Bilingual homeschool in Spanish or Portuguese and English
There is a difference between a student who is learning Spanish and a student who is learning in Spanish.
The first takes a language class. The second does fractions, reads a story and answers science questions in Spanish. That second kind of bilingual is what keeps a home language strong, and it is what most families cannot find materials for.
Our bilingual homeschool curriculum is the second kind. Every subject, kindergarten to grade 8, in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with the same topics in the same order.
Can you homeschool in Spanish or Portuguese in the United States?
Yes. Homeschool laws are set by each state, and they generally care about what you teach and what records you keep, not about the language you teach in. Check your own state's rules, because they differ and change.
The harder question is materials. A family who wants to teach grade 3 math in Portuguese usually finds a language app, a translated worksheet here and there, and not much else.
Will two languages confuse my student or delay English?
This is the question bilingual parents ask most, and the research answer is reassuring.
- A national report from the National Academies found no evidence that using two languages confuses young learners or holds back either language (National Academies, 2017).
- The National Literacy Panel found that reading skills in the first language support reading in English (August and Shanahan, 2006).
- In one large study, students in two-language programs read English about nine months ahead of their peers by grade 8 (RAND, 2017).
A concept learned once, in either language, does not have to be learned again. Only the words are new.
Why teach math and reading in the home language?
Because speaking and schoolwork are different skills.
A student can chat easily with grandparents and still not know numerador, sustantivo or fotossíntese, because those words live in school, and school was in English. Spoken fluency hides that gap until about grade 3 or 4, when the work gets harder.
Teaching real subjects in the home language fixes it. A student who does math in Spanish learns the math words in Spanish. A student who reads short passages in Portuguese learns to read Portuguese, not just speak it.
It helps the parent, too. A parent who learned math in Spanish or Portuguese can teach in the language they think in, instead of translating on the fly.
How does a parallel curriculum work?
Every subject workbook comes in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with the same topics in the same order and the same answer key. That opens up a few simple patterns:
- Teach in one language, practice in the other. Lesson in Spanish on Monday, the same topic's practice sheet in English on Thursday.
- Pick one subject to run fully in the home language. Math is a good first choice. The words are concrete and the answers are easy to check.
- Print two editions side by side and compare page by page.
- Keep siblings at their own levels, in the language each one needs.
In the online lesson library you can switch the lesson language at any time. More lessons are added in Spanish and Portuguese all the time; if a lesson is not translated yet, it shows in English and says so.
What if the student is starting a new language?
That is a different need. Our World Languages subject has courses that teach Spanish or Portuguese to English speakers, and English to Spanish or Portuguese speakers. See them on the curriculum page.
For a student whose first language is Spanish or Portuguese, the free Foundation Assessment includes an English level check, with the instructions in the student's language. It is our estimate of level, not an official score.
Who uses a bilingual homeschool?
Many families. Spanish is by far the most common home language of English learners in US public schools, about 76% of them (NCES). Brazilian families are a large community in Florida and Massachusetts. And plenty of English-speaking families simply want their students to grow up working in two languages.
We wrote more for specific families in Homeschooling in Spanish, or in two languages and Homeschooling middle school in Spanish or Portuguese.
What can we try for free, in each language?
- Free practice sheets in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The questions are the same in all three.
- Free workbook samples: the first topic of every workbook, in each language.
- Flashcards that read aloud in all three languages, ten free cards in every deck.
- Learning games in all three languages.
- The Foundation Assessment: math, reading and English level.
More on the free sheets in Free printable worksheets with answer keys, K–8.
When you want the full program
- One subject, one grade: a printable workbook, in the language you choose.
- A whole grade: grade bundles come in English, Spanish or Portuguese, or all three languages together for side-by-side teaching.
- Every lesson on screen: a membership, for up to 10 students at home.
- A bilingual co-op or class: group plans.
If a word or a sentence in our Spanish or Portuguese does not sound right to you, tell us on Share your ideas. We fix every mistake we are told about.
Common questions
Will learning in two languages confuse my student or slow down English?
The research says no. A national report found no evidence that using two languages confuses young learners or holds back either language, and skills learned in one language carry over to the other.
Is this a full curriculum or only language lessons?
A full curriculum. Nine subjects, K–8, including math, reading, writing, science and history, in English, Spanish and Portuguese. There are also World Languages courses for a student who is starting a new language.
Is the Spanish or Portuguese a machine translation?
No. Each language is written for the student who reads it. The Spanish is neutral Latin American Spanish, and the Portuguese is Brazilian Portuguese.
Can I teach in Spanish or Portuguese if my student works in English?
Yes. Read the lesson in the language you are most comfortable in, then your student practices the same topic in English, or stays in Spanish or Portuguese. Every workbook has the same topics in the same order in each language.
What can I try for free?
Free practice sheets in all three languages, a free sample of every workbook, ten free cards in every flashcard deck, one free adventure in each game and the free Foundation Assessment, which includes an English level check for Spanish and Portuguese speakers.