The Constitution of South Africa acknowledges our cultural diversity and so our languages as a valuable resource. The South African government views multilingualism as a resource, hence the Department adopted the Language in Education Policy (LiEP) that advocates for additive bi-/multilingualism, thereby encouraging learners to model competency or knowledge of more than one language in their daily lives. The LiEP assumes that “the learning of more than one language should be general practice and principle in our society. That is to say, being multilingual should be a defining characteristic of being South African.
By learning a non-official language learners’ perspectives will be broadened, thus the holistic development of learners will be promoted.
The benefits of learning non-official languages are:
• Communication within and outside South Africa.
• Building international relations.
• Widening trade links with other countries.
• Creating opportunities in travel and tourism.
Improved career chances for learners learning non-official languages are:
§ Teacher / university lecturer
§ Translator / interpreter
§ P. A. in an international company
§ Journalist / correspondent
§ Tour / travel guide
§ Department of Foreign Affairs
§ Other countries’ embassies / consulates
§ South African companies in other countries
The following Non Official Languages are listed as subjects in The National Senior Certificate: A Qualification at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF):
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SUBJECT
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Arabic Second Additional Language
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Portuguese Home Language
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French Second Additional Language
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Portuguese First Additional Language
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German Home Language
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Portuguese Second Additional Language
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German Second Additional Language
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Spanish Second Additional Language
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Gujarati Home Language
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Tamil Home Language
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Gujarati First Additional Language
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Tamil First Additional Language
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Gujarati Second Additional Language
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Tamil Second Additional Language
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Hebrew Second Additional Language
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Telegu Home Language
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Hindi Home Language
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Telegu First Additional Language
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Hindi First Additional Language
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Telegu Second Additional Language
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Hindi Second Additional Language
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Urdu Home Language
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Italian Second Additional Language
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Urdu First Additional Language
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Latin Second Additional Language
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Urdu Second Additional Language
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Modern Greek Second Additional Language (from 2007)
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