This week on HSHSP Ep 101: How to Teach a World Language if You Don’t Know One.
HSHSP Ep 101: How to Teach a World Language if You Don’t Know One
What goes into a real homeschool high school World Language credit and how do you handle it if you don’t know one yourself?
World Language credits need 4 components:
- Reading
- Writing
- Listening
- Speaking
In many areas, homeschool highschoolers need 2 years of the same World Language. In some areas, they need 3 years of the same language. For highly competitive colleges, they may need 4 years.
Some World Languages that our local homeschool highschoolers have studied include:
- Spanish
- French
- German
- Russian
- Chinese
- Korean
- Japanese
- Latin
- Greek
- Gaelic
- American Sign Language
Check your colleges of interest to see if there is a language that they will not accept.
What are some good ways to for your homeschool highschoolers to learn World Languages?
- Often it is good to start with a textbook to get a handle on vocabulary, grammar and basic conversations. Check out the publishers’ websites for free resources to enhance the curriculum. For students who are self-directed, they can plug through on their own. Some students will need more help, so you will need to learn along with them.
- With immersion curriculum like Rosetta Stone, students can more often learn without much adult input. However, make sure you get the homeschool version or they won’t get the necessary grammar.
- Online courses, like those at Currclick.com, are a great way to let someone else take charge of the language for you.
- Co-ops and group classes are marvelous ideas because they allow for lots of interaction, conversations and fun.
Here are some valuable resources to add to curriculum (we are not affiliates with any of these):
- Duolinguo app
- Tiny Flashcards app
- Memrise app
- Babbel app
- Freerice.com vocabulary game
- Vocabulary games like good, old-fashioned Hangman
- Bible verse memorization (In groups you can have games to learn the verses: Fill in the blank competitions, chanting, recitation relays)
- Nursery rhyme memorization
- Childrens’ songs singalongs
- Reports on the countries (in English in years 1 and 2, in the language year 3 and 4). BEWARE: Google translate is not a good tool for writing papers in another language.
Because we are not shackled to a rule on how much curriculum to cover, in the group Language classes that Kym and Vicki have taught, we have generally covered 1/2 textbook each year and spent the rest of the necessary hours in conversation, writing, listening and interactive activities.
For homeschool highschoolers who need more than 2 years, years 3 and 4 should entail much more reading and writing.
- start with children’s story books in the language
- read lots of poetry in the language
- read classic familiar books in English and the chosen language (like The Little Prince or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
Checkout some other fun resources at Vicki’s World Languages Pinterest board.
Remember: Learning happens better if you’re having fun. There’s not one right way but there are many fun ways.
Join Kym and Vicki for a resource-filled discussion on covering a World Language when you don’t know one. In the meantime, enjoy these posts.
HSHSP Ep 101: How to Teach a World Language if You Don’t Know One
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