Choose the best online German course for you!
Certified Online German Teacher
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More than 7000 given classes with more than 1000 students of every age and every level
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Exam preparation for Goethe, Telc, TestDaF, migration authorities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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Own language course material and tons of fun exercises available
Why becoming an Online German Teacher?
The situation back then
One day I realized that I'm actually not that extremely interested in marketing. I have always been a person who likes to explain things and clarify them for other people. I also like the German language - on one side the logic that lays behind it but also the ways in which the German language can be used flexibly - how it can be 'played' with.
So, I had a look about what's out there and saw that there already have been a lot of websites, teachers and institutes teaching German. But I also quickly saw that many (not all of them) still are teaching the 'old, traditional' way - the same teaching methods that I had experienced in my school time during the 90s. And that is not a compliment. I hated my school time. Partly like many many other students I just did not enjoy going to school when I was a teenager - you have other things in mind at that age. But mostly also because of the teacher who for a big part had been already over 50 years old - completely different generation - and not willing at all to make a small effort in order to show the students useful things and make it interesting for them.
I saw teachers in their forties with their crystals around their necks to show their spirituality and at the same time with their hectic voice in a commanding tone and always also a bit from above to talk down to the children and to order them to and around. All so as not to run the risk of losing her own authority. Then I saw old, grim teachers who themselves came from a time when children could still be disciplined with sticks and who did not understand at all why children now want their own opinions to be respected.
The curriculum was completely outdated, the technology was non-existent or extremely outdated and the teachers were actually just waiting for their pension. That was my school environment, let's put it this way: This environment didn't exactly make it easy for us to stay interested either.
What is the situation now (my opinion)?
And then I see how German is still taught today in many schools or by many teachers. It's terribly boring, still structured in an authoritarian way, extremely unfashionable. You see this both in group lessons in language institutes and in online courses - for beginners or for advanced learners - it's often the same. You often get the feeling that the students have to please accept the material and the subject matter exactly as the teachers want them to and have to deal with it. No flexibility, rarely modern approaches, everything very dusty.
How can one seriously expect students to learn a language like German, which is already not the easiest language, with pleasure and ease? It almost seems as if one wants to make life extra difficult for the students.
My mother also criticised the existing school system back then. She always said that pupils or children should be "taken by the hand" instead of just being sent somewhere. Children should be guided and not moulded.
That's it - I do it myself.
I still have this thought in my head today and I cannot agree enough with my mother. Children also need to learn some form of discipline - for sure! They need to learn that they are not alone on the planet and that the planet does not revolve around them alone. They also need to learn that you have to solve problems or challenges and can't just run away from them. But children also need someone to go on the journey with them and help them develop themselves.
In the end, that made me want to become a German teacher myself. Also because I felt that not many teachers were able to explain German grammar simply and clearly. They confused the students more than they helped them. So I started as a part-time teacher at the online language school Lingoda, later took my teaching certificate at the Goethe Institute and today I work as a full-time German teacher and have been lucky enough to already be able to accompany many people a bit on their way.
That's why it was and is always important to me to understand my students (whether adults or children). I want to understand what is important to them and why they want to learn German. Especially in online one-to-one lessons, you can and must be very flexible and use the infinite possibilities of the Internet, for example.
I don't want to tell students: "I have a 10-step programme here. You have to follow it and by the end you'll be a world champion in German." No, every person, every student is different, learns differently. That's why I like to get to know my students at the beginning.
If you would like to read more about it, please feel free to click on this link here.
Find Private German Teachers Online
What my students and I could achieve together so far.
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Many students were able to take their first steps and get a feeling for the language.
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Others could significantly improve their grammar skills in writing and conversation.
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We also could translate and organize resumes and marketing texts - helping students find jobs in German-speaking areas..
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Fortunately, every single student who prepared their language exams (Telc, Goethe, TestDaF, immigration language tests...) of all existing levels took and passed them successfully.
And the journey continues!
Goethe Certificate
Verbling Certificate
Lingoda Certificate