It’s here! The Back to Homeschool Giveaway is officially LIVE! 🎉
*Kick off your school year with a chance to win 1 of 3 $200 gift cards to your favorite homeschool curriculum or supply store! Enter today—don’t wait!
After that, here's MORE help: Overcoming Obstacles:
I happened upon an old article of mine from 2012 that was incomplete. I have done MANY seminars, workshops, and even videos (before we had a youtube channel) about overcoming obstacles while homeschooling, and of course all about while while learning languages. But I have never spent time to finish out each point. Check out these top ten obstacles, and see how easy it is to apply my bullet point answer to overcoming the SAME obstacles in Homeschooling in General! Scroll to the bottom for the summary version.
TOP TEN Obstacles in Teaching Foreign Languages (or homeschooling in General!)
When it comes to foreign languages, many parents (homeschooling or not) feel stuck. They may feel fearful or even antagonistic toward learning a language other than English. A major contributor for these feelings is personal experience. Foreign Language lessons often contain dull drills, unclear grammatical explanations, and topics that are simply uninteresting. Therefore, the goal is to make sure our own children’s experience is different.
How? Read on.
Even if you are not fluent in a second language, you CAN learn and teach WITH your student. By leading the charge, you will be motivating your child in a way that has an immeasurable impact. So rather than getting bogged down with an endless list of what to DO, let's look at five common pitfalls that you will want to avoid. The goal is to NOT repeat the way we learned (or didn’t, as the case may be). How many of us can say, "I took two years of a foreign language in high school, but I can't remember a thing!" when referencing our own experience of learning a second language? So instead of focusing on what to DO (which may not be clear in your mind), let’s make sure we avoid what NOT TO DO.... from our own experience!
Obstacle 1: “Can I even do this?” (FEAR)
Fear is a huge de-motivator. The fear of the unknown can prompt questions like these:
“How do I pronounce that word?”
”How do I make best use of the textbook?”
“Will I sound weird?”
“How long will this take until I can actually SAY something?”
Choose your first few words carefully. A great start to learning a new language, (after “thank you” and “please”, of course) would be to memorize some funny adjectives -- words that crack you or your child up in English. You might choose words like “slimy”, “funny”, “stinky”, or even”ugly”. These words can be applied to SO many more situations than the nouns we routinely and traditionally learn. Humor dispels fear…Use it!
Obstacle 2: TIME We create this obstacle by thinking, "It’s not THAT important." Or with excuses like, "we’re not at home enough." Or even sort of setting ourselves up for failure by calling out past bad habits of chastising ourselves, "we’ll never stick with it anyway."
Overcome this IDEA of an obstacle (because it's not actually true) with choice: Decide to prioritize it with a specific reason like brain health, income increaser, college choice,
or maybe a mission field. You always have to eat, so practice at meal time. If you really think there's no time, because you're on the go so much, make “car time” foreign language time. Not at home? Well, decide to practice at the place you ARE the most! Choose a location trigger.
Obstacle 3: JUDGMENT
“Am I excited to learn this language?” (PRECONCEIVED IDEAS)
Are you interested in the culture of the people who speak the language you have chosen? Previous experiences heavily influence our ability to readily learn a language. Make sure you choose a language that will get you and your child excited!
Do you enjoy learning? Has your child ever heard you say, “I’m just no good at learning a language!” If so, you will need to prove yourself wrong. Start by learning ten words. SHOW them that playing with flash cards, labeling a picture, and sticking notes all over the house are great ways to learn. By making the effort to learn and demonstrate the process to your child, you will show them that ANYONE can do it, and that includes THEM!
Obstacle 4: “Do I HAVE to?” (BOREDOM)
Let's face it. Languages are made up of words. Words must be learned. There aren't any cool dissections, or neat battles to re-enact, no physics laws to be broken. That's the bad news.
The good news is all of THOSE things are made up of WORDS. If you find yourself or your child getting bored of learning just MORE words, you need a change.
Change what you're learning, how you're learning it, and even when you're learning the language. Find out the words they say the most (or YOU say the most) and say them in your new language.... Things like "pick up your jacket," and "great job" go a long way toward encouraging your child to learn a foreign language.
Obstacle 5: “Do I have the right tools to teach this language?” (CURRICULUM)
When thinking back to our own schooling experience, most of us would agree that textbooks weren’t overly successful at holding our attention or getting us motivated. If you or your child feels overwhelmed by a book, set it aside. TONS of resources exist today that can make learning more exciting:
You can use things as simple as the internet: google translate - just type in one word at a time. Dover created "homework helper" workbooks are available at many bookstores for minimal cost and of course we have iPhone, iPod, Android apps, as well as online games. Check out options like bilingual readers - bilingual, even - and of course there are foreign language section at the library.
At the same time, if a child is EXCITED about a particular curriculum, GO FOR IT! As long as we're not creating a roadblock to the language, we'll be moving forward in some way. THAT is the goal here.
Obstacle 6: “What was that again?” (CONFUSION)
Sometimes we get lost. What do we do? We go back a few steps until we recognize our surroundings. Languages are the same; when confusion sets in, it is best to go back to the point where we knew what in the world was going on.
