The first official school in South Africa, called the South African College Schools, or SACS, as it is still known, was founded in 1829 in Cape Town. A boys-only school, it's still located in the former Cape Town home of a mining magnate where, in 2012, the estate was the majestic location for the second film in the successful South African movie franchise, Spud.  Despite it being an English medium school, its halls nevertheless ring with Afrikaans school phrases too, as Afrikaans language learning is important in all South African schools. Afrikaans word in elke skool in Suid Afrika aangebied as 'n vak. / "Afrikaans is taught in every school in South Africa." ➜ Afrikaans language learning can be a rich and rewarding... Show more

Did you know that one of the oldest animals in the world was discovered in South Africa over two decades ago? Scientists named the skeleton, which was distinctly ape-like, "Little Foot." So aap ("ape") would be an appropriate first word on our list of animals in Afrikaans! Little Foot is touted to be the evolutionary predecessor of humans. It was found by accident in 1998 among fossilized bones already obtained from a well-known excavation site called the "Cradle of Humankind" near Johannesburg. The skeleton is thought to be over three million years old. Whether you believe this ape is our ancestor or not, animals have been part of our lives since time immemorial. So naturally, any language study would include these nouns, which is why... Show more

Questions are language constructs we use to elicit information from other people, making them crucial in communication! Knowing stuff helps you navigate your way in this world—every child knows this.  And any parent will tell you that even babies know how to "ask"! So, if your plan is to connect and communicate with Afrikaners, it's very important to learn or brush up on the  most common Afrikaans questions and answers.Afrikaners are nice—like the country's climate, they're warm and friendly. And they love to chat, especially with new friends! So at AfrikaansPod101.com, we make sure that you master the Afrikaans you need to connect with them. Learn the most useful Afrikaans questions and answers quickly and easily in this... Show more

No more biting your nails over your pending Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Afrikaans proficiency test! Anxiety only serves a good purpose if it motivates you to prepare well, because, as the saying goes, "Good preparation makes its own luck."Also, uncontrolled anxiety is bad for you and can definitely spoil your chances of performing well. We truly understand this at AfrikaansPod101.com, so we aim to help you reach your language goals so you can ace any Afrikaans exam with ease and confidence! In this article, we'll start with a look at why taking the OPI standardized language competency test can be helpful to you.  Then we'll move on to: A) more details about the OPI, which is one of the oldest and best-known international... Show more

Afrikaans is a daughter-language of Dutch, which informs about ninety percent of its vocabulary. However, many other languages helped shape Afrikaans! These include Malay and all of the African languages, as well as Portuguese, Arabic, French, German, and even Russian.  With such a mixed pot, you'd think that Afrikaans sentence patterns would be very complex and difficult to learn. You would be both right and wrong!  Certain aspects of Afrikaans sentence structures are indeed complex, but the basics are pretty easy to master. With a bit of effort, you could be speaking like a native in no time.  Also, at AfrikaansPod101.com, we understand that in order to master the content successfully, the learning process needs to be enjoyable.... Show more

You asked, so we provided—easy-to-follow instructions on how to set up your electronic devices to write in Afrikaans! We’ll also give you a few excellent tips on how to use this keyboard, as well as some online and app alternatives if you prefer not to set up a Afrikaans keyboard. Table of Contents Why it’s Important to Learn to Type in Afrikaans Setting up Your Computer and Mobile Devices for Afrikaans How to Activate an Onscreen Keyboard on Your Computer How to Change the Language Settings to Afrikaans on Your Computer Activating the Afrikaans Keyboard on Your Mobile Phone and Tablet How to Practice Typing Afrikaans 1. Why it’s Important to Learn to Type in Afrikaans Learning a new language is made so much easier when... Show more

So, you know all about verbs in Afrikaans, but you're still unsure about conjugations. No problem! Let’s learn about Afrikaans verb conjugation together. In Afrikaans, it's pretty simple, as verbs conjugate (vervoeg) in only a few instances. In other words, with most Afrikaans tenses, there are some changes to sentence structure and words, but not to the verb. The only exceptions are in the case of past tenses and the present participle.  Fantastically easy, right? Yes! With AfrikaansPod101, this is definitely the case. Let's unpack this grammar rule in more detail, starting with some definitions. Table of Contents Inflection vs. Conjugation Afrikaans Verb Inflections and Conjugations Quiz - Which Ones are... Show more

Verbs are those words in a sentence that tell us what’s being done (or if it’s being done). In other words, a verb refers to an action.  Afrikaans verbs are, in some ways, easier to master than those in other languages. For instance, in Afrikaans, verb conjugation depends only on time! This means that the verb form remains the same for all pronouns:  Hy eet, ek eet, hulle eet, almal eet! "He eats, I eat, they eat, everyone eats!" Great, right?! At AfrikaansPod101, we’re going to make sure that you understand Afrikaans verbs and their classification with our Afrikaans verbs list. In this blog, we explain the basic types of verbs found in Afrikaans, and offer you easy-to-use lists at your fingertips!  Let's not dally, but... Show more

The word "pronoun" in Afrikaans is voornaamwoord. Like pronouns in most languages, Afrikaans pronouns are very necessary words to use and master. Without pronouns, a language could sound clumsy and be much more difficult to understand! But with AfrikaansPod101.com, this doesn’t have to be a problem. We help you learn not only the relevant vocabulary, but also the grammar and proper use of pronouns in Afrikaans—easily and excellently! Let's start with the purpose of pronouns. Basically, these are words that take the place of nouns (the very word "pronoun" should give that away!) in a sentence. This keeps us from repeating the same word or words over and over again. Also, as mentioned earlier, they ensure elegant and smooth speech and... Show more

Do you remember the moment you fell in love with languages? Do you desire to learn or advance in Afrikaans quickly and effectively? Then you need a Afrikaans tutor. A common question that first-time language-learners ask is "Where do I begin?" The answer? Guidance. For native English-speakers who want to learn Asian languages, for example, timelines provided by the U.S. Foreign Service Institute can appear discouraging. However, defeating these odds is not unheard of. If you want to beat the odds yourself, one of the best learning options is a subscription to Premium PLUS from Innovative Language. As an active Premium PLUS member of JapanesePod101.com and KoreanClass101.com myself, I have an enjoyable experience learning at an... Show more