About the role
The Afrikaans FAL Subject Specialist will shape how Huddle teaches Afrikaans to learners across the Senior and FET phases, most of whom encounter the subject as a second or additional language, and many of whom arrive with complicated feelings about it.
This role is for someone who understands the science of how language is acquired, knows how to build proficiency in learners who are starting from behind, and has the creativity and conviction to make Afrikaans feel relevant, achievable, and even enjoyable. You’ll be building content in a context where learner motivation is often low and the stakes are high and that challenge should excite you.
The role may evolve as Huddle’s programme expands across grades and subjects.
Responsibilities
Responsibilities may include but are not limited to:
- Support the implementation and analysis of baseline assessments to identify learner gaps in Afrikaans FAL language proficiency and literacy
- Develop bridging content and intervention strategies grounded in second language acquisition principles
- Design and script engaging, curriculum-aligned video lessons across Grades 8-12
- Build content that develops reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in an online environment
- Set rigorous formal and informal assessments that accurately reflect CAPS Afrikaans FAL requirements and learner proficiency
- Analyse learner performance data and adapt content and interventions accordingly
- Identify creative approaches, including contextually relevant examples, culturally resonant content, and motivational design to shift learner attitudes toward Afrikaans
- Contribute to or run targeted language remediation programmes
- Spend regular time with teachers and in classrooms to stay close to the learner experience, surface real instructional challenges, and ensure content development is grounded in lived classroom reality
- Design and facilitate teacher professional development sessions and training that build capacity around Afrikaans FAL instruction, language teaching strategies, and effective use of Huddle resources
- Conduct user observation with learners and gather feedback to improve content and delivery
- Review lesson plans and videos from colleagues and contribute to a shared definition of excellence
- Work closely with the broader academic team to align Afrikaans FAL content with Huddle’s pedagogical framework
- Maintain project documentation and learning resources
- Complete work on time with clear and regular communication
Requirements
Education
- A BEd or PGCE with a specialisation in Afrikaans First Additional Language, Senior and/or FET Phase
Experience
- Preference will be given to candidates with 3 or more years’ experience teaching Afrikaans FAL in a low- or no-fee school; all experience levels will be considered
- Demonstrated experience teaching Afrikaans as a second or additional language to learners with significant proficiency gaps
- Experience designing or developing curriculum resources; experience creating content for online or blended environments is advantageous
Knowledge
- Strong grounding in the science of second language acquisition and what evidence-based language teaching looks like in practice
- Deep understanding of the challenges facing Afrikaans FAL learners in under-resourced contexts, including attitudinal and motivational barriers
- Thorough knowledge of the CAPS Afrikaans FAL curriculum across the Senior and FET phases
- Familiarity with how language gaps compound across grades if left unaddressed
Skills
- Language and literacy instruction: able to design content that systematically builds proficiency (vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, and written expression) in second language learners
- Data-driven: comfortable analysing learner performance data and using it to make decisions about sequencing, pacing, and content design
- Creative: brings genuine imagination to the challenge of making Afrikaans FAL engaging, through analogy, context, humour, cultural relevance, or unexpected angles
- Communication: clear, warm, and precise; able to script in a voice that speaks directly and accessibly to teenage learners
- Collaboration: works well with a team of educators, designers, and developers
- Project management: manages multiple workstreams simultaneously; comfortable with digital tools and platforms
- Adaptability: adjusts scope, goals, or approach as needed, quickly and without resistance
Personal Qualities
- Deeply mission-aligned, motivated by what it means for a learner to pass Afrikaans FAL and what it costs them not to
- Strong growth mindset; welcomes feedback and iterates fast
- Data-curious: you want to know whether what you’re building is working, and you use that information
- Creative and optimistic about the subject- you believe Afrikaans FAL can be taught in a way that learners respond to, and you have ideas about how
- Empathetic toward learners who struggle with or resist the language, without accepting low expectations
- Comfortable with ambiguity and change; able to hold a clear goal while remaining flexible about how to reach it
Benefits
- Medical Aid Allowance: R500 per month
- Laptop Allowance: R200 per month, if using a personal laptop for work
- Bonus Leave: 4 additional days per year, subject to hitting targets set by your manager
- Birthday Leave: 1 additional paid day on ones birthday