Another great way to get back on track is to use flash cards. Just change it up. Put down the text book for a few days, and grab some flash cards. Have fun with memory, charades, and laying out funny sentences. Make your own flashcards…there are plenty of ways to learn new words! Choosing a second textbook or reference book is also a wonderful way to dispel any confusion. You may not need to change your curriculum; simply referencing another text may be exactly what you need to clarify the lesson for your child (and you!).
Obstacle 7: Accountability
Comparison exists for Math, Reading, Literature, Handwriting... but not foreign language... We often set ourselves up for failure by uttering things like: It’s not anything I ever needed to know… But you can overcome this in your own mind by post it to Facebook, or challenge friends to a “words list” (maybe bingo?) A REALLY fun way is to use it as a co-op class, or simply go to a
restaurant/deli/location where the language is spoken weekly.
Obstacle 8: Money.... It's not a bottomless pit, is it?
Here are some defeating thoughts: It costs $400 to learn it “right.” There’s too much to buy. Audio lessons are expensive, and something that's true, but not helpful... "You get what you pay for." Well, you CAN OVERCOME IT!
You likely have something on your shelf. USE IT. I mean, just take a peek? Flash cards are
SOMEthing ($10 or less.) - We have a set that's FREE on the site! And please, you can always BORROW or TRADE with a friend. Finally, have you checked out your local LIBRARY?
Obstacle 9: Lack of progress
Lack of Progress may be the hardest one to overcome. Likely another obstalce has gotten us here. We bought it, we committed, we DID it, we’re DOING it, and we still KNOW NOTHING! Or we have checked off some lessons, but, "I can’t ever call it to mind when I NEED it." And the silliest reason: My kids can’t translate. At all. (They can NOT translate! They're not capable yet. Can they COMMUNICATE? That's the question to ask!) So... How do we overcome this? Well, prove yourself wrong.
Ask some questions, get some answers - go back and find out what you DO know, and set up a situation to try and communicate. Basically, you need to practice it, and LEARN IT the way you intend to USE it--- not in front of a DVD, not in front of a computer. In front of a person - your family!
Please remember: Kid brains just can’t translate. ... Not until puberty. A REALLY fun way to check your progress is to watch a bit of a movie in the language. I'll bet you know more than you think you do.
Obstacle 10: Motivation - There's a whole BOOK on this - you can get it instantly on Kindle or on the FlipFlopSpanish website. The Key to Learning Anything
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Have you uttered any of these phrases?
~We just can’t get going. - ~I still just don’t know how to go about it.
- ~I’m just so frustrated.
- ~My kid wants to learn “Klingon” instead!
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Have you uttered any of these phrases?
Well, let's Overcome, and find your motivation!
Let your children set the tone...(also known as "de-schooling" or "unschooling"
Simply use only games for a month. (BINGO etc.)
Break it down your requirements, and set a VERY simple, achievable goal. Find out your WHY. And your child’s WHY. If you have a kid who wants a different language, you should first stick with YOUR language choice so they can “learn how to learn” before they tackle THEIR language choice. Or vice versa. And the number one way to motivate a child? Through their SNACK! Only respond to the foreign language at snack time.
All joking aside, keep it fun and light. If you have read my book, The Key to Learning Anything, you know that motivation is the main goal - find what motivates your student or yourself, and you will have found success! Learning languages is hard enough…no need to add to the pain! Give them the tools that they need: a happy attitude and an excited outlook on your new journey to bilingualism!
Obstacle 1: FEAR
Obstacle 2: TIME
Obstacle 3: JUDGMENT - PRECONCEIVED IDEAS
Obstacle 4: BOREDOM
Obstacle 5: WRONG CURRICULUM
Obstacle 6: CONFUSION
Obstacle 7: Accountability
Obstacle 8: Money
Obstacle 9: Lack of progress
Obstacle 10: Motivation
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Suzanne Gose is a homeschooling mother of five children, as well as a former public school teacher. She is the author of the Flip Flop Spanish Series and The Key to Learning Anything
Don't forget that you have a GREAT opportunity to really boost your back to school time - talk about overcoming obstacles - would $200 help at all?!!
It’s here! The Back to Homeschool Giveaway is officially LIVE! 🎉
*Kick off your school year with a chance to win 1 of 3 $200 gift cards to your favorite homeschool curriculum or supply store! Enter today—don’t wait!
- The 2025 Back To Homeschool Giveaway is hosted by Hope In The Chaos and will run from Friday, August 1, 2025, through Friday, August 8, 2025, at 11:59 pm EST. Entrants must be 18 years old or older and be a member of a current homeschooling family. Participating bloggers and members of their households are not eligible to win. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating blogs represented here. The winners will be drawn randomly via Rafflecopter and notified by email no later than August 11, 2025. They will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Unclaimed prizes will be forfeited. Hope In The Chaos reserves the right to draw new winners if a winner is found ineligible or if the winner forfeits their prize. Prizes are non-transferable. Void where prohibited.