Xhosa acquisition through e-learning : learner needs and development challenges

• Main Author: Neethling, Bertie
• Other Authors: Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: Journal for New Generation Sciences : Socio-constructive language practice : training in the South African context : Special Edition, Vol 6, Issue 3: Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 2015
• Subjects: E-Learning; computer-assisted language learning; Xhosa
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11462/515

Published Article === The contribution argues that there is a renewed interest by mainly Afrikaans and English speaking South Africans in learning another indigenous South African language. This came about as a direct result of the changed official language policy, elevating all the indigenous Bantu languages to that of being official. It is further argued that many individuals interested in learning a new language, do not have the time or the inclination to do so in a formal classroom context. Access to a computer has increased dramatically in the last two decades, and hence e-learning becomes a viable option in this regard. The contribution argues that computer-assisted language learning (CALL) can very sensibly complement and even substitute the language teacher. Some existing computer-assisted language courses aimed at learning Xhosa are briefly explored, and finally the attention is turned to the particular challenges experienced in developing an interactive multimedia Xhosa acquisition course within the Multitaal framework.