A big thanks to Andrea, who is letting me guest blog here to share some things about teaching foreign languages in the homeschool. Yesterday, I gave some objectives for the early elementary grades. The goal at this point should be simply to introduce your child to a particular (or several) foreign languages. This is an important point to make because it means that you, the homeschooler do not need to spend money on a big curriculum at this point. Here are a few teaching ideas on how to get started: Vocabulary: You can usually check out from the library various … Continue reading →

Yesterday, I wrote about the fact that research says that the best time to start a foreign language is after the age of twelve. . .once the child reads and writes fluently in their own language. This is contrary to what most people and most curriculums have us believe–that is that we should start very, very early. However, some states actually require that you teach a foreign language as early as first grade or your child may simply have an interest. Focusing on speaking the language fluently in the early elementary will only serve to shoot yourself in the foot, … Continue reading →

This series is a take off from one of Andrea’s blogs. In my intro I mentioned some reasons why homeschoolers tend to shy away from teaching their child a foreign language It is a difficult subject to tackle if you don’t have the background. However, I also mentioned that one problem is many of the myths that surround teaching your child a foreign language. I went to a home schooling conference where I saw several curriculums for sale all touting similar benefits. They were all supposedly backed by research. Truth be told, I’ve yet to find something that is actually … Continue reading →

This series of blogs was inspired by Andrea’s blog the other day in which she talks about how her kids are lacking in foreign language instruction. I think teaching a foreign language is one of those subjects that homeschoolers would rather sweep under the rug. It’s not that we don’t want to teach our children a foreign language. However, unless there’s a program or someone near to us that can help. . .it’s the impossible feat. It requires that we learn the language alongside of our child and honestly, that’s just not always possible to do it in a way … Continue reading →