You have come out of school, or maybe you never went to school. Things were coming together quite well, but what about languages? Can you do a language at home?
I could write a whole blog post on why languages are useful for your brain development as well as your future, and how they will impress universities and employers. But I'm not here to sell languages today. A language is not compulsory at school, and at home it's up to parents to give their children a suitable education. As a home educator you can focus on the subjects you enjoy and you will already have some idea of whether languages feature in that particular list. If you choose not to do a language, or you want to drop a language, you can always take one up later in life, when you may feel more motivated and inspired.
Let's say languages do feature on your list. Try to be honest about your reasons for learning a language, and your current level, as this will help you (and your parents) decide how much time and money to invest in the process. Maybe you are already fluent in Spanish and could get a top grade after a bit of help with the writing and exam technique. Perhaps you did a language at school for a while and you struggle, but with not too much pain, you could reach a 5, which is a comfortable pass. This 5 could then be included as one of the exams that will get you through to a Sixth Form or A Level College. You don't have to be on for a top grade, for languages to be worth while. Course providers know that languages can be challenging and a comfortable pass can be quite impressive, particularly if you end up in Higher Education.
If you have recently come out of school, I would suggest finding a route fairly quickly, to keep the momentum going. Learning languages is a bit like riding a bike, but you may be quite wobbly if you have left it too long . If you are already settled in a home education community, but have never done a language, try to make a start before the enthusiasm fades and other things take over.
The best way to learn independently is to find ways to get language exposure and then tailor your learning in manageable chunks, depending on your current level. I can give you some ideas to start you off, but speak to parents too. You may have to put in some effort to seek out the language learners. Conversations will often focus around core curriculum subjects or ideas for unstructured learning, but you will find families who have successfully learnt languages and sometimes very cheaply. Make use of online forums too, for asking questions, but always make sure that you and your child's identity are protected and you are posting in a private group.
Early Days
Dive into Youtube before any of the more obvious methods, especially at an early age. You will find songs that are fun and help you remember things, as well as stories and conversations. Simple searches will bring you colours in Spanish, numbers in French, greetings in German. Once you have these basics you can learn how to tell the time on there and later look for verbs and tenses and even exam techniques.
Try to find clips to listen to a few times a week, slowing down the speed, if it helps. Some will turn out to be too fast or hard to understand, but you will still be picking up the pronunciation and rhythm of the language.
It's hard to learn a language without connecting with the culture, so look into the traditions in those countries too. This can still be done from your living room. Branching out from Youtube, follow any slight connection or spark of interest you may have. This could be learning about the country's flag, geography, football team or food, by looking things up on the internet or watching TV programmes. Some travel and cookery programmes can be entertaining for everyone and even English presenters are bound to include a few foreign words if they are talking about a specific country or culture. Rick Stein and the Hairy Bikers spring to mind.
Then there's Duolingo.. and similar things..
This is another free and easily available resource, so let's not knock it. There are a few issues with the Spanish being South American, which is not standard GCSE Spanish even though they say they cater for all Hispanic countries. There is also the occasional mistake in the text and it's frustrating when one of your sentences if rejected, but you know it is acceptable. Generally though, Duolingo can work well as one of a few tools for learning a language.
When you sign up, you will be directed to a short test, to determine your level. After this you can go straight in and work through your first unit, which quizzes you on reading and writing as well as listening and speaking. Even though it can be done on the go, from a mobile phone, it helps to sit down with a note book and write down the vocab that you can look at again when you are off line. This will help you to memorise the words and link up the different language skills.
I've recently found myself singing the praises of Busuu too. This is a similar resource and at the moment you can sign up for a free trial month before paying for a year's access for about £44. My son is currently using the free version for German (having picked the language I don't teach) and it has short videos to go with the spoken phrases and seems to be structured well.
What about books?
All these interactive resources work well, but try to ring the changes with printed methods too. If you live in a city, you may find story books that you can borrow from your local library, aimed at smaller children who are native speakers. There are sometimes second hand foreign language books and even CDs available in charity shops too. If you are happy to buy new, look for familiar children's books from authors such as Dr Seuss, Julia Donaldson, Lauren Child, translated into your target language.
