Sepedi, isiZulu, Afrikaans: why your languages are your biggest asset as an au pair

South African families live in more than one language. Homework comes home in English or Afrikaans, grandparents speak isiZulu or Sepedi, a child is learning isiXhosa at school. For an au pair, the languages you already speak are one of the most valuable things you bring, and one of the most under-described on profiles.

How families use languages

On Au Pair Nation, a shared language between a family and an au pair is worth up to 20 of the 100 match points, the joint-largest signal in the score. Families can also set a language as a must-have. A family in Durbanville doing Afrikaans homework, a family in Soweto who wants their children’s isiZulu to keep growing, a family in Sandton with a French-speaking parent: each of these is looking for you specifically, and can only find you if your profile says so.

What “level” means

Your profile asks for a level per language. Be honest; families notice quickly.

• Native: you grew up speaking it and think in it.
• Fluent: you can hold any conversation and help with school work at any grade.
• Conversational: you can chat and manage day-to-day, but Grade 7 essays would be a stretch.
• Basic: greetings and simple instructions.

Fluent or native in a shared language scores higher than conversational. Overstating a level leads to an awkward first week; understating it hides you from families who want exactly you.

Why home-language homework help is worth so much

Children learn faster when the person helping can explain in the language the work is in, and in the language the child thinks in. A bilingual au pair can do both. For families with a child moving between an English school and an Afrikaans or isiZulu home, that is the difference between homework taking an hour and taking three.

What it does to your rate

Language doesn’t have its own price, but it changes which families you match with and how strongly. Families who need a specific language and find it will often pay at the top of their range to keep you. Combine a scarce language with a driver’s licence and you’re in the strongest position an au pair can be in. See the pocket money guide for ranges.

Say it in your bio too

The language fields do the matching; the bio does the convincing. One line is enough: “I grew up speaking Sepedi and English at home and did my schooling in Afrikaans, so I’m comfortable helping with homework in all three.” A family reading that knows exactly what they’re getting.

Which languages to list

All of them, including the ones you’d call basic. A family whose child is starting isiXhosa in Grade 1 is happy with basic. Leaving a language off your profile can only cost you a match.

Update your languages now if they’re not all there.