Enjoy the opportunity to learn a foreign language—or two or three—as part of your homeschool with these suggestions from The Canadian Schoolhouse. Teaching a foreign language through geography can be fun and easy! If your foreign language goal is to learn French, then take the opportunity to improve your knowledge of Canadian geography through learning French.
Teaching a Foreign Language with the Library
At your library, you will find books, online resources, and more in other languages such as French, Spanish, German, and Korean. Ask a librarian for suggestions on finding the resources to help you and your family learn a foreign language.
Local Classes
Check with community centers, continuing education extensions, and other locations for foreign language classes in your area. The classes may be offered in-person, online, or as a hybrid offering, providing options for the class format that works best for your children.
Teaching a Foreign Langauge using SchoolhouseTeachers.com
Make sure to take a look at teaching a foreign lanuage with the courses offered at SchoolhouseTeachers.com including
- Spanish
- American Sign Language
- Korean
- Latin
- French
- Latvian
Audio is available to listen to and help with pronunciation, and lesson guides and plans are provided to assist with lesson planning.
Ideas to Include a Foreign Language in Your Homeschool
Here are some ideas and suggestions for teaching a foreign language in your homeschool.
- Learn Together: Take the time to learn a foreign language together as parents and children. Read books, watch videos, listen to tutorials, and take classes to improve your knowledge of another language.
- Include Family: If there are grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or other family members who speak, read, and write in a foreign language, see if it would work to learn with them. It would also be a chance to spend time with and get to know family members.
- Year-to-Year: Take time at the beginning or end of each school year to evaluate and decide on plans for foreign language study. Will you continue on to an intermediate or advanced course in the same language or begin studying a new foreign language?
- Start in Preschool: Use the Educator’s French Collection from Whistlefritz to teach your preschooler to second grader the French language through immersion.
Give one or all of the above a try in your homeschool to see what works best for your family.
French through Canadian Geography
There are many ways to teach and learn Canadian geography by learning French. Read through the ideas below for learning French and Canadian geography at the same time and maybe a bit of history, too!
French Names of Towns and Cities
Learn more about Canadian geography by finding French names of towns and cities in each province or territory. Some examples are
- Deroche, B.C.
(Source: Francophones of British Columbia | The Canadian Encyclopedia)
- Durieu, B.C.
(Source: Francophones of British Columbia | The Canadian Encyclopedia)
- Lac La Biche, AB
- Bellegarde, SK
- Gravelbourg, SK
- St. Isidore de Bellevue, SK
- Portage la Prairie, MB
- Sault Ste. Marie, ON
- Vallee-des-Rivieres, NB
There are many towns and cities across Canada with French names. Enjoy the time of getting to know Canadian geography by giving this a try. At the same time, you can learn a bit of local history by discovering the meanings behind the names of cities and towns, when and by whom the towns and cities were founded, and what their industry was in the past and what it is now.
Learn More about Quebec
The Canadian Schoolhouse has several articles to help you learn more about Canada’s French province, Quebec. Take a look at these resources.
- Teaching French Immersed in Québec—The Old Schoolhouse®
- The “Joie de Vivre” of Québec—The Old Schoolhouse®
- Visiting Quebec: Recommendations from a French Homeschool Mom—The Old Schoolhouse®
- Winter Traditions and Festivals Across Canada—The Old Schoolhouse®
SchoolhouseTeachers.com has this course available on Canadian geography:
Teaching a Foreign Language using Jobs or Careers Requiring French
For high school students beginning to consider careers, take the time to research jobs across Canada that require knowing how to speak, read, and write in French. Examples of jobs might be
- Working for the provincial or federal government
- Federal judge
- Teacher
- Translator
- Interpreter
- Tour guide
When researching jobs that require French, look into the specific educational requirements for French for each position. Some may ask for certain courses while others may provide training as part of the job or share a link to a class or organization through which to take French classes.
French is part of the provinces and territories across Canada. Improve your knowledge of Canada by learning French and Canadian geography at the same time. Enjoy the adventure of learning French and other foreign languages as part of your family’s homeschool journey.
HomeschoolingFinds.com Authors
This article has been written by homeschooling staff writers of The Canadian Schoolhouse (TCS) and HomeschoolingFinds.com.