I had been writing about my recommendations for studying foreign languages throughout the elementary years. I have said repeatedly that I don’t think you need to feel like you must spend a lot of money to teach your children foreign language and that the goal early on is exposure. However, I’ve consistently received two comments. One is that exposure is great but that most colleges want to see at least a few years of foreign language on your child’s transcript and the second is from people who have a good working knowledge of the language who disagree with my methodology. … Continue reading →

Awhile ago, I wrote about why I believe that teaching foreign languages to young students is over rated. It’s quite hard to teach your child a foreign language if you don’t speak it yourself. Consequently, I do not advise parents to spend an arm and a leg on a foreign language curriculum in the early elementary grades. You will find that it does very little, if any good towards producing a child that can speak the foreign tongue. Exposure on the other hand is never a bad thing. I do feel like I need to make the point that I … Continue reading →

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 →

Teaching a foreign language is a challenging job for a homeschool mom who is not bilingual herself. When you teach a foreign language you need all the support you can get or your student will have difficulty mastering the language. Immersing yourself in the language is best but the opportunity for that does not come easily for most. For those who are interested in speaking French or simply have a desire to learn more about France you have an opportunity to for an online immersion from a well qualified and amazing lady. Katie’s Language Café is a new site designed … Continue reading →

Format: Self Taught Textbook/MP3 Pronunciation Guide Available on Website Age: Any age Teacher Prep: Minimal Homeschool Method: Any Learning style: Works well with any learning style Quick Rating: Very Good Cost: Can be purchased at Amazon or Barnes and Noble for about $20.00. What is Getting Started with Spanish? A book which teaches Spanish in bite sized portions making it easy for homeschoolers or other self taught learners to grasp the Spanish language. Each lesson provides new material at a slow rate ensuring mastery of each lesson. The book is comprehensive and complete with additional helps and audio provided on … Continue reading →