Homeschooling French As a Second Language - Using a Dictionary to Build Vocabulary

When you have access to a good quality, comprehensive, French-English dictionary, you open up a world of possibilities to your French as a Second Language students. Vocabulary building is an important part of language learning, and having a good dictionary makes it easy and fun.

What dictionary should you buy? I highly recommend investing in the biggest and best one you can afford. Small paperback and pocket dictionaries just don't have all the information you will need. A larger version, on the other hand, will contain conjugations, grammar, word histories, examples of world usage, and even sample letters and phrases to help you in conversation and composition.

Having a comprehensive dictionary allows you to build your French lessons based on other topics that you may be studying. If you are studying the continents of the world, for example, you can look them up and label them on your map in both French and English.

As you work through your history or science lessons, you can also do themed projects in French, such as booklets, posters, and oral presentations using the vocabulary of the specific areas you are working on. You might assign, for example, a poster on the mammals of North America. Your students can label their projects in English and French to double up on the learning potential.

One favorite project, when I taught my middle school classes, was always a restaurant menu. In our unit on food, students would make themed menus, designing colorful covers, inventing interesting restaurant names, and listing off the various meats, vegetables, beverages, and other foods they were learning about. Some students chose a sports theme, some a garden theme, etc. As a follow-up we would use the menus to act out a visit to the restaurant.

Having a comprehensive dictionary allows you to follow areas of interest to your children such as soccer, basketball, animals, cooking, etc. For a few years, I taught a group of homeschooled boys in my home once a week. One of our projects was learning about hockey equipment. I brought out my son's smelly hockey gear and spread it around my kitchen and we named each piece. Then the boys drew pictures of hockey players, labelling their equipment. It was great fun, and the boys were motivated because it was a topic they were interested in.

Are you planning your vegetable garden for next spring? Map out where you will plant your beans, tomatoes, etc. and label it in French. Do you feed the birds in your backyard? Make a checklist in French of birds that are common to your area and check off each bird as you see it. Are you making a fun dessert for the family? Find the recipe in French and see if it tastes just as good!

With a comprehensive French-English dictionary, you can make French a relevant and fun part of your homeschool curriculum.

If you are interested in adding French as a Second Language to your homeschool, or are looking for teaching aids for your French classroom, take advantage of the free resources available at http://nallenart.org/. Norma Allen is a veteran homeschooler and curriculum writer who has also taught French either in the classroom or online for over 25 years.

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Second Language Studies - The Importance of a Good Dictionary

For most of today's school-age children, the internet has become the go-to reference place for facts and definitions. However, there is still much to be said for an old-fashioned, bound paper dictionary, especially for learning a second language.

While there are several internet translators available, these are generally unreliable. Language is so full of idioms which are difficult to translate! For example, one of my French students handed in a composition that made "I'll be right back" sound like the equivalent of "I'll be left front." His translation, while word for word and literal, made no sense at all. This is less likely to happen if you own a good dictionary that gives examples of word usage.

What is a good dictionary?

If, say, you are at all serious about learning French, or teaching French in your home school, you will need to invest in a good French-English dictionary. From an experienced teacher and life-long learner, my advice is not to settle for less than 100,000 words. A dictionary of this size will have all you will ever need, including complete pronunciation guides, grammar, and conjugations.

I have seen the frustration experienced by my students in the classroom as they tried to use pocket dictionaries that didn't have the words they were looking for. It is better to invest early in a dictionary that will serve your needs for years as you progress in your studies.

Warning! A comprehensive dictionary will include the "bad" words as well as the good ones. This is only a good thing as you should also learn what not to say when you learn a new language! My giant Collins-Robert French-English Dictionary, for example, uses icons to mark informal expressions, slang expressions that should be handled with care, and dangerous words that are liable to cause offense and should be avoided at all times. This is very valuable, as sometimes a seemingly innocent phrase can have an inappropriate meaning in a certain context.

Won't my dictionary go out of date?

But what if my dictionary goes out of date? It is true that languages are changing all the time. The explosion of technology in my lifetime alone has added many new words to my everyday vocabulary. Even just having a discussion with someone who works in a different field can leave me scratching my head. Our language is becoming more and more complex and specialized all the time.

This, in my opinion, is not a good enough reason to discard the idea of a print dictionary. Having the language, vocabulary, grammar, verb forms, etc., at your fingertips is still an amazingly valuable resource. If you encounter vocabulary that isn't included in your print dictionary, the internet is then a good resource to use. There are several basic translators available. For more in-depth explanations, Wikipedia has articles in a wide range of languages to satisfy your need for information.

Ask yourself, "What are my goals in studying a second language?" If you are hoping to gain any level of fluency, I highly recommend investing in a comprehensive dictionary.

If you are interested in adding French as a Second Language to your homeschool, or are looking for teaching aids for your French classroom, take advantage of the free resources available at http://nallenart.org/. Norma Allen is a veteran homeschooler and curriculum writer who has also taught French either in the classroom or online for over 25 years.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.