| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp |
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| about the book |
| The Homeschool Diner's Guide to Homeschooling by Subject Foreign Languages for Homeschoolers by Julie Shepherd knapp, copyright 2006 There are hundreds of foreign language textbooks, audio tapes, online courses, and dictionaries on the market. The problem is that most of them are created for adults and for tourists, and most of them assume an adult level of grammar knowledge. These materials can, of course, be used to teach homeschoolers, but they are very "dry" and much of the vocabulary will be related to conducting business, traveling, and socializing with adults. The good thing about these materials is that they are often discarded, and turn up quite frequently at thrift stores and yard sales. So, if you see a really good bargain on foreign language tapes, go for it! Just realize that you may want to combine it with other more kid-friendly resources. Homeschoolers have several options for kid-friendly foreign language instruction. Several School-at-Home curriculum suppliers offer foreign language resources at the high school level (listed below). Many distance learning programs offer courses at the middle school and high school level. Homeschoolers may also purchase textbooks (new or used) from school publishers. If you are looking for a software based curriculum here is the Top10Reviews.com comparisons of foreign language software for eight languages. There are many free online courses, too -- which can be a great way to "try out" a language before purchasing a formal course (or to learn an less-commonly taught language). There are also quite a few small publishers that offer foreign language resources geared toward homeschoolers. I have included a few that I am familiar with, but there are many others. If you don't find something you like here, do a Google search for the langauge plus the words "homeschool curriculum" and see what comes up. If you are looking for a program with a particular religious focus, add the name of the religion to your Google Search for homeschool foreign language curriculum. Consider participating in the North American Computational Linguistics Olympiad -- a competition (similar to popular math olympiads) involving finding and figuring out patterns in languages. Free Online Resources Literacy Center Education Network -- teaches young children colors, shapes, numbers, and letters in Spanish, French, English, and German Say "Hello" to the World by IPL KidSpace -- learn to say "Hello" and "My name is..." in many languges, links to resources included for each language Little Explorers Picture Dictionaries by Enchanted Learning -- free online picture dictionaries,printable coloring pages, stories in 8 languages BBC Languages -- free online language courses in French, Spanish, German , Italian, Chinese, Portugese, Greek, and more! Word2Word -- check this out! Links to free online language courses for over 120 languages, multiple links for some lanuages! Spanish Online and German Online -- high school level distance learning course from Oklahoma State University Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar -- free online transcription of a textbook, a careful revision of the 1888 edition Virtual School of Languages -- free online lessons in classical or biblical Latin the Easy Way -- free online intro to Latin New Latin Grammar, by Charles E. Bennett -- a free online e-book Fun Latin -- funny modern phrases translated into Latin Learning Greek -- free online lessons in Ancient Greek Learn to Read Greek -- quick intro to the letters Ancient Greek with Thrasymachus -- learn Ancient Greek thru a reading approach "... in which students acquire grammar and vocabulary in the context of continuous Greek passages with cultural value", includes the text of a work in Greek, "Thrasymachus", plus links to helpful resources, such as pronunciation recordings Reading Euclid in Greek -- teaches how to read ancient math texts Say it in Japanese by KidsWeb Japan -- free kid-friendly lessons Learn Japanese Numbers -- to a hip-hop beat, kid catch on quickly! Jonathan's Japanese Language Page -- links to free online resources Dakota Language Homepage -- learn Dakota beginning with an innovative sound color chart method Learning to Read Thai -- free online tutorials Curriculum and Textbooks Power Glide -- elementary, middle school, and (2-year) high school level courses in Spanish, French, German, and Latin, and ESL Spanish, uses a "diglot" method that weaves the new language into stories, music and activities, come with teacher/parent guides, activity book, CDs and a CD-ROM, flashcards sold separately, a nice review is available here Rosetta Stone -- teaches 30 languages thru interactive CD-ROM software, incorporates speech recognition for practicing pronunciation, a highly regarded program that uses an immersion method which teaches using real-life photos and native speakers, avalable as CD-ROM and thru online subscription (and for free thru some large public library systems), a great resource for teaching young children, some complaints I have heard: not enough formal grammar is taught, no conversational experience i gained, the vocabulary taught may not be particularly useful A Beka Foreign Language -- Christian-focused video courses teaching two years of high school Spanish and French, includes Bible verses to memorize Bob Jones University Press Foreign Languages -- Christian-focused resources for teaching three years of Spanish and French, workbooks, texts, teacher's texts, quizzes, CDs sold separately First Start French -- vocabulary, grammar, and translation for grades 3-8, includes student and teacher books, CD with native speakers and songs Mommy, Teach Me Spanish! by Fiesta Friends -- DVDs for teaching simple "household" Spanish to young children Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! -- teaches Biblical Greek (Koine) using seven levels of workbooks and readers, a reader, answer keys, flash cards, quiz/test book, and CDs sold separately Trivium Pursuit's Ancient Languages -- resources for teaching Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, often used in Classical Education Why Study Latin? -- a YouTube video about the advantages Minimus: Starting out in Latin -- a unique course designed for 7-10 year olds, provides an intro to the Latin language and the culture of Roman Britain, uses comic strips, stories and myths. Prima Latina -- an intro to Christian Latin for Grades K-3 Cambridge Latin Course -- a series of 5 texts plus online activities Lone Pine Classical School -- online Latin courses for grades 3-12 Wheelock's Latin -- old-fashioned, high-powered course in Latin, readers, workbooks, flash cards, CDs, also see this online Wheelock's study guide Galore Park Latin Prep -- traditional, rigorous curriculum from the UK Latin's Not So Tough! -- teaches Classical Latin using five levels of workbooks, answer keys, quiz/test book, flash cards, CDs sold separately Artes Latinae -- interactive computer-based program, can be used independently by some students, teaches from secular Latin texts Lively Latin -- aimed at grades 3 - 6, comes in 2 volumes, available in hard copy or as a printable download. Song School Latin -- text with weekly lessons, music CD, grades K-3rd Non-Traditional Languages Esperanto USA -- some free lessons and resources, also a course for sale Kurso de Esperanto -- free lessons in Esperanto, the universal language About American Sign Language (ASL) by the Deaf Resource Library -- advice and suggestions for learning ASL American Sign Language Fonts -- free downloads of fonts for typing signs American Sign Language Browser -- an online dictionary ASL for Elementary Math and Secondary Math by Needs Outreach Sign Language for Biology -- video of ASL signs for biology vocabulary "Sign, Baby, Sign! by Kristen Snodden -- why ASL is good for babies A Conversation With Koko -- all about the amazing signing gorrila, Koko Language Construction Kit -- for creating your own artificial language (for fantasy novels, games, etc) Other Resources Let's Learn Picture Dictionary Series by Passport Books -- illustrated dictionaries for children available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Japanese, each page shows a scene (such as the yard, the zoo, the kitchen, etc) and objects are named in both languages making it easy to quiz yourself, available thru major booksellers Multilingual Books -- order children's books, tapes and videos in Spanish, German, French, and Chinese Foreign Online Radio Stations -- tune in to news and music in 40 different languages, great for listening practice Foreign Newspapers Online -- links to online newspapers and journals in 40 foreign languages Linguistics in the News from the Linguistic Society of America Gene Moutoux's German Fairy Tales and Latin Stories -- get practice reading not-too-long stories in German and Latin A Love Song in Many Languages including Elvish! 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