Teaching Foreign Languages at Home

Foreign language - often Spanish or French in North America - is part of many homeschools, and for children who attend school outside the home it can also be a subject learned or reinforced through after school enrichment. Second language lessons in many places are delayed until the later primary years or even until secondary school. While students will find the formalities of grammar easier to cope with at this age, there are theories that posit children's minds are more elastic at an early age, and certainly better capable of replicating the spoken language without a noticeable accent than those who begin learning later in life.

Homeschooling methods inspired by educator Charlotte Mason usually begin with foreign language lessons when the child is in about fourth grade, but there is much support as well for early immersion methods. In Quebec it is required for all children to learn French beginning in first grade, which dictates methods well suited to very young students. Here are some resources that may be of use to parents wanting to teach French at home with younger students. Most address learning French, but Spanish is also included in the first. Using these resources as a guideline, it should be possible to find others that will help with learning of other languages as well.

Reading A-Z

The core of Reading A-Z is its guided (levelled) reading materials, which come complete with lesson plans, comprehension worksheets, fluency tests and benchmarking tools. There are also a number of other tools that cover subjects from vocabulary and idioms, to phonics, to poetry. Materials were originally written in English, but many are also available in Spanish and French versions. Materials address students from preschool to the end of grade 5.

The ability to use both French and English texts side by side makes it valuable for parents who are not bilingual, or for students who struggle in French. Spanish texts are an asset for children who are in an early IBO program, or for families wanting to add third language enrichment at home.

Reading A-Z is a pay web site used by teachers and professionals working in educational settings. A year's subscription costs just over $7 US per month, and allows the parent or educator to download and print unlimited resources.

La Librairie des Écoles

The printable texts and worksheets from this site are helpful for the parent who would like their child to enrich French vocabulary, or to learn subjects like math and social studies in French. Manuals cannot be downloaded, but pages can be read on-screen or printed at no charge. Parents also have the option of ordering a hard copy of the texts, including new French translations of the popular Singapore math texts which are not available free through the site.

Texts at La Librairie des Écoles currently address students from about grades 1 to 3. Texts are being added every few months. A geography manual is due to appear in December 2009. A history of Rome and a manual of verb conjugations are also among the upcoming additions.

Cornemuse

Her name literally means "bagpipes," and she is a veterinarian. She's also a dog. Cornemuse is the leading character in a delightful series produced by Téléfiction, in collaboration with the pediatric psychiatry team at Montreal's Hôpital Sainte-Justine. While to the child viewer its main focus is to teach and entertain, it is also about building a child's self-esteem. Cornemuse airs twice daily on Téléquebec.

Cornemuse is warm and maternal. She speaks directly to the viewer at times, often including them at the conclusion of discussions with the "enfanimaux" who come to visit her clinic. The show explores some aspect of animal life each time, but also teaches language arts, cultural diversity, and social skills. Costumes and makeup are absolutely breath taking! The young animals are amusing, both for parents and children. If you are a fan of the musical Cats, this show is a must-see!

Cornemuse is intended for children ages 3 - 5, but will easily hold the interest of older children too. There is a companion web site with games and activities for kids, and a parents area too.

Source:

"Critical period hypothesis" Wikipedia