subject: Teaching a Homeschooled Child to Speak French [print this page] With the increasing popularity of homeschooling, parents are having to increase their base of knowledge every day. Being a homeschooling parent means taking on a lot of responsibility. One of those responsibilities is providing an education that is well-rounded. Teaching your child to speak French can be of enormous benefit. This language is not something they'll only use when they're on vacation. In fact, because of the global nature of the business world and the Internet, there is more demand than ever for people who speak multiple languages in the workforce, and being one of them is a significant advantage.
Learning to speak French means learning an international lingua franca. French is vital to the business world. If you have a passport, you'll notice that it's written in English and in French, which should tell you something about how many nations use French in one official capacity or another. Throughout the world, there are over 80 nations that speak French as one of their primary languages. Even where it's not the native language, it's oftentimes the language that's used by people to communicate on a daily basis, especially for business and governmental uses.
In fact, English was once only a commoner's language in the nations that eventually developed that same language to its full fruition. The educated people in Europe at one time almost universally learned to speak French as it was a language of commerce and government. Its imprint is still indelibly found throughout English. Learning to speak French is a great way to understand English a bit better. Having some idea of where your native tongue comes from will also foster an appreciation for your own language that stems from knowledge of its origins and its history.
Teaching a homeschooled child to speak French can be done through many different materials, but there are some that make it a lot of fun for the child to learn. Consider materials that employ music and stories. These elements make it easier for the child to retain what they learn and make it a lot more fun to learn. Learning simple songs is one of the oldest ways to teach children new languages. In fact, you've probably already taught your child a lot of their own language by teaching them simple songs and, thus, you already have an idea of how effective it can be.
