A chara, – The advice that "You're never too late" is, I hope, true ("Can you learn a foreign language online?", Life, May 30th). I'm retired a while and am just back from a two-week Spanish course in Malaga. That course confirmed my long-held view. You can prepare well, online and off, but the shock of having to speak a language is always that, a shock to confidence and composure. But it's the only way to learn! – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN RYAN,
Montenotte,
Cork.