Teaching a foreign language at home
How to start when you don't speak it, the five goals of language learning and free ways to hear it.
ACTFL, the language teachers' association, organizes its World-Readiness Standards around five goal areas: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities. For a home learner that means using the language to talk, learning about the people who speak it, and linking it to other subjects. Short daily practice with songs, books and audio beats a weekly lesson.
Checked October 29, 2026.
This is a plain-words summary, not legal advice. Laws change: check your state's current law and its education department before you act.
A way to start
- Choose one language and keep it for a year.
- Learn ten words a week with pictures.
- Listen to songs and picture books in the language every day.
- Find a conversation partner: a neighbor, class or video call.
The free path
You don't have to be good at this to teach it
You can learn beside your child. A class, an app and a library book carry the lessons, and you set the schedule.
Check your state
Some states list the subjects a homeschool must cover. See the law page for your state.
Sources
- ACTFL: World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (checked October 29, 2026)