Charlotte Mason's View on Learning French

In Home Education, Charlotte Mason says,

“French should be acquired as English is, not as a grammar, but as a living speech. To train the ear to distinguish and the lips to produce the French vocables is a valuable part of the education of the senses, and one which can hardly be undertaken too soon. Again, all educated persons should be able to speak French.”

Of course, Charlotte Mason, as a British educator living in England at the turn of the 20th century, probably had more reason to learn the language of her neighboring country than I do as a Californian.

Times have changed and so have the lives of her students, especially the generations of students she had no idea would be reading her works even a century after her death. But I still do agree with what she wrote about learning French.

She is right...French should be learned as a LIVING speech, and not as a merely grammar practice on paper. It's never too soon to learn to speak and pronounce it correctly, and even that last point...all educated persons should be able to speak French.

Not only is French spoken as an official language in 29 countries, but there are so many areas of culture, literature, history, travel, art, music, dance, cinema, food(!!) that have been touched by the French language. If education truly is a "science of relations" like Charlotte Mason said, I wonder if the tie that binds it all together is French!

But if that's not enough reason to convince you to dive deep into learning French with your family...is it enough to learn it because it's beautiful? Because that's why I learned it. And that was reason enough for me.

And why not learn French in a LIVING way? Not with apps and devices and long lists of phrases that you never use. But instead, connecting spoken French to meaningful subjects like art and music and meditating on Scripture through this beautiful language. All the while, connecting as a family as you become French-Speakers together?

Don't be burdened by the should of learning French. Because it can and should be a delight. And I've created my ​French Feast​ program to be a way for you to get there in beautiful way.

And if you'd like to listen to the conversation about Charlotte Mason's view on teaching French that I had with Cindy Rollins and Dawn Duran on their New Mason Jar podcast, take a listen! Here are links to listen through Apple or Spotify. Enjoy!