I am writing this in English because the chances are if you’re reading this page then you want to speak Afrikaans but don’t already. There are a number of places in London offering Afrikaans it seems. Let me know how you find these courses or if you know of anywhere else and I’ll add a link.
Wikipedia
I think the Afrikaans Grammar page on Wikipedia is really good. It’s quite brief but for a learner there is some really good information on here to help in the beginning. I refer to the Afrikaanse Grammatika page quite a bit and still learn new things.
Duolingo
Duolingo has not released an Afrikaans yet despite the many threads asking for one, but I am adding it for three reasons; one, I use it every day and it has the potential for any language to make a real impact because it is a great way to learn while using other methods; two, the more people push for an Afrikaans course then the more likely we are to get one; and three, I have completed the Dutch course and even after many years of learning Afrikaans this has still helped me learn things for Afrikaans.
Easy Afrikaans
Easy Afrikaans has some useful pages with good descriptions, explanations and sound files.
WikiHow – Learn to Speak Afrikaans
I think How to Learn to Speak Afrikaans from wikiHow is a pretty decent resource. It is succinct and offers some really good ideas which I use, and a good explanation about the context of Afrikaans and South Africa.
Learn 101 Afrikaans
Learn Afrikaans from learn101.org has some pretty decent advice and thorough grammar coverage. I don’t use online learning as much as I use books, but this is worth looking through in detail.
AfrikaansPod101
Afrikaanspod101 is downloadable if, like me, you listen to a lot of podcasts. Good for audio (well obviously) but I do want to stress the importance of active listening and not just listening passively – or just hearing as might be more accurate to say – while doing something else and then hope to absorb the information.
IGCSE Afrikaans
You can study for the IGCSE Afrikaans – Second Language internationally through University of Cambridge International Examinations and the course books are available on Amazon and Kalahari.
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in Russell Square offers an Afrikaans course every year. The three-term course starts in September every year. Each term costs £235. Ring SOAS on 020 7898 4888 for more information or email languages (at) soas.ac.uk.
Language Studies International off Tottenham Court Road runs a 10-week Afrikaans evening course for beginners offering 20 hours of tuition. The course costs £235.00 per person. If you’re interested, ring 020 7467 6515. They often advertise on Gumtree.
A general language learning site that is well worth a visit is How To Learn Any Language. Although its focus is on learning languages, there are sometimes threads on Afrikaans and the archived threads are very interesting.
Hi there i am an english speaking 19 year old south african who moved here to the uo before i was 10. I would love to learn afrikaans again as i feel its something important to me. I wouldnt be starting completely from scratch as i know a bit already. My problem is that i cant speak it and remeber all the words to use in order to have a conversation but i do understand when people are talking to me most of the time (i get the general idea of what they are saying). I live in cambridge, sorry i know its not london. Thank you.
ps woo the boks are awesome at the moment hay 🙂
David, it’s great to hear from you. Afrikaans is a fantastic language and it’s really encouraging to hear English speakers wanting to speak it. I’ve sent you an email.
Sjoe, Lex, wat ‘n heerlike blog het jy hier, hoor! Werklik ‘n vonds vir ‘n Afrikaans-buff soos myself 🙂 Knap gedaan! Nee, fantasties! Ditsem, Lex!
Baie dankie en al die beste–
Eugene
I am an american studying afrikaans and it is proving to be a fun language to work with.
Josh, it’s good to hear from you and that you’re enjoying it. Let me know if you’re like any help with anything.
Hi, I’m an English speaking South African who speaks Afrikaans, however I do not write it well – I have been browsing Afrikaans speaking/writing sites to source improvement, I find your site great and am sorry to nitpick, there is a small typo on your introductory home page, the “OF” in this sentance should surely be “OR”
“Let me know how you find these courses of if you know of anywhere else and I’ll add a link.”
Thanks again for a good site,
Lawrence
@Lawrence, thanks for visiting and for pointing out the typo, that must have been there for years! Good luck with your Afrikaans and if you find out about any courses let me know and I’ll add them.
Hi, Alexander.
I am learning Afrikaans. And I feel very interesting when people ask me why I learn this language. I always say nothing ‘cos I’ve always liked it.
For me Afrikaans is not hard to learn and I suppose it’s a language that bears the history and legend of the Afrikaners. I’m quite interested in those white Africans’ life and culture.
Of course, no languages are easy and neither is Afrikaans. It takes more time to get accustomed to its word order and it’s quite a challenge to hear it, ‘cos native speakers always eat the final consonant and seldom do they pronounce the “h” sound.
Anyway, hou on altyd van die taal, die mooiste taal in die wêreld.
Tianyi, dis goed om van jou af te hoor, ek stuur nou ‘n e-pos aan jou en dan miskien kan ons ietsie in Londen reël. Dis altyd goed om uit te vind dat daar ander nie-Suid-Afrikaners is wat die taal wil leer.
