Learning a Foreign Language with your Homeschooler

Learning a foreign language can be fun and exciting, but whether or not your homeschooler studies one is completely up to you. Here are a few ideas to consider as you make this decision, as well as a few resources to help.

Foreign Language Requirements for Schools and Jobs

While you do not need to study a foreign language to graduate high school in Pennsylvania, many colleges and universities have a foreign language requirement for admission. Predicting your child’s academic future can be a challenge. And, if college is a likelihood, think through the course studies needed to fulfill admission requirements, including any foreign language requirement.

As hard as it may be to predict your student’s academic future, you will also want to consider future career prospects. A second language—even just a basic understanding—can open doors in many fields. Often, social and ministry workers need foreign language abilities stronger than those of a global finance advisor.

Cultural Benefits

As most homeschooling families already know, there’s incredible value to knowledge far beyond any schooling requirements. So, even though Pennsylvania does not have a statewide foreign language requirement, learning a foreign language may be valuable to you and your student for cultural and personal reasons.

Perhaps you are part of a bilingual family or live in a community dense with another language. Maybe there are travel plans. Learning a foreign language can benefit your student (and you) with wider communication among neighbors, added ability to serve your community, and fuller enjoyment of foreign travel.

Secondary Benefits

Lastly, research suggests that learning a foreign language has many secondary benefits, ranging from increased standardized test scores to a delayed onset of dementia. You may add the choice to study a foreign language purely for the secondary benefits it can provide for your child’s cognitive and social abilities—and that’s okay, too!

Resources to Help

Take a listen to the Homeschool Legal Defense Fund’s podcast titled, “Tips for Teaching and Learning a Foreign Language,” for some good insight into teaching a foreign language at home.

Once you choose a foreign language—if you choose to—you can decide how you want your student to study. Free resources, like Duolingo, are easily available through an app on a tablet or smartphone. Meanwhile, companies, like Rosetta Stone, sell more formal curriculums.

And remember, you don’t have to wait until your student is in high school to start. Learning a new language generally comes easier at a young age. And one of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to introduce a foreign language at whatever age works best for your family.