I am bilingual in English and German. I have been teaching the languages for 17 years in two language schools and on a freelance basis. Over the years I have had students of different ages, backgrounds and from various countries. I have taught beginners as well as more advanced students on a one-on-one basis or in very small groups. My native language is German. When I moved to New Jersey, I needed to learn English to be able to attend school and to communicate. Because of that, I understand that it can sometimes be difficult and also confusing to learn and understand another language. Whether I’m teaching English or German, we speak and read the language being learned so that a student becomes accustomed to the sound of the new language and becomes comfortable speaking it. And, yes there are explanations if there is confusion or no understanding. This works quite well. I have found that when people understand why or how they say something, it makes it much easier to learn. My focus is always on areas that are important to the student.
I thoroughly enjoy teaching others and learning from them. I am a patient, calm and fun-loving person. I also enjoy classes that are interesting and fun. I always laugh with my students, not at them! I like to share my knowledge of the English language and the German one with others including idiomatic expressions that I find are often used and are difficult to understand. My greatest satisfaction is having a student looking forward to a class, making progress and feeling comfortable speaking, reading and writing the new language.
I believe that knowing another language and learning about other cultures are very important in the global environment we have today.
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