Afrikaans tuition
Afrikaans tuition for learners taking it as an additional language, from Grade R to matric, and Afrikaans for adults.
Every learner writing the National Senior Certificate must pass two official languages, one of them at Home Language level. At English-medium schools in KwaZulu-Natal, the second is commonly Afrikaans or isiZulu, taken as an additional language, and some learners take both. Afrikaans is one of the seven subjects on the final certificate, and it counts towards the admission point score that universities use to assess applications.
A weak Afrikaans mark therefore affects both the final certificate and university applications.
Where the marks go
Afrikaans papers at NSC level test a similar set of skills in both the DBE and IEB systems. IEB Afrikaans First Additional Language, for example, is examined in two papers of two and a half hours. The first covers reading comprehension, advertisements and cartoons, a summary, prepared and unprepared poetry, and language skills such as sentence and word structures and communication. The second covers literature and transactional writing, such as a dialogue, a letter or an email. Orals count during the year.
Common problem areas include:
- Grammar. The tenses, the passive voice (die lydende vorm), reported speech (indirekte rede), the double negative (die dubbele ontkenning), and word order. These are taught from the early grades, and gaps that are not addressed tend to grow.
- Vocabulary. Comprehension and literature questions depend on vocabulary, which is built mainly through regular reading and use.
- Writing. Transactional pieces have strict formats and conventions, and marks are lost for missing them even when the language is sound.
Lessons work on each of these: grammar through explanation and practice, vocabulary through reading, including the learner’s set works, and writing formats through regular practice under time pressure.
Amanda’s background in Afrikaans
Amanda studied Afrikaans at the University of Natal for her BA and Higher Education Diploma. Her first teaching post, in 1976, was as an Afrikaans teacher at Westville Girls’ High. From 1998 she provided Afrikaans and English academic support and remediation to primary school learners at Highbury, and she later taught Afrikaans support at St Mary’s DSG. Her honours degree in inclusive education specialised in academic support and remediation in English and Afrikaans. That training is relevant where a learner’s difficulty with Afrikaans is part of a wider language difficulty.
Groups and individual lessons
Courses are designed for beginners, including immigrants to South Africa, as well as for learners who have studied Afrikaans since Grade 3.
In a group, learners at the same level can practise conversation, compare answers to grammar exercises and work through setworks together. Amanda recommends regular weekly lessons throughout the year rather than only intensive revision before examinations. Learners with significant gaps, or with an underlying learning difficulty, may start one-to-one.
Questions parents ask
Frequently asked questions
My child has never managed more than 50% for Afrikaans. Can that change?
It can. A low Afrikaans mark can often be traced to specific gaps, such as grammar not secured in earlier grades or a limited vocabulary, and these can be worked on directly in regular, structured lessons.
Which Afrikaans syllabuses do you teach?
Afrikaans as an additional language, for IEB and DBE learners, and Cambridge IGCSE Afrikaans – Second Language.
Can adults learn Afrikaans with you?
Yes. Amanda teaches Afrikaans to adults who live and work in South Africa, including newcomers to the country. See the page on adult language classes.