Great website! I have recently returned to the UK from living in Cape Town and I am looking to get one-to-one tuition in Afrikaans. Do you know of any Afrikaans tutors in London at all? The web doesn’t seem to throw up much. Baie dankie.
@Paul, thanks for your comment. I think you’re best bet would be to contact either SOAS and talk to the tutor for the Afrikaans course there or alternatively try the Language Studies Institute which I’ve linked above. If you’d just like to chat and practise Afrikaans then I’d be more than happy to meet you as I’m always looking for an opportunity to speak it
Hallo Alexander, dis ek…Natalie! Goeie werk met die site!
Gaan dit daar met jou?
Kan jy of iemand uitvind of daar is ‘n Afrikaans naveek skool in London? Ek wonder as ons london terug kom kan Elsa speel en leer die taal met ander kinders. Ek dink dit kan baie belangrik vis vir haar om Afriakaans vriende to ontmoet en vir ons ook. Ek weet daar is baie Afrikaans mense of mense wat Afrikaans praat (soos Ek) in London, maar dit kan baie moelik vis om toe ontmoet. Misken kan Eben kry werk daar.
Veet jy Cambridge Uni het ‘n Afrikaans for 2nd language speakers he? Dit is op die site.
Liedfe,
Natalie
Natalie, dit klink asof julle terug Londen toe kom! Daar’s dikwels ma’s wat op Gumtree skryf wat ander Afrikaanstalige ma’s en kinders soek sodat die jongs Afrikaans onder mekaar kan leer en praat. SOAS loop ook ‘n Afrikaanse kursus naby Russell Square en ek het op een keer met die onderwyseres gepraat. Ek daar veel geleenthede gaan wees om Afrikaans te oefen so kom terug!
I’ve been trying to learn Afrikaans for about a year now, but had to start over… I did not know anyone speaking Afrikaans here, in Ontario, Canada. Out of no where a South African familly came up, they speak Afrikaans. So, not too look foolish, I started to listen to Afrikaans radio online…… What a wake-up call. I can read Afrikaans, but I could not understand a thing. Now I have started over, I print out music lyrics and listen to the video on Youtube, and slowly, I’m starting to understand and pronounce the words. The radio still speaks too fast for me, but, I’ll get there….
@Marysol, thanks for your comment. It’s good to hear from another learner, especially as you didn’t have any contact with Afrikaans speakers when you started! Youtube is pretty good for clips to listen to as is the radio. I follow the big newspapers on Twitter – Beeld, Die Burger, Rapport and Die Republikein – so that lets me read a good range of interesting articles. Also, I read the Afrikaans Wikipedia every day which is a great way to learn new vocabulary and work out grammar and the right way to say things. Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way.
AH! Afrikaans Wikipedia! You have just helped me. I did not think of that. I have in fact told my new friends that I am learning, once they got over how strange that sounded. That I would pick Afrikaans of all things. Mind you, I still don’t think they have got over it. They seem fairly willing to teach me the pronuciations. They speak too fast for me to catch much, but (don’t laugh) I can talk to their 3 year old, just fine….. I asked you NOT to laugh…. I have found that there are many words in common with french, my first lanuage is french, but from Quebec. It’s slang, like Afrikaans is to Dutch. Knowing French helped me with the Rrrrolling “R”s. 🙂 I’ve been looking for movies in Afrikaans, but the ones I find Can not be viewed in this area. I also have singers on Facebook, some actually reply to my posts, or, someone on behalf of them… But I like to read all the fan posts and comments. The younger croud, like the Ray Dillon fans, speak differently than the fans on Robbie Wessels, or Dozi’s page. On Lannie May’s page all they usually talk about is how sexy she is LOL. I learned some new words there Hee hee 🙂
Thank you Alexander,
Your time is apreciated.
@Marysol, ek sal ‘n boodskap met voorstelle aan jou e-pos adres stuur. ‘n Afrikaanse tjommie bly op Vancouvereiland so dalk kan hy vir jou raad of hulp gee.
Hi Alexander,
Thanks for your blog posts, they are always interesting. I was wondering if you had any idea where the best places to do an intensive Afrikaans course in South Africa were. I’ll be there for a few months sometime next year, and there are so many schools/universities on offer I don’t really know where to start.
Any thoughts?
Best,
Graham
@Graham, apologies for late reply. First, thanks for reading my blog. Second, I’m not aware of anything in South Africa but can ask friend’s for their advice. Whereabouts are you going to be? One option might be to go and stay with an Afrikaans family for a week; I read about someone who hosted learners for a few days but I can’t find the link at the moment so I try to find it quickly. I’ve always wanted to go and spend a week in a small Afrikaans town for a week and just have to speak it all the time. Anyway, I’ll email you shortly when I hear back from people.
