ABOUT ME
HOW LANGUAGE TEACHING BECAME MY PASSION
MY DILEMMA
I can‘t say I‘ve always been interested in language, languages or language learning. In school I hated it. But I was fascinated by traveling and listening to people speak another language, wishing desperately to be able to understand them, and to communicate with them. Just as Caliph Stork did in one of my favorite stories from Wilhelm Hauff, in which, through a magic trick, the protagonists are able to transform into any creature they want to, and can then understand the language of the chosen creature. Unfortunately, I didn‘t have that magic powder. Therefore, I had to find another strategy. I remember trying to learn a few words in a foreign language whenever I traveled, and see what reaction I would get when I used them.
THE EYE-OPENER
Even though I had 9 years of English, 4 years of French, as well as one year of Spanish at school, I remember how frustrating it was, to hardly understand people speaking in one of these languages, let alone being able to converse with them. Not even in English. This changed drastically when I moved to the US. I was thrilled by the realization that it was the immersion in a language that brought with it the desired outcome, just like the magic powder. Later on, I moved to Spain and my hypothesis was confirmed. I learned Spanish by interacting with other people and using the language.
DIVING INTO TEACHING
Just for the mere fact of being a German native living in Barcelona I was hired by language academies to teach German as a foreign language. Since there was also a demand for English, and I had lived a few years in the US and new about the struggle of learning English, I also started to teach it. I soon discovered that I didn‘t like the academic approach of language schools which reminded me of my language learning experiences at school. Memories of this has meant that, I wanted to be able to follow my own approach to language learning and create a learning environment that provides an immersion in the language. This is how I became a freelance language teacher.
MY APPROACH
When teaching a language I consider an interaction on eye level and the active use of the language key to effective language learning. By effective I mean to use the language skillfully in a wide variety of situations. It seems I am not the only one thinking like that, meeting more and more people who are happy to finally immerse themselves in the language and interact with German, English or Spanish by using it in conversations related to their fields of interest and life experiences.
MY ACADEMIC FOUNDATION
My approach made me more and more aware of the difficulty of expressing something in a foreign language, which unfortunately is not saying something in your own language just with foreign words, and studied for a translator degree. Since I consider myself a tool for language learning, as which I want to be as effective as possible, I also wanted to learn about teaching a language and got a TEFL certificate. But I wanted more. I had the desire to understand the whole concept of education, and got my BA in Educational Sciences with an emphasis on adult language learning, and language programs in companies. In addition, I wanted to connect the theory with practice, and got a Teaching German as a Foreign Language degree at the Goethe Institute.
PROGRESSING TOGETHER
Throughout this process I moved back to Germany, which allowed me to add Spanish to my language teaching portfolio. To me it’s important to continue learning other languages, if only to remind me of how difficult the process can be. I visit France several times a year, and am fascinated to experience how much I enjoy speaking French, a subject matter I once hated at school.
