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16 March 2020 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa
Human Rights week_read more

The Free State Centre for Human Rights in the UFS Faculty of Law invites you to the 2020 Human Rights Week from 17 to 20 March 2020. The programme features a panel discussion, poetry and artistic showcase, an art walkabout, a public lecture, and film screenings. Please see the attached poster. For more information, contact +27 51 401 7216 or FSCHR@ufs.ac.za 

Panel discussion: Africa / Human rights / Transformation 
Judge J Froneman, Judge D Pillay, and Prof T Falola
Date: Tuesday 17 March 2020
Time: 14:00         
Venue: FGG 202, Bloemfontein Campus

Poetry and artistic showcase     
Date: Tuesday 17 March 2020
Time: 16:00 
Venue: House Karee basement, Bloemfontein Campus

Images of Human Rights – Art walkabout      
Date: Wednesday 18 March 2020 
Time: 12:00 
Venue: C208, Mabaleng Building, Bloemfontein Campus

Human Rights film festival: Selection of short films
Date: Wednesday 18 March 2020 
Time: 14:00-16:00 
Venue: C12, Mabaleng Building, Bloemfontein Campus

‘Poppie Nongena’ – screening and discussion
Date: Wednesday 18 March 2020 
Time: 16:00-18:00 
Venue: C12, Mabaleng Building, Bloemfontein Campus

Public lecture – ‘African cultures and human rights’ with Prof T Falola
Date: Friday 20 March 2020
Time: 12:00

News Archive

Afrikaans can be learnt online for the first time
2017-11-29

 Description: Afrikaans online Tags: Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, Prof Angelique van Niekerk, Afrikaans online, Gesellig Afrikaans, VivA 

The launch of the online course in Afrikaans at the University of the Free State
took place in the Centenary Complex at the Bloemfontein Campus on 21 November 2017.
From the left are Profs Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor; Angelique van Niekerk,
Head: Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French; and Gerhard van Huyssteen,
Executive Director: Virtual Institute for Afrikaans.
Photo: Supplied

There is a need among visiting international students and foreign visiting lecturers and researchers to be able to speak Afrikaans. According to Prof Angelique van Niekerk, this is the reason why the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the University of the Free State (UFS) has been offering short courses in Afrikaans on campus for more than 15 years.

As from January 2018, those people wishing to learn Afrikaans outside of the UFS campus will be able to do so fully online. This is the first time that Afrikaans can be learnt fully online. The course is part of a short learning programme, Gesellig Afrikaans 1 and 2, which has been presented at the UFS since 2007. It is presented with the support of the Virtual Institute for Afrikaans (VivA), and Afrikaans can now be learnt as foreign language globally.

Need to speak Afrikaans
 
Prof Van Niekerk, Head of the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French, believes people who come in contact with the language have a need to learn to speak Afrikaans. “Afrikaans is a vernacular in the workplace, education, and social circles, especially in Bloemfontein, the Free State, and South Africa,” she says.

On average, 15 students per semester are enrolling for the existing contact-based course. Prof Van Niekerk says these students are from countries such as The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Poland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and some are from the East.

English used as teaching medium 
In 2018, the 20-week course will be taught online via the VivA website or on campus through contact sessions (within 13 weeks). “The online course for international students is currently being marketed for the first time, and in 2018 we will officially be enrolling international students for the online course from beyond UFS borders,” says Prof Van Niekerk.

The teaching medium will be English, with all the information and explanations taking place in Afrikaans and English. Supporting material such as Afrikaans films, music, pronunciation guidelines, and continuous self-assessment are part of the online course material.

Click here to see the course structure of the online programme.

Direct enquiries to Prof Van Niekerk at vnieka@ufs.ac.za, or geselligafrikaans@gmail.com or visit www.gesellig-afrikaans.org

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