How do I Teach English to my Child When it is Not my Native Language?

Answers to homeschooling questions.

Sometimes there is too much emphasis on the “home” aspect of homeschooling. Generally, homeschoolers treat the home as a base to leave from each day and return to in the evening for a reset before heading out to do it all again tomorrow.

If you live in a location where English is the primary language spoken in shops, libraries, museums, etc, then all you have to do is go out. Immerse yourselves in the language and culture that is surrounding you.

Have you searched for and found local homeschooling groups to join and attend their meet-ups? This is a place to start building connections for you and your daughter.

At the library, check out books reflecting a wide range of interests and reading levels. Again, immersion is the tool you are using. Pick up a book with an audio version available so your daughter can follow along in the book.

There is no one way to learn languages but there are many ways to offer opportunities. Be creative.

Homeschooling is a different style of learning from classroom teaching

In the classroom, knowledge is held by the teacher who passes it along to the students through textbooks, lectures, films, and other tools.

In homeschooling, knowledge is out in the world for our children to seek out and add to what they already know. Our role as homeschooling parents is to support, encourage, and facilitate our children’s learning.

We don’t hold all the knowledge behind a closed door and transfer it to our children when we deem it appropriate but instead encourage them to seek out what they are interested in through books, films, videos, excursions, and experiences.

There is a shift of power and control in homeschooling families away from the adults and toward the children. Our job is to support their learning rather than controlling it through our teaching.

We don’t have to already know everything before our children can learn it. Their learning is independent of ours. Our role is to facilitate their learning and to help them find the resources that answer their questions and curiosities.

Deschooling is the term used to describe that shift of mindset

When parents who attended school begin homeschooling their children, they often purchase textbook curricula and set up a daily schedule that looks a lot like a school day in the classroom. This is because on day one, what they experienced in the classroom is all they know about how to educate their children.

But over time, there is normally a transition to a less structured and more respectful to children’s autonomy style of child-led learning.

The period of time over which this happens is deschooling. It is parents opening up their minds to the wide range of opportunities for learning that their children have now they are not sitting in an adult-led classroom.

Homeschooling is as much of a journey in learning for the parents as it is for the children. It is a lifestyle choice for the whole family to enjoy and take part in.

What questions do you have about homeschooling? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll answer them in a future article.

Previous article: Organise a Smashing Homeschooling (Learning) Co-op

Next article: Deschooling Isn’t Doing Nothing