Monday, January 28, 2013

Starting your homeschoolers on a foreign language

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                                           My middle daughter, enjoying her first trip to France...

 Have you thought about starting your kids (or yourself) on a foreign language but the task seemed daunting?Today I am excited to share with you a guest post that I know you are going to love that shares some great tips on doing just that. Our guest blogger today is Craig Froman. Craig  grew up in Northern California. A curriculum writer and editor at New Leaf Publishing Group, he has obtained a bachelor of arts in business administration, and a master’s degree in education, and currently resides in Berryville, Arkansas. Feel free to connect with him on Facebook, Twitter  or his blog "What in the Word" at http://www.whatintheword.com. 


Discovering the wonders of new languages and cultures!


Language is truly amazing; taking sounds or symbols to communicate ideas, feelings, and even the fragrance of pumpkin pie with a hint of cinnamon in winter. Now that sounds good!


There is certainly more to languages and cultures than meets the eye. The more you know the more understanding you have for other people, both in your neighborhood and around the world. And the more we learn about one another, the smaller the world feels.


We all share joys and sorrows, and the ability to communicate these through language, whether that is in Azerbaijani or Zulu. So if language fascinates you and you and your family want to study the Abaza alphabet, or learn useful phrases in Icelandic, or maybe just discover tips on languages, country names, or cultures, here are a few places you can start your lifelong journey!


I love the library, so I often begin there with searches. Most will have language-learning tools, including language dictionaries, audio books, and computer courses such as the renowned Rosetta Stone language tools. One reason I start at the library is that you can test the materials to see what works best for you and your family before investing your own hard-earned dollars. Many libraries have Spanish, French, and other language books or magazines that can help you as you develop your reading skills. For beginners in a new language, children’s books in that language can be the best place to start.


Also, the internet is filled with free resources, which include audio and video resources to aid in pronunciation. One central site I love to visit because it’s just so comprehensive is Omniglot. It’s an encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, with details of more than 180 writing systems and information on over 600 languages.


http://omniglot.com/

In discovering the wonders of different languages and cultures for my son and daughter when homeschooling several books were good enough to buy for our home library. These include Children Just Like Me: A Unique Celebration of Children Around the World , Children Just Like Me: Celebrations! (festivals, carnivals, and feast days from around the world), and the Find Out About Series that includes France , Italy, Spain, and China. The Find Out About Series is best for elementary age children, and helps the reader learn words in the native language, as well as the lifestyle, history, and culture of the people. These are reasonable and very practical introductions!

Take just a little time each day to learn to say “hello” or “thank you” in a different language, or have a foreign exchange student over, or share a meal with your family that has a far-off flavor. Enjoy the diversity of the world around you. Until next time… Au revoir, auf wiedersehen, sayonara,gule gule… or simply goodbye for now.

 Thanks to Craig for sharing this great post with us and for more help with foreign language study in your home or homeschool, check out my travel/language blog, Katie's Language Cafe!

Craig Froman is assistant editor at New Leaf Publishing Group. He is author of the award-winning book Passport to the World: Your A to Z Guided Language Tour and the upcoming Children’s Atlas of God’s World (both from Master Books).


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4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the ideas! I'm a former homeschooler turned French teacher thanks to another homeschooling mom who was fluent and who offered French classes to other homeschoolers. It's the only way that I learned it as well as I did. Foreign languages are really hard for homeschoolers to do well...language is so social and if you aren't interacting with others in that language, it may not really stick as well as simply using Rosetta Stone or a textbook. I would recommend asking around to find a native speaker who would be willing to help with conversation or actual classes.

    Elizabeth@Warrior Wives
    www.thewarriorwives.com

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  2. I want to share with you a new online resource to teach homeschoolers foreign language for free. This site is ideal for kids in middle school and high school. It teaches Spanish, Chinese, Dutch, German, French and Portuguese in an interactive manner. The best part is the games, talk-o-matic and activities. I have been teaching Spanish for 23 years and this is the best resource I have ever found. The site is http://lingohut.com

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  4. When I was a kid, I used to learn a new language through books, which has now been replaced by the e-books. However, text books still plays key role in reviving the knowledge as they will never go offline.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment and being a part of our amazing community here! I reply as time allows. Thanks for being understanding! ~~Katie

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