About French Immersion Homeschooling
Hello and welcome to my blog.
Is French immersion homeschooling even a thing that people do?
I started this blog because it was very hard to find any information online about French immersion homeschooling, and I didn’t know anyone else doing it. This blog is meant to help others get started and encourage you to take the plunge and go for it!
French immersion homeschooling is different from regular francophone homeschooling because it implies that French is the student’s second language, and not the main language in their home or community. This means that a part of their schooling involves the acquisition of the French language. It also means that I will be writing this blog mostly in English, because, if you are like me, French may not be your first language. I wanted to start a space online for parents wanting to homeschool in French, but who may or may not be francophone themselves. Welcome!
My name is Leila (pronounced “lee-la”). I am Canadian and was born and raised in Alberta, now living in Nova Scotia. I have 6 children and we are a Roman Catholic homeschool family, and this blog will reflect those Catholic beliefs.
I did not know a word of French until grade 7, when I started French in school. French class seemed to be mostly learning the same 4 verbs (être, avoir, aller, faire) over and over, until grade 12 when we finally started learning some different things. So, I wasn’t exactly well-placed to become a French speaker, but I worked really hard at French throughout my university career and lived in France twice, once for 10 months and once for 8 months. I got my C1 level French certification according the Common European Framework of Reference.
I panicked a bit when I realized at some point that I could speak French, but hadn’t taught it to my children yet and had no idea how to begin!
Eventually I realized it would be easier to do all their homeschool in French rather than have a separate French class a few times a week for just an hour or less.
Thus was born the French immersion homeschooling project!
I was anxious about it in many ways. Is my French even good enough to teach my kids? What if they always speak with an accent? Will they not learn English? What if the whole thing is awful and blows up in my face?! Where do I even find resources to do this? After all, most French people don’t homeschool (it being illegal in France and all). There is not a plethora of curriculum options available like there is in English.
But hey, I thought, the French immersion schools here somehow find a way. It is not unusual in certain parts of the world for people to do their school in one language, but speak a different language at home and in their community.
In this blog I will share you with the resources I have used to homeschool my children in French.
I hope you will find it helpful!