’n Voorgestelde onderrigmodel vir die aanleer van Afrikaans as vreemde taal in ’n aanlyn omgewing

𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 Teaching Afrikaans as a foreign language within an online environment had not received much attention when this study started in 2017. The research undertaken within this dissertation focused firstly on developing an online foreign language teaching model specifically for Afrikaans aimed at adults and secondly evaluating the SAQA accredited 𝘎𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘴 (𝘎𝘈) online courses with regard to the model. The critical analysis will determine to what extent the 𝘎𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘴 courses (as they initially were in 2017-2019) meet the proposed “ideal” model requirements. In this way, any shortcomings of the courses can be identified, and recommendations can be made to the course owners. 𝘎𝘈-1 and -2 are foreign language courses offered by the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the Free State University. The courses provide an opportunity to adults to learn Afrikaans as a foreign language. Students who register for these courses either have no prior knowledge of Afrikaans or have some passive knowledge of the language. The courses were initially offered as blended learning courses, and in 2017, the initiative was taken to move the courses online to give more people the opportunity to learn Afrikaans. Alongside the literature review, the study also made use of a multi-phased mixed methodology research design. The first phase of the study took place before the students started the 𝘎𝘈-courses. During this phase, the students were asked to complete a needs analysis questionnaire. This questionnaire yielded primarily quantitative data. The second phase of the study took place after the students completed 𝘎𝘈-courses. During this phase, the students were asked to complete an evaluation questionnaire and participate in an individual interview. This phase of the study yielded both quantitative and qualitative data. The needs analyses showed that the students who register for the courses want to learn Afrikaans to use the language in social settings. The students also want to be able to understand specific phrases when they hear them and be able to react to them. The needs analysis also identified the students’ preferred activities and topics for the foreign language courses. The evaluation questionnaire determined the extent to which the 𝘎𝘈-courses meet the needs of the students. It also more specifically evaluated the content used on the online platform to determine if it was adequate. The interviews were used to obtain more detail regarding assessing the courses and other aspects of the online platform. To identify the model's parameters, literature on language teaching approaches and methods, adult learning theories, and theories on learning in an online environment were researched. The experience gained by the researcher as a facilitator of the 𝘎𝘈-courses and the data of the respondents were also used to contribute to the development of the foreign language teaching model. The model has three main components: language acquisition, the 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 and the 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦. All of the components entail guidelines regarding what should be kept in mind when developing a foreign language online course for adults. 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 focuses on the language skills that should be developed and the language approaches and methods best suited. 𝘈𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 gives guidelines on the aspects that should be kept in mind when teaching adult students. 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦 consists of five subcomponents, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 and the facilitator's role. When comparing the model with the 𝘎𝘈-courses, it was found that the courses are well designed and mainly comply with the guidelines of the proposed model. The main recommendations/shortcomings centres around the lack of communication on the learning platform between the students and the facilitator, the absence of reflection activities and the absence of a social presence of the facilitator. The research can contribute to the online teaching of foreign language and, specifically, the teaching of a foreign language with a South African context and similar “low-teach” environments regarding the challenges faced with internet connections and data. The research can also contribute to updating and improving the currently only accredited short learning Afrikaans as a foreign language course. ___________________________________________________________________