Foreign Language Classes and Curriculum

We have many opportunities for foreign language classes and resources. Something for any age. Several local classes. And even more online programs.

You don’t have to be an expert in a subject area in order to teach your child at home. You can learn most anything along with your student or let them learn it on their own. You can find a tutor or teacher to help as well.

Foreign Languages or World Languages are not mandated subjects in the homeschool law. But, we are not aiming for the minimums–so we often include another language as part of our homeschool studies. Where do you find classes to help your student learn it though?

Local Classes:

Let’s start with local classes and programs. Some are in-person meet ups. Others are online opportunities from local folks. Support these local resources–shop local!

Charleston Latin (Online)
This program implements a truly “blended learning” classroom, where students learn at their own pace while still getting structured teacher help. Based in Charleston, but are held online. Middle/High school or younger students. Utilizes the Cambridge Latin curriculum.

Chinese School of SC (USC Columbia)
This program is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political Chinese school located in Colombia. Promotes Chinese language and Chinese culture, to guide students to correctly understand and use Chinese language. Preschool thur senior high school classes plus extracurricular activities, including painting classes, Chinese painting classes, basketball lessons, and vocal lessons.

Seasons, LLC Previously named Classes by Beth Plus (Online)
The school office is located in John’s Island, but classes are accessed online from anywhere. Offers Spanish/Spanish 1-4, French 1-2, ASL 1-2.

German School Upstate (Greenville/Spartanburg) strives to broaden their knowledge in culture and traditions of the German speaking countries. The school offers German lessons for children ages 4 and up, teens, and adults.

International Multilingual Kids Academy (Columbia/Online) offers small online classes for 3rd-12th grade. Spanish, American Sign Language, Mandarin, French.
Contact: [email protected]

The Language Buzz (Columbia) is a unique foreign language learning center that promotes the early command of languages through language immersion, contextualized learning, and the learning and acceptance of different cultures. The school offers Spanish, French, Mandarin and Japanese. Small Group tutoring available, also arrangements for the instructor to come to your homeschool co-op class location.

Virtual SC (Online) offers free rigorous online courses aligned to state standards that are developed and taught by Highly Qualified, SC licensed teachers. World languages include: Spanish 1-4, Latin 1-4, German 1-2, French 1-2 and Exploring World Languages for Middle School.

The LingQ program integrates across all your electronic devices and provides
a uniquely, individualized way to integrate language studies with your daily life.

Recommended Resources:

Some of these programs are DIY programs to implement on your own (with your student). Others include teachers/tutors to guide your student thru the lessons.

Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids is a video based program modeled on learning the way we acquired our first languages. Intended for children as young as 3 up to any age. Nothing is more authentic and effective than seeing real people using the language.

italki offers 1-on-1 lessons from native language teachers. Learn any language at your own pace from anywhere. Flexible scheduling. Pay as you go after each lesson.

LingQ allows you to take a language journey & immerse yourself in a world of compelling content. It’s an individualized approach to build on vocabulary mastery. See how LingQ works to connect your life to language lessons.

Rosetta Stone is a popular DIY language program: including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Mandarin, Japanese, Latin and dozens more! Your purchase qualifies for cash back from Ebates. Sign up for Ebates first (it’s free to sign up).

School House Teachers bringing part of the world within our reach—the people, the culture, the places. Courses include Spanish, French, Latvian, Hebrew, Latin, ESL, and ASL. Pay month-to-month access fee, quit whenever you want.

Shmoop Online Courses offer day-by-day curriculum in over a dozen subject areas, from business and career prep to literature to technology and computer science. Foreign language courses: Chinese, French, Spanish.

Academia Bilingual Bridges offers online Spanish lessons for for children and adults at all levels from Beginner to Advanced, as well as themed classes such as Literature, Art History, Drama, and Music in Spanish.

Wyzant tutoring service helps you compare qualifications, hourly rates, and reviews to find the right expert tutor for you. Only pay for the time you need. No subscriptions, no upfront payments. Just affordable results.

FREE Resources:

Free. Need I say more? That’s often the deciding factor for frugal-minded homeschoolers. That affords the opportunity to explore multiple languages before choosing one to study more in-depth.

123 Teach Me offers free resources, games, and activities to learn Spanish for all ages. 3,000 verbs conjugated. Self-study courses for all levels.
Chinese Tools.com includes 40 online lessons with audio, including reading, speaking, writing, modern vocabulary, grammar, calligraphy, examples, and exercises.
Duolingo offers French, Spanish and Portugese. Bite-sized lessons that easily switch between learning on a computer and on-the-go with mobile apps. Grow your vocabulary or master irregular verbs with a pocket-sized tutor that’s always available.
Easy Peasy All-In-One High school also lists several free programs to implement for High School students.
Grasp Chinese.com recreates that feeling of immersion as you follow Leo on his journey throughout China. First 10 lessons are free.
JapaneseFromZero is the internet’s longest-running interactive Japanese education website. Helping students at all levels (Beginner to Expert), YesJapan’s lessons, videos, games, and community help students from around the world learn practical Japanese.
Kids Chinese Podcast is designed for kids, teenagers and adults to learn Mandarin Chinese. Includes listening/speaking and reading/writing activities.
Learn a Language includes hundreds of free language-learning lessons, games, and activities. Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese.
Mango Language is available thru your local South Carolina library.
Online Free Spanish is a fun way to learn Spanish. The program offers free Spanish lessons for both children and parents, whether for educational purposes or just for fun.
Open Culture collection features lessons in 48 languages, including Spanish, French, English, Mandarin, Italian, Russian and more. Download audio lessons to your computer or mp3 player and you’re good to go.
Speak 7 is a free Spanish guide to learn Spanish quickly. Only includs what could be very useful to the learner who wants to speak Spanish in a short time, while still touching many areas as possible.