London's variety is world-renowned, and not simply in terms of the blend of antiquity and modernity. With over 300 languages spoken within the city, you can hear a range of tongues and dialects just from walking down the street. It's this widespread multiculturalism that makes London one of the best places in the world for language courses, which is backed up by the sheer number of overseas students that flood the city each year. Whether you want to study English, French, Russian Japanese or, as I did, learn German in London , you'll be able to find a top-notch language school.

As a business coach, I was overjoyed to receive an offer from a German company to go over to Berlin and guide a team of German customer service agents to become confident in using English over the phone. While their English was passable, just needing techniques and practice to gain a surer phone manner, my German was appalling. With just about enough under my belt to order a beer, I figured I should take some German classes in London before I left for Berlin - while I didn't particularly need to have fluent German under my belt (as the training was to be conducted in English), it would certainly help, and as the first of my coaching courses to take place abroad, I was eager to impress.

So I decided that once I could find one in London German courses were the way to go. It didn't take me long to find a course at one of the many German language school London has to offer and sign up, and within a few weeks I was able to hold a basic conversation - a marked improvement from my previous stuttering efforts .

Coaching for business is something of a universal language, even when doing it overseas. My 'students' all took the techniques on board and seemed impressed by my level of German, even though I had made it clear that I was still a beginner. They were amazed that after taking only 3 weeks to study German in London that I was able to hold a conversation with a few of my slower-speaking students, though of course my vocabulary was lacking in enough depth to discuss anything more complicated than my family, the weather and what I'd be having for dinner that night. This frustrated me enough to motivate me to pick up my German class in London when I returned, and I'm still going to my weekly lessons, even now, and after my initial success in Germany, am hoping for a fresh overseas contract.