Did you know? Less than 1 percent of American adults today are proficient in the foreign language they studied in a US classroom. You can do a lot better, using any curriculum or none at all...even if you don't speak a foreign language. American parents want to help their kids speak a foreign language. Why are so few successful? American parents rely on the same school-based methods that don't result in fluency, and self-teaching has become a lost art. It's enough to make any parent feel: Confusion Worry Self-doubt Frustration But whether you homeschool, or just homeschool foreign language, you can be successful. You can learn how to replicate a bilingual environment in your home, even if you don't speak a foreign language. Learn how to teach your children valuable study skills that help in all subject areas. The Homeschool Path to Foreign Language gives you research, details, and specific guidance to use the resources available to you in an effective way. Section 1 of this book consists of Chapters 1-7. These chapters discuss research on language acquisition and the implications it has on how we can do a better job of teaching our children a foreign language at home. Section 2 of this book consists of Chapters 8-12. These chapters show you how to plan effective lessons and choose your curriculum and supplements. Section 3 of this book consists of Chapter 13. This chapter helps you continue to make progress as your child reaches the intermediate stage, which is a stage where many students stall. The last chapter in the book, Chapter 14, is intended to encourage you and inform you about what you might see through the years as your children study a foreign language. The Homeschool Path to Foreign Language can help you: Discover how to define your foreign language learning goals; Choose a foreign language to study; Learn strategies to teach a foreign language to your children; Learn strategies for self-study; Choose a foreign language curriculum and supplements; Decide when to start teaching a foreign language; Discover how to use your resources to structure effective daily lessons; Create a "bilingual environment" that supports language learning; Use natural ways to encourage your children as their abilities increase; Learn how to provide immersion when you don't know any native speakers; Push further from an intermediate-advanced level of learning into proficiency; Learn how to naturally maintain proficiency in a language.
The Homeschool Path to Foreign Language
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Author Description
Lisa Yankey's kindergarten teacher predicted she would grow up to be a criminal. Her high school career counselor told her to become a mortician. Instead, she ended up getting paid to watch paint dry. Then she became a public-school teacher. In contrast to the world of paint, teaching six-year-olds turned out to involve significantly more bodily fluids than she had envisioned. Lisa began law school with the goal of advocating for educational reform but graduated and found her niche at a non-for-profit clinic practicing immigration law. Lisa began homeschooling shortly after her oldest child had a disastrous start to public school first grade, and she has never looked back. When her oldest child told her he wanted to study Chinese, she agreed to let him try it. He was six. She thought he wouldn't last a semester. But, to her surprise, he did well! She and her husband have backgrounds in foreign languages, including proficiency in foreign languages other than Chinese, but they couldn't find guidance on how to help their children learn a language they didn't speak. They researched successful methods and used their own skills and experiences to find ways to help their children enjoy learning foreign languages. Years passed and Lisa was asked over and over, "How are your children learning a language you don't speak?" Lisa wrote down her answers, did a lot more research, and finally became the author of "The Homeschool Path to Foreign Language." Lisa still loves immigration law, and kept her career as a part-time attorney. She gets to advocate for educational reform through homeschool avenues. Lisa resides in Indiana with her husband, three children, two dogs, and a cat.