“My ma se taal of leertaal?” A study of different forms of Afrikaans spoken by the ‘coloured’ adult learners at E.W.Hobbs ABET center in Eldoradopark, Gauteng

Abstract

This is a phenomenological study that studies a small group (5) of adult learners and two (2) teachers at E.W. Hobbs ABET center in Eldoradopark, and investigates how the colloquial Afrikaans spoken in Eldoradopark and the home environment influences the learners’ competency in the classroom where ‘standard’ Afrikaans is required. The study revealed that standard Afrikaans is a requirement across the curriculum at this center, but is only rigorously applied in the Afrikaans class. This proved to have an impact on learning as colloquial Afrikaans is accepted in all other classes except the Afrikaans class. The implications of this is that the curriculum should be reevaluated and adjusted to implement standard Afrikaans in all learning areas, or accept colloquial Afrikaans in all subjects, including the Afrikaans class.