charlotte mason foreign language lessons Archives

I've had many attempts at learning French, my foreign language of choice. In elementary school, my dad encouraged me to use CD Roms and listening CD's (those were the days!) As I got older, I studied French in high school and college. Beyond college, I decided to keep learning through online programs, real-life meet-ups, and travel. All of these different experiences have led me to one conclusion: most of these learning attempts, except for the real-life experiences, were pretty much meaningless. You might think that I'm fluent in the language. You would be wrong.

When Miss H started showing an interest in learning French, I paid close attention to Charlotte Mason's approach to language instruction. In this series of posts, I'm only looking into her recommendations in her first volume, Home Education. You can find the rest of the series here.

Those meaningful experiences I mentioned above were made meaningful for one reason: learning real-life words was interesting. In the classroom, I learned French grammar, first and foremost. Charlotte Mason said that learning a foreign language should be like learning a first language. When your precious little one learned to speak, grammar was not your top concern. You said words like, "Daddy!" and "Hot!" repeatedly. I imagine that you did not have your young child repeat the verb conjugation of "to be." Yet, this is how foreign languages are often taught.

Learning a Foreign Language

"French should be acquired as English is, not as a grammar, but as a living speech." Home Education, page 300

"Again, the child's vocabulary should increase steadily, say at the rate of half a dozen words a day. Think of fifteen hundred words in a year!" Home Education, page 301

In order to learn a foreign language, it should be integrated into a child's daily life. This poses a challenge for modern moms like me, who only speak one language! Charlotte Mason knew that this was likely, and, in Home Education, described the Gouin series method of learning a language.

In this method, a series of phrases is taught, both in English and in French (or the language of choice!) There are often actions to go with the phrases, to solidify understanding in both languages. Through this approach, grammar is also taught, although it's in order to articulate a thought instead of to practice conjugation.

There are several versions of Gouin's Series available. I haven't used these resources, but there is Cherrydale Press and The ULAT. But personally, I chose a different version of these, Talkbox Mom.

Foreign Language Curriculum: Talkbox Mom

I chose Talkbox Mom as our French "curriculum" for several reasons. The first is that it's not really a curriculum. It's a series of charts, cards, and audio files so that you can integrate foreign language into your day. The first box starts out in the kitchen, and contains full phrases to use while you share meals with your children. I often allow Miss H to practice with the audio files while I'm busy taking care of her brothers.

I also like that I am involved in it. I didn't want to turn her loose on a computer program and not know what she was learning. This way, I am brushing off that dusty French as she's learning, by practicing the phrases and incorporating them in our everyday lives.

You can use my referral code REFVH6Y7G4ITQ for $15 off of your first box.

Charlotte Mason recommended that mothers be very intentional about foreign language lessons during the early years. She believed, and modern research confirms, that young children can more easily learn languages than older children and adults. Research also shows that babies who learn more than one language have cognitive benefits. During the early years, Charlotte Mason recommended daily language lessons. If you aren’t bilingual, that’s okay! There are many modern day resources to help.

Charlotte Mason’s Foreign Language Lessons for the Early Years

The daily French lesson is that which should not be omitted. The children should learn French orally, by listening to and repeating French words and phrases; that they should begin so young that the difference of accent does not strike them, but they repeat the new French word all the same as if it were English and use it as freely; that they should learn a few–two or three, five or six– new French words daily, and that, at the same time, the old words should be kept in use–are points to be considered more fully hereafter…” Home Education, page 80

From this passage, we see several recommendations for Charlotte Mason foreign language lessons:

Start at an Early Age

While she doesn’t name a specific age here, we know that babies who are raised in bilingual homes can speak two languages as soon as they are able to talk. As children’s tongues are trained in the habits of their own language, it becomes more difficult to retrain these habits as they get older. I notice this with my children. Miss H, five, has a more difficult time mastering the pronunciation of French Phrases than my son, two. Whilst learning languages does become harder as you become older, due to your sponge like brain no longer being so absorbent, it can still be done. One of these ways is to go an immerse yourself in the culture and language. To do this you may like to join the Cultural Care Au Pair programme due to an emphasis on embracing the language.

Learn Several New Words Daily

The exact number is flexible, per Charlotte Mason’s suggestions, but acquiring several new words a day is possible and meaningful. As we will see in a bit, she recommended to start with nouns, so if you are not bilingual, this makes it a little easier for you, as well! Check out these 5 reasons to learn English if you’re still unsure of what language you want your children, or yourself, to learn!

Review

Spend time reviewing past words as well. Teaching words without really mastering them is wasted time. This is where writing down the words we’re learning, or using a book, are helpful for me.

My little nature-lover, learning the French words for tree, trunk, and the sun.

The What, When, and Where of Language Lessons

…in the meantime, it is so important to keep tongue and ear familiar with French vocables, that not a lesson should be omitted. The French lesson may, however, be made to fit in with spirit of the other out-of-door occupations; the half-dozen words may be the parts– leaves, branches, bark, trunk of the tree, or the colors of the flowers, or the movements of bird, cloud, lamb, child; in fact, the new French words should be but another form of expression for the ideas that for the time fill the child’s mind.” Home Education, pages 80-81

Every Day

As she mentioned twice in this passage, these should foreign language lessons should happen every day!

Outside

These lessons are beneficial in, but not limited to, the outdoors. Since so much of the early years are spent outside, you can add in language lessons without taking another chunk of time out of your day.

Ideas

Make a list of words in your language of choice, and head outside, identifying different things that your child is getting familiar with. If you’re teaching your child French, I have a free downloadable list of French nature words in the free Subscriber Library! (You can read more about it below!)

What Language Should You Teach?

Charlotte Mason recommended French, but in a different time and (if you’re) on a different continent, then maybe another language would be more meaningful. Many Charlotte Mason families choose to teach their children Spanish. I personally chose to teach my children French at this point because I know a little bit of French. I know zero Spanish. It was easier for me to review French with my children than having to learn an entirely new language! Since it’s a Latin-based language, I hope that learning French at a young age will help them be able to pick up Spanish easily later on. This article from Simple Charlotte Mason describes Charlotte Mason’s foreign language lessons are approached later on (even Latin!)

What If You Don’t Know a Language?

This is my dilemma. I am not great at any languages, but the beauty of Charlotte Mason’s method is that we get to learn with our children. Start learning! Get a language learning app like Duo Lingo and study up. Look over words that you want to teach ahead of time, and get familiar with how they are pronounced. If you’re really dedicated or just want to learn for yourself as well as with your kids, invest in a private tutor who can deliver quality lessons that you learn a lot from, such as these Spanish lessons. A wise mom in the Charlotte Mason Early Learning Facebook group mentioned that she records the pronunciation of Spanish words on an app on her phone, so that when she’s outside, she can correctly say each one.

Subscriber Library Free List

In case you’re also planning on teaching your child or children French, I made a list of French nature words to share with you. There are 99 words here, so that should give you enough words for almost 30 days of language lessons with your little one! Although I’m not fluent in French, these were checked by a native French speaker (thank you, Friend!) This list is in the free My Little Robins subscriber library.

Another great resource is TalkBox Mom. It gives us phrases to practice in our everyday life, so children can learn French like a native! You can use the code REFVH6Y7G4ITQ for $15 off of your first box.

Learning a Foreign Language Like A Native

Learning a Foreign Language

Foreign Language Curriculum: Talkbox Mom

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Charlotte Mason Foreign Language Lessons for the Early Years