Foreign language requirements can vary a great deal by state and school. Many high schools require one to two years of foreign language study; if more than one year is required, the same language often has to be taken every year to meet these requirements. As homeschoolers, you’ll need to check the requirements where you live, especially if your child is diploma-seeking. If your student is planning to attend college, you’ll also want to look into the foreign language requirements for incoming students at the universities to which he or she will be applying. Many homeschooled high school students may also decide to take an AP foreign language course or an AP foreign language exam.
When planning foreign language courses for your homeschooled high schooler, you’ll want to begin by thinking about which foreign language your student will study. Many incoming high school students will already have some foreign language experience and may want to continue learning a language they have already begun. If they are interested in trying a new language, ninth grade is an excellent time to start, as they will have up to four years to master their skills in that language if they so choose. Students following a classical homeschool model will already have some proficiency in Latin when they begin high school, so they may want to choose a foreign language that makes use of the skills they have already mastered (Romance languages in particular are easier to learn when one has a background in Latin). Homeschooled students may also decide to begin or continue studying Latin in high school; be sure, however, to check into your local foreign language requirements (and those of the colleges your student will be applying) because Latin is not always accepted for foreign language requirements.
Some of the most popular foreign languages studied in high school are Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, American Sign Language, Italian, and Japanese. Depending on their interests, some students will choose to learn less-commonly studied languages such as Russian, Arabic, Korean, or Portuguese. When your high schooler is trying to choose which foreign language to study, remind him or her that foreign languages embody more than just words; diverse elements of foreign culture (from history and politics to literature, music, art, and cuisine) will necessarily form part of the language study. Encourage her, therefore, to choose a language that represents a culture that she is interested in further understanding.
There are many excellent homeschool curriculum options and supplementary resources for high school foreign language study. If you have any questions or would like to know more about a particular topic, please email us!