How hard is it to learn Afrikaans? Is it really tough to learn this colourful language which is spoken in every province of South Africa?
It may really not be that difficult, since every South African resident has been exposed to the language in some way, if not at school, then in the workplace, on the bus or train, or when engaging in leisure activities.
So, parents who have not actively used Afrikaans, can be a wonderful resource to their children as they learn the language in a formal way alongside them.
This collaboration will help both parents and their offspring as they navigate the nuances and pronunciation of this interesting Germanic language together!
One of the best ways to find support is online. Here you can find a clued-up professional tutor to help the whole family at a price that won’t break the bank. These highly-rated tutors cater for every budget and ability level in locations all around South Africa. Dispense with long hours spent scouring the Internet: check out Superprof and find your prof (i.e. teacher) in two ticks!
Children and Parents Learning How to Speak Afrikaans Together
Again, the question arises: how hard is it to learn Afrikaans?
Given the local context, Afrikaans should not be hard to learn, because many of us have heard the language spoken around us, understand it enough to respond appropriately or actually use it on a daily basis. In most cases, Afrikaans may be a bit more challenging to learn for someone who is foreign to South Africa and who doesn’t have a background in one of the Germanic languages, e.g. German, Dutch or Flemish. In cases such as these, it would be really advantageous if you, the parent, were to learn Afrikaans alongside your child. The one could then support the other, especially with any of the Afrikaans tongue twisters.
Tips for Parents Who Are not Proficient in Afrikaans
If a parent is not proficient in Afrikaans, there are several things which he or she can do to improve the situation. To start off, they can listen to Afrikaans radio stations at home or in the car to and from work. This would help them attune their ears to how the language sounds and where words are to be emphasised and which parts of words are to be stressed. They will then be acquiring the language and, importantly, in a correct, formal way. Advertisements and jingles may make use of Afrikaans in a more informal way and the learners (parents and/or children) will soon learn the difference.
Another very important way, for non-Afrikaans speaking parents to improve their Afrikaans, is to engage regularly with native speakers at home or at work. This form of immersion will see the learner progressing on a consistent basis and their little missteps will be fixed in an informal, non-threatening, maybe even, fun way.
What can also add an element of fun, is for the family to have an Afrikaans day, where all family members speak only Afrikaans for the day or part of it. The family can then award points when a family member says something correctly and doesn’t need help to complete a sentence or statement. Half points can be awarded when help is required from a dictionary or another family member. To top it off, a reward can be given to the family member with the highest score, at the end of a week or month, e.g. a pamper session, a pizza or two movie tickets.
Be creative!
Parents have always been exhorted to support the children while they’re studying, especially when they’re at school. Here again is such an opportunity, but, interestingly, here might also be an opportunity for the child to support the parent, because the child may be receiving tuition in Afrikaans at school every day. This opens the door for role-reversal.
Role Reversal May Work Wonders
Children love to “play school”, with one of them always assuming the role of the teacher. Louis Armstrong, singing ‘What a Wonderful World’, comes to mind, when he says: “they’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know.”
The younger they are, the more they will love to show off what they’ve learnt. In essence, Mom and Dad can brush up on their Afrikaans reading and listening skills, pronunciation and vocabulary skills alongside Junior.
Any hitches which occur, can help parents pinpoint where there is lack of clarity and understanding on the child’s part, and point towards an area requiring greater focus or intervention. Role reversal can, thus, assist both the parent, who is learning Afrikaans, and the child!
Meet Your Child’s Afrikaans Teacher
Meeting your child’s teacher is always an important stepping stone for your child to progress in any subject, and for you to understand the expected outcomes. You will be in a better position to track their progress and get some real tips, in terms of the best way to support them.
For a parent, whose Afrikaans if limited, it may seem impossible to help your child revise. However, there are a number of resources which can be utilised to your advantage: DVDs, CDs, textbooks and podcasts. These can help you feel empowered enough to be a good resource for your child, in times of need.
