Ons leer Engels.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change much in the present tense. You say:

• ek leer = I learn
• jy leer = you learn
• hy/sy leer = he/she learns
• ons leer = we learn

Unlike English, there is no special -s form like he learns. The same verb form leer is used with most subjects.

It follows the normal Afrikaans main-clause pattern:

subject + verb + object

So:

• ons = subject
• leer = verb
• Engels = object

That is very close to English We learn English.

Because names of languages normally do not take a/an/the after verbs like learn, speak, or study.

So Afrikaans says:

• Ons leer Engels
• Sy praat Afrikaans
• Hulle studeer Duits

If you want to say the English language, then you would use a noun phrase such as die Engelse taal.

Here it is functioning as a noun meaning the language English.

Compare:

• Ons leer Engels = Engels is the language name
• Engelse boeke = Engelse is describing boeke, so it is adjectival

So in this sentence, Engels is best understood as the name of the language.

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

ONS lee-uh(r) ENG-uls

A more precise guide is:

• ons = /ɔns/
• leer = /liər/
• Engels = /ˈɛŋəls/

Pronunciation can vary a little by accent, but this is a good standard approximation.

Yes, sometimes. That can confuse English speakers, because English separates learn and teach, but Afrikaans leer can cover both meanings in different contexts.

In this sentence, Ons leer Engels, the natural meaning is We learn English.

For a clear teach meaning, Afrikaans often includes the person being taught, for example:

Ons leer die kinders Engels = We teach the children English

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

You would say:

Ons leer nie Engels nie.

Afrikaans usually uses the double negative pattern nie ... nie. So:

• Ons leer Engels = We learn English
• Ons leer nie Engels nie = We do not learn English