need advice/book for a friend

[bailey]

I have a friend who is considering home schooling her two children who are now just 2 and 4 years old. The problem is that english is not her native language (she's been in the US for six years) and she doesn't feel confident to teach her children english grammar, history, etc. Part of her problem is a self confidence issue, but I know it would be helpful to her to know that others have been in similar situations and have chosen to home school. Does anyone have any BTDT advice or a book recommendation dealing with this issue?

 

Thanks,

bailey

[Pata]

I have a know someone who is homeschooling her dd that not a native english speaker. She has been here 10 years and still didn't feel comfortable teaching in English. I don't have any book advice, but she uses ALEKS. There are other curricula out there that provide DVD of english speaking teachers (like BJU and ABeka). Hope that helps!

[Colleen in NS]

I have a friend who is considering home schooling her two children who are now just 2 and 4 years old. The problem is that english is not her native language (she's been in the US for six years) and she doesn't feel confident to teach her children english grammar, history, etc. Part of her problem is a self confidence issue, but I know it would be helpful to her to know that others have been in similar situations and have chosen to home school. Does anyone have any BTDT advice or a book recommendation dealing with this issue?

 

Thanks,

bailey

 

Does your friend plan to make the U.S. her and her children's home for a long time (I was just wondering why she has to do the teaching in English - if she's making the U.S. her home, then I understand :))? I just met CleoQc from these boards last week, who lives in Quebec, Canada, and her family is French speaking, so we were talking about this very issue. Only it's a little different for her, she says it was hard to find books to teach with in French (which is what is spoken where she lives), that were what she wanted to teach. But you might want to pm her and ask.

 

Anyway, I'm also wondering why she'd have to teach history (science, etc.) in English - could she find texts written in her native language that she could use? Math? The only thing I could see needing to be in English would be an English grammar text (I'm assuming she wants to teach English to her kids??). Or even finding an English text, with the instructions written in her native language. I'm thinking that her learning English and her teaching English to her kids would be a separate subject (their foreign language subject, that they need for living in the States) from the other subjects. So if she was able to locate materials for now in her native language that would make homeschooling easier.......

 

I find this an interesting question! I hope someone else can chime in here! And that your friend can get some answers.

[Rosie_0801]

I don't see any reason why they shouldn't teach in their native language. Providing they all get out and about, they'll pick up English anyway. I would tell her not to worry too much about English grammar, and do only what she can deal with, or leave it for a few years when she's had the chance to learn a bit more herself. I don't know about your local schools, but here it's not uncommon for year 12s to be unable to tell you what a noun, verb and adjective are. Her children won't be barred from the workplace for not knowing that stuff! I think it would make more sense to cover her native language's grammar first. That way, they'll pick up the English grammar so much easier. They'll have learned most of it already, and just have to learn the English name for it.

Anyway, her children are so young she can spend lots of time doing read-alouds at whatever level she is comfortable. They'll all get something out of it. I don't think a lot of the problems she's concerned about will kick in for a few more years anyway, and that's a few years that she's had to learn more English herself.

Rosie

[bailey]

Thanks for all your thoughts on this. It does make sense that after learning spanish grammar, english grammar will be that much easier.

 

I think she is more concerned with the fact that she doesn't know any american history, not that she would have to teach it in english. And it concerns her that she doesn't really know what is taught in american schools in general.

 

Any more words of wisdom I can pass on to her would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[Starr]

She could start listening to American History cd's. I'm sure she'll enjoy learning with her children. Help her find library books. She'll probably know more than the rest of us soon.