And then there are text books, with new approaches on the market every year. The CGP books, moving from KS2 and KS3 onto GCSE are never too thrilling, but they get the job done, if you want some sound practice and a reference to look back at. I usually recommend the Studio or Viva books at GCSE level, even for IGCSE, as they follow a sound structure and work everything in very clearly, making it all as interesting as possible. These books have recently been updated, in readiness for the new AQA and Edexcel GCSEs with the first sitting in 2026, but the old version is still useful for IGCSE.
Group Providers in a Real Life Setting
Sometimes a parent in your home education community may offer classes in a local setting, or perhaps at someone's house. At an early age this is definitely something to embrace as these parents tend to have a lot of enthusiasm which will send your child a long way down the learning path. They are often native speakers, and will bring songs, stories and lots of fun to the table.
Sometimes older students are lucky enough to have this option too. If there is enough demand, a parent or teacher will find a venue and set up a KS3 or GCSE group. They will work through the necessary grammar and topics, tailoring it to the group level and interests. Ideally the camaraderie aspect of the group will work well too, and there will be mutual support amongst students.
As with all paid for GCSE groups, be aware of exactly what is on offer before you sign up. Is there homework and is the homework compulsory? How is it marked? What is the payment structure? Sometimes the cost is dependent on a certain number in a group and the rest of you will have to pay more if a student leaves. The teacher may take payment from you individually, or they may ask for a flat rate in advance and it's up to the parents to work out individual costs and make their own rules for how much and when families pay.
Think about who the other students are too, and how serious they and their parents are about learning. Sometimes parents sign their teenagers up to groups that are convenient and not too expensive, in an effort to tick learning boxes to keep the Local Authority happy, or simply to give them something to do. This doesn't always work so well for languages and students need some level of enthusiasm and stamina, to make progress.
Online Group Providers
You will find far more online groups than face to face, as an online tutor can have students from anywhere in the world, if the time zones fit. There is the added bonus of not having to pay for a setting, which keeps costs down. Generally you will find the UK home ed groups are during the day, but there will be more general revision classes aimed at any students, after school hours. The internet also gives you the option of finding a teacher in another country who may charge less, but be careful of time differences and if you are aiming to do GCSE, make sure the topic and skill areas fit this structure.
You will need a good internet speed, a quiet space, and a PC or laptop for an online lesson. There maybe pages to printout, and you should check how the tutor would like to receive homework, if it is to be marked. They may have a particular document sharing platform, or accept scans of photos via email. Whatsapp can be useful too, perhaps if you are travelling. The tutor could set up a small group, including the student, the teacher and a parent.
It's hard to insist that cameras are on these days, but for languages it's particularly important to practise pronouncing words and answering questions. Everyone having a go and feeling supported by the tutor as well as their peers, if they make mistakes, is part of the learning process. It also gives the tutor an idea of how students are doing, if they can hear their answers and keep an eye on how quickly they are doing tasks. This is really important so that the group can move on at the right pace.
While the beginner groups may focus on an entertainment approach, with songs and repetition, after a while you will find it's important to do the exercises in a notebook, write down extra words and make an effort to do homework. It's useful to have a parent within earshot, to keep the student on track. Without a fairly structured approach, students sometimes struggle to retain enough information to be able to complete the written and spoken exercises they will have to do later.
One-to-one Tuition
This is sometimes overlooked for languages, but can be a very efficient way of learning, particularly if parents don't have time to do the research and networking that I mentioned above. Here the student has more control over when the lesson takes place, so you may get to agree on holidays in advance.
With one-to-one lessons, the student is right in the centre of the learning, and an experienced tutor can work effectively with the time and budget you have, to get you to the place you want to be. This may mean skipping parts of the syllabus that will take too long, for not much progress, or reworking key areas that will really pay off.
As with other lesson types, it's important to agree on homework and technical issues. The tutor will take on board your own requests or suggestions, but they will also be aware of their responsibilities and not want to wander too far from their tried and tested methods.
And finally...
You may start along a particular path and then see other opportunities come up, or your child may lose enthusiasm along the way. This often happens as children grow, develop and discover different things. Remember that there is always room for manouevre. Home education often works best when parents are ready to rethink or make adjustments at certain points and then get back on whatever is the right track for their child.
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