Active Learning: A Powerful Approach to Engaging Your Homeschooled Child in Foreign Language Learning

A quick online search for “active learning” will return hundreds of research papers, books, articles, blog posts, and videos. Most universities and school districts dedicate a section of their website to explain the concept, strategies, and benefits of active learning.

So, what is active learning? Well, the term gives us the basic ideas behind the concept. First, it is a method of learning. It defines the roles of the teacher and the student in relation to the subject matter. The student doesn’t passively listen to a lecture but plays an active role in the learning process. In other words, the students learn by doing.

Active Learning in Homeschooling

I cannot think of a better environment than homeschooling to use active learning as the tool of choice. Since active learning thrives on participation, engagement, and critical thinking, every homeschool student can freely choose what works best for him or her. In contrast, a classroom environment dictates the level of a student’s involvement.

Active Learning and Languages

Where “learning by doing” especially shines is in subjects that are skill-based. With foreign languages, students start dealing with new sounds, words, and ways of saying things (syntax) that present a challenge. Much research has been done to improve the way languages are taught in schools and universities. But what about a homeschooler who is at home trying to learn Spanish, French, or Chinese by himself? What strategies can this homeschooler adopt that would help him learn this new skill?

Challenges of Learning a Language at Home

The greatest challenge in language learning is the social aspect. Students need to hear the language and be able to practice what they have learned. Grammar and vocabulary can be learned easily. So, what can be done to help a homeschool student learn a language?

Input is king

Homeschooling mothers are naturally gifted to teach language. When they first become mothers, they are the ones transmitting their language to their newborns. Mothers instinctively adjust their language to communicate with their child. Researchers call this level of communication “motherese” or “baby talk.” For the first two years of a child’s life, the mother does virtually all the talking. The child is just listening over 90% of the time. In other words, the child is given lots of language input before he or she ever produces his or her first sentence. This natural process cannot be rushed.

Build vocabulary first

Second language acquisition borrows strategies from first language acquisition. The process is very similar. Think back at how you taught your children your language. First, you started building their vocabulary one word at a time. “Mommy” and “daddy” were the first utterances you taught. Although your student is older, the principle is the same.

Where Do I Start?

Always start with the immediate or surrounding environment of the child.

• Start with family members. I will use Spanish as an example. Teach papá, mamá, hermano, hermana, abuelo/a, tío/a, and so on. Start simple and build up to extended family.

• Add names to the family relationships: tío John (uncle John), abuela Martha (grandma Martha), tía Jenny (aunt Jenny), and primo Nathan (cousin Nathan). The more your student practices names this way, the easier it is to learn them.

• Then, move on to your house. Have your student create signs with the Spanish names of rooms and put a sign on each room’s door. For example, you might have habitación (bedroom), cocina (kitchen), comedor (dining room), sala (living room), baño (bathroom), and garaje (garage). By physically moving around the house to place and read labels, your child is engaging multiple senses and actively interacting with the language, rather than passively seeing words on a page.

• Choose different environments and repeat the process. For example, move on to school, church, library, or sports facilities.

• Ask the student to choose a domain he or she is interested in and have him or her learn the vocabulary in that domain.

This is an active learning strategy because your child isn’t just memorizing words — they’re labeling real people and things in their own life and interacting with that vocabulary in context.

Go from general to specific

Once the child knows the names of the rooms in the house, target what is inside of each room.

• For example, take his or her bedroom and start by naming each item inside it. For example, teach “cama” (bed), “mesita de noche” (nightstand), “armario” (closet), and “lámpara” (night lamp).

• Have the child create signs and post them on each item. Don’t worry; it’ll be only for a week or two.

• Repeat the process for the kitchen, the bathroom, living room, and so on. Do one room at a time.

Use vocabulary

Ask the child to use the names of family members or the rooms in Spanish in normal conversations. Have your child say things like, “I am going to call abuela Martha,” “say hola to tía Jenny,” or “May I go to the baño?” This will sound odd at first, but trust me, we (Spanish speakers who live in the U.S.) do it all the time. We call it “Spanglish,” and it can be a lot of fun! These quick, everyday language insertions are a classic active learning method — they integrate new words into real actions, reinforcing them through authentic use.

Learn short sentences

Best practices recommend memorizing short sentences for specific tasks—known as language functions. Practicing these sentences through situational conversations is a hands-on active learning technique — it simulates real-world interactions so the language becomes useful immediately.

• Students memorize how to introduce themselves to someone: Hola, me llamo Tom.

• Students learn to ask someone for his or her name: ¿Cómo se llama usted?

• Students move on to other language functions, such as asking where places are. For example, ¿dónde está el baño? or ¿dónde está la cocina?

• If you have access to a native speaker, ask this person to help with pronunciation.

Build more complex sentences

Verbs are at the heart of sentences, and they come in two types: connecting verbs and action verbs.

• Connecting verbs do not describe actions. They describe people or what they do, among other things. Verb ser (to be) is the first verb to concentrate on. For example, soy alto (I am tall), primo Nathan es estudiante (Cousin Nathan is a student).

• With connecting verbs, you will need two things: a person or thing and an adjective.

• First, start with adjectives to describe people’s physical description: alto (tall), fuerte (strong). Then, follow with adjectives for non-physical characteristics: simpático (nice), inteligente (intelligent).

• When describing things, use other types of adjectives such as size (grande, pequeño), shapes (redondo, cuadrado), and colors (rojo, verde).

• Use cognates to your advantage. Cognates are words that you can recognize and have the same meaning in Spanish and English. Many adjectives are cognates. For example, activo, atlético, extrovertido, inteligente, and romántico. But be careful with false cognates. These Spanish words look like English words but have a different meaning. When in doubt, double-check before using the word.

• Action verbs help you to talk about actions, activities, and events. For example, Mis padres viven en Texas (My parents live in Texas), mi padre trabaja en la oficina (My father works in the office), or juego al fútbol los sábados (I play soccer on Saturdays).

Here is where active learning can be implemented by having the students choose what they want to talk about. By choosing their own subjects and actions for these verbs, your student is not just repeating examples — they’re creating new meaning, which is the core of active learning.

Other Resources

Here are a few tools for further developing language skills.

• Students can read and listen to stories in Spanish that are familiar to them. This method facilitates comprehension.

• Social media has plenty of native speakers sharing their experiences or talking about subjects, hobbies, or activities that may be of interest to the student.

• With the explosion of AI, the possibilities for language acquisition grow exponentially.

Final Thoughts

Learning a language is a very rewarding endeavor, but it cannot be rushed. It is a long commitment. Remember, it took several years before your newborn child was able to produce meaningful conversations. The same is true of learning a second language. Be patient and consistent, and build one skill at a time. Learning a language is easier than ever, and the resources available to homeschool students are many. Consider using BJU Press Homeschool foreign language resources. With a little creativity, your student has the tools to become proficient in any language.