5 Categories

In my language learning experience I have learned that you have to customize your way of learning according to your daily life, needs/wants and interests. But I strongly advise that beginners at least give attention to these 5 areas. You can choose whatever ratio suits you best but don’t leave any out! I will also try and tag posts under these 5 categories.

Music – Select music from genres that you like or discover something new. Listening to music will not only help you with pronunciation and listening skills but also provide you with some cultural background. This way of learning will not feel like as if you are studying, which is great! You can always search myspace music for new artists and find the lyrics translations on the web. This is probably the best resource and most fun way in learning a new language. MK is the Afrikaans music channel on DSTV.

Culture – Language and Culture are interlinked. They way things are said explains the habits and customs of the people and sometimes only make sense when you understand the context. Knowing the culture will connect your academic knowledge of the language to the people and real life situations. Speaking to a native speaker will also greatly improve you language learning experience, pronunciation and correct any mistakes you make. Don’t be scared to speak, everyone sounds like an idiot when they start off! It is also good to learn to be able to laugh at yourself too, because most of the times people laugh because your mistake is really funny, other times they are just ignorant monolinguals.

Vocabulary - It pays off to sometimes learn vocabulary like a parrot, but if this is not for you, you can just be attentive in learning new words throughout your studies. Good methods are either making lists, flash cards or writing newly acquired words down. You will also pick up words through listening to music and watching films with the subtitles turned on. If you live in South Africa, you can watch the news and 7e Laan series on SABC2. If you are a DSTV subscriber you can watch KykNet(diverse), Kowee (children) or MKTV (Music)

Grammar - The equations of sentences and all the exceptions that go with it! This is not my favourite area but even I must admit the importance of grammar as structural element in learning any language. I personally don’t study grammar but rather learn it through the other 4 areas. But this means that I have to pay special attention to where words are in a sentence, how they change and how complete sentences are constructed in different times etc. If something doesn’t make sense either make the effort to find out why or study it like a parrot and maybe later on it will make sense.

Podcasts, films etc - There are not any audio podcasts yet available for Afrikaans but I will try and make some in the future. You can search on Youtube for some video casts. Luckily there are many films in Afrikaans, most of the good ones unfortunately old and in black and white, but still worth the watch. There are some new Afrikaans movies that are good but just as many that are “kommen”, with bad acting and storylines but might still help you in learning the language