Homeschool Spanish Academy: A Review

There are tons of methods for learning Spanish and other foreign languages out there.  Most are bad.  A few are good.  If I had to recommend only one tool for learning Spanish it would be private lessons via Skype, and one company I can highly recommend is Homeschool Spanish Academy.

A little background on me:  I have wanted to learn Spanish all of my life.  I never really felt complete or fully educated only speaking one language (I took dead languages in college).  Finally, a few years ago, I realized that I needed to do it or it might never happen.  If I didn't act, I might die monolingual and unfulfilled!  I started with a lot of audio options and eventually started taking private lessons on Skype.  I took the kids to Panama for a month in 2013, where we each had private lessons and stayed with a Panamanian family.  I have continued taking private Spanish lessons online off and on over the months.  I am at a high intermediate level in Spanish and feel comfortable helping my kids with it.  Both of my kids can understand quite a bit of Spanish, know many words, and Bee can form simple sentences. 

Based on my understanding of the process of language acquisition as well as my personal experience learning Spanish, I recommend private lessons with a native speaker because interaction with a native (or near native) speaker in the language is THE KEY to learning. You get so much more for your learning with private lessons than you do for any sort of software package (which in my opinion are a waste of money--I'll write about that in another post).  You also get something even more valuable; your child gets the opportunity to know an individual from another culture. 

My son Bee, age 10, takes lessons from Homeschool Spanish Academy from a teacher in Guatemala.  He only did one lesson a a week last year, but a child who is a little more focused could easily do more than that.  This year he will be doing twice a week, and if he does well with that and we have time, I would love to add another day.  I have found the program to be very customizable and child friendly.  The prices are incredible for what you get, a highly educated, friendly native Spanish speaker to work with your child or children (they offer semi-private options as well as private). The lessons for the younger kids last 30 minutes, which is just the right amount of time. 

I would sign Bug up for lessons too, but he's feeling really shy about it, so I'm not going to push him... yet.  I do have plans to bribe him to get over his nervousness, but perhaps after he turns 7.  For now, I will just work with him on my own.  

I took a couple of months of lessons from Homeschool Spanish Academy myself, had lessons with 5 of the teachers, and was so impressed.  I recommend it for adults too. 

It's easy to sign up for lessons at the time you want, and you can choose your preferred teacher (from those available).  They have a number of different packages and a free trial lesson.  All the teachers do speak English, so the parent or child can communicate with the teacher in English if needed.  It's also great to have an option where you don't have to drive anywhere.  They have late afternoon and evening times for courses too, so it's an option for kids who are in traditional school, as well as kids who are homeschooled. 

We Americans tend to think that learning a language is difficult-to-impossible, because the approaches used in our classrooms typically don't work very well.  I would like everyone out there to know that it is very possible to learn a foreign language.  I learned Spanish in my 30's and am going to continue my studies.  I hope to try to learn Mandarin one day too.  I would encourage anyone of any age who wants to learn any language to take the approach of interaction with a human being who speaks the language, which is the way that our brains are wired to learn language. Going to another country and becoming completely immersed in the new language is the BEST way, but that's not usually practical or affordable, and I think that finding a teacher who can interact with you in the new language is extremely useful too.  The Internet has made finding a teacher so much easier!