The Homeschool Minute ~ Deborah Wuehler – Should I Teach a Foreign Language?

My 19 year old (who graduated our high school at 17) recently wanted to learn Haitian/Creole so took it upon herself to learn it on her own. Because she was raised in an environment of independence, she knows how to be self-taught and do the research needed for any subject of interest from Foreign Language to fixing her car. She was homeschooled.

My other children have learned Spanish, American Sign Language, Japanese, as well as a little bit of Latin, Greek & Hebrew. There were reasons for each language. My child who learned Spanish chose this language because we live in California with many Spanish speaking people and he felt it would benefit his future employment. American Sign Language was chosen by my son who is on his last year toward becoming a Deaf Interpreter. Two of my sons wanted to learn Japanese for possible future missionary opportunities. Two others would like to learn Russian because we have many Russian friends in our homeschool group. And we teach them all a little bit of Latin for English vocabulary help, and a little Greek and Hebrew for Biblical definitions.

There are multiple values to learning a foreign language in today’s world:

• Foreign missionaries (your child may someday be one)
• Foreign exchange students (you may host one or your child may be one)
• Military assignments in foreign countries (your family or your child may join the military)
• Sign Language is a foreign language (helpful in many settings, especially medicine and education.)
• The importance of Hebrew and Greek (excellent for Biblical studies!)
• The study of Latin (helps with root words, meanings, spelling, and all language learning)
• As a requirement for high school (many states require two years of a foreign language)
• Great to start teaching in middle school!
• Being bilingual is a plus for gaining employment worldwide
• Babies and young children pick up languages easily
• A child’s brain gains great strides when learning a language
• International adoption is a good reason to learn another language

There are a lot of curriculum choices to review and pray about. We have a product review section on foreign language products found here to help with decision making, and here’s an article

p style=”margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;”>You just never know where God will lead you or your child. Just take it one day at a time, one decision at a time, and know that God will give you all that you need for the journey.

Even the heavens and earth speak a glorious language! Do you hear it? It is heard in every tongue and declares the glory of God–teach your children this language before you teach any others:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:1-3

~Deborah

 dwuehler@theoldschoolhouse.com

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