How to Help Your Child with Afrikaans(Even If You Don’t Speak It)

You don’t need to speak a word of Afrikaans to make a real difference to your child’s marks. What helps most is a steady routine, a bit of encouragement and someone who checks that the work actually gets done. This guide shows you how, step by step.

Why you can help, even without Afrikaans

Most learners who struggle with Afrikaans First Additional Language (FAL) don’t struggle because the work is too hard. They struggle because they don’t practise often enough, leave learning until the night before a test, or lose easy marks on things like format and instructions.

You can help with all of that. Your job isn’t to teach Afrikaans: it’s to be the coach on the side of the field.

• Routine: make sure a little Afrikaans happens most days.
• Encouragement: notice effort, not just marks.
• Checking: compare your child’s work with the notes on this site or from school, and ask questions.
• Contact: keep in touch with the teacher, so problems are caught early.

A daily 15–20 minute routine

Short, regular practice works better than long, rare sessions. Fifteen to twenty minutes on most school days is a good target, on top of homework. Pick a fixed time, like straight after supper, so it becomes a habit rather than a fight.

Five minutes: vocabulary and idioms

Your child makes flashcards: the Afrikaans word or idioom (idiom) on one side, the English meaning on the other. You hold the cards and read out the English side. Your child gives the Afrikaans.

Then flip it: you show the Afrikaans side (you don’t need to pronounce it well, or at all) and your child explains in English what it means and uses it in a sentence. Put the cards they get wrong in a separate pile for tomorrow. Good idioms to start with are on the idiome page.

Five minutes: one grammar point

Let your child choose one rule from the grammar notes, for example negatives or tenses. Ask them to explain it to you in English and write two example sentences. You can check their sentences against the examples in the notes.

Five to ten minutes: reading

Your child reads something short in Afrikaans: a page of a book, a short article or song lyrics. Afterwards, ask in English: “What was it about? Which new words did you find?” For tips on reading closely, see Begrip (comprehension) strategies.

Checking homework without speaking Afrikaans

You can’t always check whether a sentence is correct, but you can check a lot more than you might think. Open the matching note on this site next to your child’s work and look for these things:

What to check	What to look for
Is it finished?	Every question answered, nothing left blank. A blank answer always gets zero.
Did they follow the instructions?	If it says “full sentences”, are the answers full sentences? If it asks for a number of points or words, did they stick to it?
Negative sentences	In Afrikaans, a negative sentence usually needs a second nie at the end, e.g. Ek is nie moeg nie. (I am not tired.) Look for that second nie.
Letter and email layout	Compare the layout with the example in the notes: addresses, date, greeting and ending in the right places. See the formal letter notes.
Essays	Is there a plan, an introduction, paragraphs and a conclusion? Is it about the right length? See Opstel wenke (essay tips).
Neatness	Can you read it? A teacher can’t give marks for words they can’t read.

If something looks different from the notes, don’t say “this is wrong”. Ask “The notes do it this way: why is yours different?” Your child either fixes it or explains it, and both are useful.

Getting Afrikaans into everyday life

The more Afrikaans your child hears and reads outside the classroom, the easier it gets. A few easy ideas:

• Music: put on Afrikaans music in the car or while cooking. Ask your child to look up the words of a song they like.
• TV and films: watch an Afrikaans show or film together with English subtitles, or an English one with Afrikaans subtitles if available.
• Radio: switch to an Afrikaans radio station for the drive to school.
• Reading: Afrikaans magazines, newspapers, comics or young-adult books. Libraries often have them.
• Real life: let your child order at a shop or restaurant in Afrikaans, or greet in Afrikaans with a friendly Goeiemôre! (Good morning!).

Working with the teacher and supporting exams

Talk to the teacher early

Don’t wait for the end-of-year report. If your child’s marks drop, or they seem unhappy about Afrikaans, contact the teacher early in the term. Ask: “What is my child finding difficult? What should we practise at home?” Most teachers are glad to hear from a parent who wants to help.

Read the report comments

Report comments and the marks for each section (for example comprehension, language, literature or writing) show where the problem is. A low mark for writing calls for different practice than a low mark for language. If a comment isn’t clear, ask the teacher what it means.

Help with exam time

• A study timetable: help your child plan Afrikaans revision over a few weeks, not the night before. Our study timetable guide shows how.
• Past papers: ask the school for old tests and exams with memos. The Department of Basic Education also publishes past Grade 12 (NSC) papers on its website. Your child does a paper under time pressure, then marks it with the memo.
• Sleep and food: a rested learner remembers more than one who studied until 2 a.m. Protect bedtime, especially the night before a paper.
• Exam tips: read through our exam tips with your child.

When extra help might be needed

Sometimes a routine at home isn’t enough. Extra help, like a tutor or extra classes at school, may be worth it if:

• your child’s marks keep dropping, even with regular practice;
• they are close to failing Afrikaans and need it to pass the year;
• they have big gaps from earlier grades that make new work hard to follow;
• homework time has turned into a daily battle at home.

Start by asking the teacher whether the school offers extra lessons. If you’re thinking about a tutor, our guide to choosing an Afrikaans tutor explains what to look for.

Common questions

I don’t speak Afrikaans. Can I still help my child?

Yes, a lot. You don’t need to teach the language. You can set up a routine, quiz flashcards by reading the English side, ask your child to explain things to you in English, and check homework for completeness and layout against the notes. Regular practice and interest from a parent make a big difference.

How much time should my child spend on Afrikaans at home?

Around 15 to 20 minutes on most school days, on top of homework, is a good, realistic target. In the weeks before exams, they’ll need more for revision. Little and often works better than long sessions now and then.

My child hates Afrikaans. What now?

Try to find out why. Often it’s because they feel lost, embarrassed or behind, and that can be fixed. Start small so they get some quick wins, praise effort, and connect Afrikaans to things they enjoy, like music, sport or series. Talk to the teacher too: they may see what’s causing the problem in class.

Should my child switch to a different First Additional Language?

It depends. Schools only offer certain languages, and changing subjects usually becomes harder in the higher grades. Changes in Grades 10 to 12 are usually limited, and late changes may not be allowed at all. Every learner also needs two official languages for the National Senior Certificate. Talk to the school before deciding, and think about whether better support might solve the problem instead.

Are past papers really useful?

Yes. Past papers show your child how questions are asked, how marks are given and how long each section takes. Ask the school for old tests and exams with memos. For Grade 12, the Department of Basic Education publishes past NSC papers on its website. The key step is marking the paper afterwards and learning from the mistakes.

Can my child use translation apps for homework?

For looking up a single word, a dictionary or translation tool can help. But if your child translates whole answers, they won’t learn, and the teacher can usually tell. In tests and exams there’s no app, so encourage them to write it themselves first and only check words afterwards.

New to the subject? Start with Afrikaans FAL explained.