Who are we...

Fleet Language Circle was established in 1966 after Colonel Roots, a retired army colonel and linguist, called a meeting at the Lismoyne Hotel in Fleet.

He obviously attracted an enthusiastic group who wanted the opportunity to practise speaking French, German, Italian or Spanish. After 55 years the club still exists and is thriving.

A friendly group of adults still meets each week during term time to chat in a foreign language for 90 minutes. There is no tuition. The level of conversation depends on who turns up on a particular evening.

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There are currently three regular tables, one each for French, German, and Spanish. We do have an Italian table but, as it is a very small group, it meets less frequently. We welcome native speakers of all of these languages.

Language skills range from improvers to advanced. Many of our members use this to practise what they have studied at evening classes. In fact, as we do not provide any tuition, we recommend that new members continue to attend any evening or other classes.

The easy-going nature of the club means that our members do not feel pressured into turning up every week. As a result attendance can vary from week resulting in five to ten people on each table, which gives members plenty of opportunity to speak their chosen language in a relaxed manner. Sometimes there are native speakers to help us.

Each table tends to develop its own personality, depending on who turns up. For example, on some tables we just sit around and chat about whatever comes to mind, and on others the conversations are more structured. If we have a large group one evening, then a few separate conversations may develop, especially if we are helping newer members who might be a bit rusty.

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We aim to have at least one social event every year.