“Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side.” – The Emperor, Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi
Ah, foreign languages. Homeschooling parents tend to put a lot of thought into foreign languages. And for good reason, I must say. To function and succeed in the larger world, the ability to speak, read, write, and ultimately to learn to think in a foreign language will be paramount.
One of the hidden benefits of learning a foreign language, many homeschooling parents learn along the way, is that it makes the understanding of one’s native language stronger as well. A firm grasp of the grammar terms - article, preposition, appositive, participle, helping verb, etc. – becomes much more than simply an annoying thing to memorize for Friday’s test when a kid realizes that they actually have to be incorporated into the real-time manipulation of words in a foreign language.
Homeschooling message boards, cooperative groups, blogs and resource societies, therefore, are often hives of activity with questions, comments, referrals and recommendations regarding foreign language selection and materials. From the basic to the devilishly obscure, homeschoolers have no end of questions when it comes to helping their children learn a foreign language efficiently and well.
- “What language will be most useful?”
- “Can my child learn Chinese without access to a native speaker?”
- “Where have you found online materials for Latin and Spanish?”
- “Why did you pick Polish?”
- “Should more than one language be attempted at a time?”
- “Who else is learning German?”
- “Should reading and writing a foreign language come in conjunction with speaking and listening or afterwards?”
- “Has anyone else used Rosetta Stone? What are its strengths and weaknesses?”
Sometimes more difficult situations arise, such as “My daughter hates French and wants to learn Hindu instead. I want her to continue in French, should I reconsider?” It’s always interesting and informative to hear what other people think, even in situations that don’t seem to have any direct impact on my immediate life or our own homeschooling situation – especially those opinions that are so different from my own.
What’s that? You want to know what I think about this particular situation? Well, I firmly believe that any language that a child wants to learn should be a language that they have the opportunity to learn. French isn’t going away. Her daughter could always learn it later, should she choose to or need to, but to remove a desired language because it’s not “practical” is like removing all your pretty shoes from the closet because they’re not “sensible”. *shudder*
So… I’m 415 words into this post and I still haven’t addressed the title or the quote. What gives? Well, Mama Lynx, at One-Sixteenth, has run into a most peculiar situation when attempting to help her children learn Spanish. A real snag. A dastardly plot. Some might even call it a diabolical force that appears intent on destroying her most fervent hope of raising Spanish-speaking children!
It seems her children have… a wicked funny sense of humor.
