Kunjani! Learn Fanakalo (Mining Language)
Fanakalo is a simplified contact language built from isiZulu, English and Afrikaans, used underground for clear, unambiguous safety instructions. Our course teaches it with historical context and modern workplace ethics.
Born on the Witwatersrand gold mines, Fanakalo remains a practical shift language on many sites — taught here alongside the multilingual respect policies mines now require.
Used across South African mining and industrial sites
Course levels
Site Induction
6 units · 12 automated lessons · 6 quizzes · 3 games · 1 assignment
Shift Communication
6 units · 12 automated lessons · 6 quizzes · 3 games · 1 assignment
Supervisor Level
6 units · 12 automated lessons · 6 quizzes · 3 games · 1 assignment
Safety Officer Level
6 units · 12 automated lessons · 6 quizzes · 3 games · 1 assignment
Your learning path
Each level is broken into short units, and each unit into bite-sized lessons you finish in ten to fifteen minutes. A unit only opens once the one before it is passed, so you always build on what you already know — and every lesson ends with a mixed practice set that brings back anything you got wrong.
Unit 1 is free. Each further unit costs one lesson credit — you have … available.
- 1
Unit 1 · Greetings & introductions
Greet someone, say how you are, give your name and say goodbye politely.
VocabularyListeningConversationPractice setSpeakingUnit quizOpenStart unit - 2
Unit 2 · People, family & home
Talk about who you live with, describe your home and ask about someone else's family.
Picture wordsWord bankGap fillPractice setStoryUnit quizLocked - 3
Unit 3 · Food, market & money
Order food, ask a price, count, bargain politely and thank the trader.
Numbers drillListeningRole-playPractice setTypingUnit quizLocked - 4
Unit 4 · Getting around
Ask for directions, use a taxi or bus, and understand simple instructions.
VocabularyDialogueWord bankPractice setSpeakingUnit quizLocked - 5
Unit 5 · Work, school & the clinic
Introduce yourself formally, ask for help and explain what you need.
Formal registerListeningWritingPractice setRole-playUnit quizLocked - 6
Unit 6 · Culture, idiom & review
Use proverbs and everyday idiom correctly, then sit the level checkpoint.
IdiomReadingMixed reviewPractice setSpeakingLevel checkpointLocked
Exercise types in every lesson
Nine exercise types cycle through each lesson so no two rounds feel the same, and every one of the four skills — listening, speaking, reading and writing — is tested before a lesson is marked complete.
Listen and choose
Audio only — pick what you heard from four options.
Translate both ways
Into English and back into the language, so recall is tested, not just recognition.
Word bank sentences
Tap scrambled words into the right order to build a full sentence.
Fill the gap
Complete a sentence with the missing word, in context.
Type what you hear
Spelling practice with forgiving marking for accents and punctuation.
Speak it
Record yourself and get a scored accuracy rubric with coaching notes.
Matching game
Pair phrases with meanings against the clock.
Conversation scenes
Full illustrated dialogues set in real South African places.
Spaced review
Anything you get wrong returns later in the set and again next week.
Starter phrases with pronunciation
Kunjani?
How are you?
koon-JAH-nee
Hamba lapha
Go here / this way
HAM-bah LAH-pah
Yima!
Stop!
YEE-mah
Lo msebenzi kahle
This work is good
loh m-seh-BEN-zee GAH-shleh
Faka lo hat
Put on the helmet
FAH-kah loh hat
Ayikho safe lapha
It is not safe here
ah-YEE-koh sayf LAH-pah
Included learning materials
Learner workbook
Printable PDF and Word workbook per level, styled like this site.
Children's book
Illustrated story set in the provinces where the language lives.
Phrase dictionary
Thematic dictionary with pronunciation for every entry.
Audio pack
Downloadable pronunciation drills for offline practice.
Enrolled students download every Fanakalo (Mining Language) workbook, children's book and dictionary from their dashboard.