Vodafone's learning and development department, in Newbury, who lives in Oxford.

He said: "It is very much based on my experience of working in large organisations and seeing lots of people wanting to learn a language but having to go to night school to do it."

Mr Geraghty has recruited five teachers who are either freelance language experts, or university graduates studying for their doctorates.

They adopt a hands-on approach, with the students fully involved in conversation in their chosen language.

At the moment French, Italian and Spanish are on offer but this can change, depending on demand.

At OUP, a staggering 400 staff registered their interest in the courses and currently 130 students are enrolled, the number limited only by available teaching space.

Training and development director Laura Bevan said: "We were delighted at the response.

"What we liked about it is that Rob handled all the administration and we did not have to become too involved.

"People are learning for all sorts of different reasons, from holidays to helping deal with customers from other countries.

"It is also motivational and helps increase job satisfaction."

Ms Bevan added that she intended to do a business Spanish course when the next round of teaching started. All of which is good news for Mr Geraghty, who now intends to take a six-month sabbatical from his job to concentrate on Languages at Lunch.

The courses are arranged in 10-week blocks with students charged £75 each.

Learning is not just based in the classroom online materials are also sourced and e-mail reminders featuring key words are also sent out.

A buddy network is also set up to encourage conversation between groups.

Mr Geraghty added: "You will get out what you put in. After one course you will be far from fluent, but the courses will be available on an ongoing basis."

Negotiations are now taking place with other larger companies with a view to starting courses in September.

"Oxford is a good place, because so many people want to learn languages. It is just a question of finding enough forward-looking employers looking to provide the benefit for staff."

Contact: www.languagesatlunch.co.uk