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In public schools, they give high school credit for being bilingual, and you can do it too. My local school district has the goal of 100% of children becoming bilingual, so that all graduates can speak, read, and write in another language. They plan to do this by awarding high school credit for "competency in heritage languages" - they will grant high school credit for speaking a non-English primary language at home. I tell this to parents all the time! If you are bilingual at home, you can count the non-English language on your transcript as a foreign language credit. Yes, it would be nice to also study another language for foreign language credit, but giving credit for a bilingual home is another option to consider. I'm glad we have the freedom to do things the easy way or the hard way, so that it meets the needs of our own child.

Embrace the unique and diverse strengths of your student. You can give credit for what they already know, and The Total Transcript Solution will help you do that easily. Giving credit for what they already know will allow them more time to pursue other subjects, rather than starting an additional foreign language.

You may develop a "World Language Credit Policy" in your homeschool, as other schools across the nation have done. In my local area, which has a large number of diverse students, the district policy is that students can earn up to 4 high school credits in almost any language they are fluent in. There are tests in reading, writing, and speaking when they are in 8th grade or higher, and those test results determine how many high school credits they earn. If this applies to you, it would be worth it to do a bit of research to learn more.

It's relatively easy to find common high school tests in many common languages that will prove proficiency. CLEP Exams are available in French, German and Spanish. And AP Language and Culture Exams are available in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

There are many other languages that a student might speak, however, and all students can earn high school credit for proficiency in their native language.

This site has a wonderfully encouraging video about the concept. Seattle Public Schools World Language Credit Testing Program

This is another district with a similar policy: Lake Washington School District World Language Credit Options

This public school has a self-assessment can estimate how many high school credits students can earn for natural learning in languages. Lake Washington School District Student Self-Assessment of World Languages

It's not just Washington State, either, as you can see from this school district in Virginia: Fairfax County Public School Credit Exam for World Languages

Many of the schools offering credit for bilingual students use Avant tests, and you can read about those here: Avant STAMP Language Proficiency Tests and Placement Tests

Keep researching to find a plan that will work for your family. Learn how convert other natural learning into high school credit with this free eBook: How to Convert Delight Directed Learning Into High School Credit.

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