Afrikaans Tuition

Afrikaans lessons for adults and children - find an Afrikaans tutor

Afrikaans is a diversification of the Dutch language and stems from the Dutch settlers in the Cape - particularly during the 17th century. To this day, Afrikaans and Dutch are very similar and having a good understanding of one should help the student comprehend the other.

Afrikaans is chiefly spoken in South Africa and Namibia but also in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is the first language for many who live in the Northern and Western Cape.

Apart from the Standard Afrikaans there are a number of Afrikaans Dialects such as:

  • Baster Afrikaans

  • Cape Peninsula Afrikaans

  • Griekwa Afrikaans

  • Kaapse Afrikaans

  • Kalahari Afrikaans

  • Kharkhams Afrikaans

  • Maleier Afrikaans

  • Malmesbury Afrikaans

  • Oorlams Afrikaans

  • Transvaal-Free State Afrikaans

Some standard Afrikaans phrases

Hallo! Hoe gaan dit? - Hello, how are you?
Baie goed, dankie. - Very well, thank you.
Praat jy Afrikaans? - Do you speak Afrikaans?
Ja - Yes
Nee - No
Wat is jou naam? - What is your name?

Afrikaans lessons

Like all modern languages, there are several ways to learn Afrikaans. Obviously it is possible to learn individually or in a group.

Ad-hoc sessions for a student with a grasp of the Afrikaans language.
This format really only works for those students who are familiar with the language. Beginners will find that unevenly-spaced lessons end up being too dilute for them to get sufficient knowledge of Afrikaans to make progress and therefore each lesson will tend to mirror the previous one until eventually the student gives up. Ad-hoc lessons are ideal for someone who already speaks Afrikaans moderately well and who uses it in their work with the lessons just being an opportunity to polish and extend their skills.

Intensive courses where the student can submerge themselves in Afrikaans.
These work well for older students (not children) who are either about to take an exam in Afrikaans or are to be put in a position where they will be required to speak the language for prolonged periods. Intensive courses need to be properly structured and since most private tutors only offer tuition on a part-time basis, it may take a great deal of organising. It is definitely a good idea to use a tuition agency to organise this on behalf of the student.

Week-by-week
Regularly weekly lessons where the student can gain new knowledge and then go away and practice the Afrikaans that have learned. This is the tried and tested way of learning and suits all ages and levels. The Afrikaans lessons should ideally last about 2 hours and the student should endeavour to put in about 3 to 4 hours of self-study, applying what they have learned in the lesson.

Face-to-face versus online tuition
Online tuition is the modern way to learn and has all the advantages of face-to-face tuition but without the need to travel to the tutor's premises or to pay them to come to you. This not only means that the tuition should work out cheaper, it also means that your Afrikaans tutor does not even need to live anywhere near you. With high-quality digital sound and fast internet connections, why waste time on travel when you can just click a button and talk live to your tutor.
 

Find out more about:

Online tuition in Afrikaans
Typical fees for Afrikaans lessons
Another language

If you are considering booking Afrikaans lessons then why not do a free search of our private tutors directory for an Afrikaans tutor?

Afrikaans Tuition