Learning alongside them should be less intimidating and may even turn out to be fun!
Music Can Help Improve Spoken Afrikaans
Afrikaans has a treasure chest of music, across a number of genres. Some are operatic, others serious and many are funny, if not silly. All of these, when sung along to regularly, will build proficiency and confidence.
Going back a few years, you may find wonderful lyrics for your child to sing along to, which were originally soundtracks to popular kiddies’ TV shows, e.g. Pinnochio, Heidi, Liewe Heksie or Karel Kraai and Bennie Boekwurm on Wielie Walie.
Your child is bound to find a favourite song and maybe character here and, who knows, maybe you too! You’ll soon be singing the Afrikaans lyrics of Pinnochio or the words “Lavinia is my naam”. At some point, some of these words will start slipping in your everyday speech – that’s where the magic lies!
Within thinking about it or actively practising it, your Afrikaans pronunciation will have improved exponentially! Singing along to Sannie sê Sannie sal Sewe Sakke Sout Sleep will also help you overcome some interesting Afrikaans tongue twisters!
Search for Afrikans tutor near me here on Superprof.
Find Afrikaans Resources to Use at Home
Since it can be quite expensive to make your way to Afrikaans classes away from home, you may find that procuring the services of a private tutor is still the most cost-effective way to learn a language like Afrikaans.
Even so, it will be of great benefit to invest in resources that you can make use of at home, for times when you have down-time and to keep practising the use of the language whenever you have a free moment.
Considering your budget, choose wisely and select free online resources to help you gain a greater understanding of Afrikaans. Also, find out whether your Afrikaans tutor has any recommendations to make regarding Afrikaans workbooks which are appropriate for your child’s level of proficiency.
Importantly, the more time spent revising and practising, the sooner your child will become proficient in speaking and understanding Afrikaans.
Afrikaans workbooks contain many different and interesting exercises for a learner to work through. The answers, which are included, will also make it easier for parents to keep up with ‘Junior’s’ progress and aid them (the parents) if they are learning the language too!
As when a child hands in homework, he or she can request feedback regard extra lessons too!
Completing extra Afrikaans lessons by completing quizzes and working through tricky language exercises which cover the use of nouns, adjectives and tenses, can put a learner in a strong position for any future Afrikaans exams.
Find good afrikaans lessons in Polokwane here on Superprof.
Subscribe to Afrikaans Resources
Afrikaans is a growing language and, because it is used country-wide and an increasing numbers of high school learners are taking it as a subject, resources and reading material can be found in abundance.
Not only are there books and magazines available, but learners can also use the radio and television as resources. These offer wonderful insight into the Afrikaans culture, while teaching valuable lessons at the same time.
There are also numerous podcasts and websites which can be of assistance to young learners of Afrikaans. Also check out the raft of Afrikaans courses online!
Start taking online afrikaans lessons today on Superprof.
Online Afrikaans for Parents
No doubt, by now, you have already seen how powerful a collaboration between parent and child can be, where the acquisition of a language like Afrikaans is concerned. Not only will the learning happen more rapidly, but it will also have a long-lasting, more meaningful impact, for the entire family.
Being able to confidently read, write and speak Afrikaans will open many important doors for any learner. Online, there are numerous very well-written articles which can put you in the pound seat, where proficiency in Afrikaans is concerned. Besides academic articles, there are also blogs, instructional videos and newspaper articles which will expand your knowledge of the language and help you practise your pronunciation of words and popular expressions.
Learning Afrikaans, alongside your child, is a brilliant idea, since you can keep tabs on their progress and encourage them, while improving yourself and your own prospects too. Don’t forget, there are many Afrikaans courses online that can assist you!
Superprof has a growing number of skilled, dedicated and experienced Afrikaans tutors who can assist any student, regardless of ability level, budget or age!
Start your journey of exploration and growth today!
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