Improving your linguistics repertoire with an app

Taking a gap year often coincides with having extra time on your hands. This time can be best spent learning new skills to improve your future career prospects.

Employers value language skills a lot when it comes to hiring decisions. Octavia Tsibes, the executive director of Namibia Media Academy (NMA), explained that employers definitely pay attention to language proficiency when it comes to job applications.

“It depends on the industry, of course, but especially when you have to write or interact with many people for your job, language abilities are very important,” she said. These skills can give an advantage over other applicants and could help you secure the job you want.

Language learning apps

The most accessible way to learn a new language is through language learning apps such as Duolingo, Babble and Pimsleur, among many others. These apps have the benefit of being available to anyone with a smartphone, and many of them are free.

The success rate of these apps has not been confirmed by scientific studies, but according to Elzeth Harmse, an Afrikaans teacher at St George's Dioscesan School, these apps work best as a supplement rather than a primary source of learning.

“Maybe it is possible to learn to speak a language fluently from these apps, but I have not seen it yet,” she noted.

It is, however, possible to learn a language to satisfactory proficiency from an app. Marie Koegelenberg, a humanities student at Stellenbosch University, was able to do German literature with no official training or education in the language. She managed to do that by doing German lessons on Duolingo. “I wanted to join the class where they teach you German from scratch, but they moved me because I was proficient enough,” she said. Although she does admit that she struggled quite a bit when the classes became more advanced.

Another problem with these apps is that they, currently, do not offer any Namibian languages, although French, German and Portuguese, which are quite useful in Namibia, can be learnt.

Language learning institutions

Meanwhile, places like Goethe-Institut Namibia offer German classes for a price. Their examinations also allow you to gain an official qualification that can be attached to your CV or used to study or work abroad in the future.

The same is true of the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre for French.

These institutions offer a variety of courses so you can better prepare yourself for life after your gap year.