Hi Alexander,
Thanks for your reply. Sorry it took me so long to get back, I thought I’d receive an email when a reply was posted. I will be in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, and possibly Johannesburg, but can travel a bit if necessary. I’m afraid my level is probably not good enough to benefit fully from a homestay at the moment, and was thinking more of a course at a university or language school, but should you hear of anything at all that sounds interesting, please let me know.
I did come across this, however, which you might be interested in reading. http://slipnet.co.za/view/blog/an-american-in-parys-part-1/
Best,
Graham
Hi Alexander, in case someone misses it, I’ve left a comment about a resource on Afrikaans spelling on your “Boeke” page. Nicky Grieshaber, Pietermaritzburg
Op jou blog afgekom op soek na Afrikaanse lesse vir my 6 jarige dogter. Sy is hier in Engeland gebore maar praat wel Afrikaans, ongelukkig net met my, en my Afrikaans is gebroke en glo ook ouderwets of iets – blykbaar omdat ek nog woorde soos “bog” en skaduwee in stede van koelte gebruik!
Wonder of jy iemand of iets kan aanbeveel? Ons woon in Shenley, Hertfordshire en sal wel net Saterdae, iewers, of Sondae (na kerk) iets kan inpas.
Dankie
Karien
@Karien, baie dankie vir jou boodskap. Jy kan nou kinderboeke in Foyles op Charing Cross Road koop. Ek sal ‘n e-pos aan jou stuur wanneer ek ‘n bietjie inligting kry.
Dagsê Alexander!
Ek is ‘n “ex”-Afrikaanse onderwyseres en op aanvraag van baie van my oorsese familielede in Kanada, die VSA en Australië, begin ek eersdaags met my eie Afrikaans-onderrig-BLOG en WEBWERF!Hulle wil graag hê hul kinders moet Afrikaans leer! Ek sal baie bly wees as jy my webwerf OOK sal adverteer onder die mense wat onderrig soek — ons is nog in die proses om die web/blog op te stel — ek sal jou laat weet sodra dit gereed is, goed so? Baie dankie! Ek sal dit baie waardeer om net ‘n paar student te kry om aan die gang te kom! Groete en seënwense van Suid-Afrika! 😀
@Correen, stuur aan my besonderhede oor jou webwerf en sal graag dit bevorder. Daar’s veel mense oorsee wat belangstel so laat my weet hoe ek jou kan help.
Ek is ‘n Gospel musiek fan.
Ek is ‘n getroue ondersteuner van die Christen radio stasie Radio Kansel 657 AM. As ‘n Christen is
ek baie bly vir Radio Kansel oor hulle nuwe radio stasie Kaapse Kansel 729 AM in die Kaap hoewel ek nie self in die Kaap bly nie. Mens kan met vandag se tegnologie radio op die internet aanlyn luister,en ek luister soms na die Wes-Kaapse Christen stasie Radio Tygerberg 104 FM aanlyn sowel
as die Gospel musiek programme op Overvaal Stereo 96.1 FM. Ek hoop om Kaapse Kansel een van die dae aanlyn te kan luister.
Mag die Here al die Afrikaanse Christen radio stasies seën.
As julle meer inligting wil weet oor Kaapse Kansel kan julle gerus gaan kyk op hulle webtuiste by http://www.kaapsekansel.co.za of in Engels by http://www.capepulpit.co.za.
Hallo Alexander!
Baie dankie vir jou blog!
Ek wil graag jou en ander Afrikaanse bloggers se hulp vra; ons is tans besig om ‘n webreeks te maak in Afrikaans genaamd EENDAG.
Die reeks het pas begin op http://www.eendag.tv maar nou het ons ‘n paar waarderende oë nodig om dit te geniet – sal baie bly wees as jy en ander dalk daaroor kan blog as dit iets is wat jy dink is lekker om te kyk.
Groete en seën!
Hi Alex,
My boyfriend is South Afrikaan and I’d like to learn Afrikaans to impress him but also to earn brownie points with his family. 😉
I have quite a few Afrikaans speaking friends I can practice with, but do you know any good self-study books out there? Would appreciate a recommendation.
Baie dankie!
South African obviously. 🙂
@Martina, thanks for the comments. The website is really good for getting started is Easy Afrikaans. If you want to get some books with CDs have a look at Complete Afrikaans from the Teach Yourself series, which you can buy with or without CDs. I’d say ignore the review, I don’t know what the reviewer is going on about. I’ve got this and the book and CDs are excellent.
The Google Translate app has Afrikaans and is an excellent tool to help you learn phrases.
translate.google.com
@Deon, dankie vir you kommentaar, ek kan nie glo dat ek daaroor vergeet het nie!