Hola! If you were to pop into Silloth Primary School you might be confused. The children here often converse, count and play games in Spanish.

Youngsters in key stage two (years three to six) at the Solway Coast school are happy to learn about another culture and some of them are really good at it, according to headteacher Rachel Ingrams.

She said: “We have a lot of fun learning Spanish. Spain is a popular holiday destination and the language is spoken around the world. The boys are interested because they like football and the Spanish teams.”

The school devotes an afternoon a fortnight to Spanish and the lessons are taught by Wendy Smart.

Mrs Ingrams says: “Mrs Smart had a career teaching in Spanish schools so she is ideal for the role.”

The first thing the pupils learn are greetings – how to introduce themselves, ask after one another and say hello and goodbye.

“They do a wide range of topics including learning colours, numbers, about the family, food, travel and how to get around,” says Mrs Ingrams.

“The lessons are not just about sitting down though. They are very active. They do role play, board games, ball games, drama and circle games. It’s fun and active.”

By the time the children leave Silloth for secondary school they can not only speak Spanish, they can write it too.

“Most of the children go to Solway Community Technology College and continue to learn Spanish there,” Mrs Ingrams adds.

The school will mark European Day of Languages on Wednesday.

The children will dress in Spanish outfits, have a special assembly and meal and take part in Spanish-related activities. The menu choices include Spanish meatballs or sausage with chorizo.

“The children are often surprised when they try the food at how much they like it so, even if they don’t choose it as the menu choice for the day, we let them try it to give them a taste,” says Mrs Ingrams.

She is keen to see her children progress and thinks it is good that they can speak another language and not just rely on everyone to speak English.

She continues: “Like anything, we have lovers and haters of languages but I do think learning at such a young age – in year three – opens the minds of children and gives them more choices when it comes to choosing a career.

“With Europe’s open door policy, our children are going to meet a lot more Europeans than ever before.”

Meanwhile, children at Pennine Way Primary School in Harraby, Carlisle, learn Italian through a puppet called Nonno Pietro known as Grandad Peter.

Teacher Romana Cecchini teaches Italian to the infants at Pennine Way. The older children learn French.

She says: “The children love it and it gives them a cultural interest in another country as well.”

Nonno Pietro proved so popular that Romana introduced a new dog called Pippo and children wrote letters asking him about his life.

In Carlisle, a group of three women, who were keen for adults to converse in foreign languages, set up a language session in a cafe at a city museum.

Café Lingo provides free sessions where people can practice their French, German, Spanish, Italian or Polish with fellow language enthusiasts.

The idea is you grab a coffee from the Tullie House museum cafe then join a table with the country flag of the language you wish to speak. For the rest of the time speakers can freely chat about anything they want as long as the conversation remains in a foreign tongue.

The idea behind the new informal events is to give people who can speak one of these languages the chance to practice and develop their skills.

It has been heralded by organisers as the perfect opportunity for students old and young to practice their newly acquired language or for native speakers to be able converse in the natural tongue.

Organisers say that people who come along must be able to at least hold a conversation in their desired language. It is not suitable for complete beginners.

Café Lingo is being run by three adult education teachers Anna Strycharczyk, a Polish and German teacher, Puerto Baker, a Spanish teacher and Marie Buttler, a French teacher.

It was Marie, originally from Aix-en-Provence in France, who heard about a similar event elsewhere in the country.

“We had heard about something like this in Lancaster from adult education colleagues, so we thought it would be a good idea for Carlisle,” she says. “So the three of us talked it through and we decided to go for it.”

Puerto, originally from Extremadura in western Spain, says it’s the perfect way to keep on top of your language skills.

She said: “We just want people to come and have a conversation, socialise, meet people and practice the language they like.

“People can chat about anything and everything. It is great to be able to just come and enjoy something with people who are interested in the same things as you.”

At least 50 people attended the event at the start in April last year.

Puerto said: “Some of them become frequent attendees but we also see totally new people every month, mainly from all over Cumbria.

“People need not stay for the whole two hours but they can come for as long as they wish and we think this flexibility is crucial for our attendees.

“Last July we had a tapas and buffet evening to allow others, who work during the day, to attend and it turned out to be another success.

“We are really happy with the outcome of Café Lingo and we hope that there will be many more years of it to come.”

The next sessions take place on October 16 and November 20 from 10am to midday.