Let’s face it, our teens are going through a tremendous change mentally and physically. I know what I am talking about, my two went through the same!
The students are sitting in classrooms of 15-30+ others and the teachers are doing their best not to leave a single student behind as they are tutoring to all abilities. You know that it takes a certain type of child to raise their hand during lessons to answer questions in German happily without thinking “Will I embarrass myself when I speak?” The student’s confidence is knocked so easily and yet learning a different language is the best expansion for the brain’s development, let alone the possibilities for the future.
The hourly charge for lessons is £50 p/hr. Spaces for this year's GCSE cohort are filling up fast. Contact me now to avoid disappointment.
Are you ready to increase your or your child’s German speaking confidence, especially when it comes to the oral exams and their writing ability for the other papers, book a free 30 minute call to find out how I can help, please click here:
Obviously speaking and sounding German isn’t the only factor in getting good results in the new GCSE syllabus. The focus is much more on understanding grammar on a deeper level and learning sentence builder type snippets will not help students much in constructing their own sentences correctly. I often get asked why the sentence “Ich gehe in die Stadt.” is correct but “Ich bin in die Stadt.” is incorrect and it needs to read “Ich bin in der Stadt”. These small but subtle differences can mean the difference between grades.
I look at each pupils ability and focus on their weak areas (this is mostly a lack of understanding the complex German grammar) and encourage them to create better sentences.
A recent 1 to 1 GCSE student of mine was able to gain a 28% increase in writing (based on the mock results to the actual exam) and a 20% increase in the speaking paper and scored an impressive grade 9 (this student was neither a bilingual or near-native speaker). The reading paper results went up by 6% and the listening results went up by 14%.
Just so you know, I do not perform magic and I do not guarantee individual results, however so far all of my students have increased their predicted grades by at least 1 grade if not 2.
If you are ready to increase your child’s German speaking and writing ability and would like to book a free 30 minute call to find out how I can help, please click here:
In 2020, I have switched to online tutoring and I have to admit, much to my surprise, that it isn’t much different to tutoring face to face. In fact, it is easier and more convenient, the kids are well used to working online, plus there is no additional travel cost for you involved.
(Please also note that premium slots in the run up to the GCSE’s are charged at a higher rate).
Sarah P.
(Feedback before GCSE results:)
Hi Barbara,
Just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your help with my sons' German. It has totally transformed his attitude to learning a language so irrespective of his GCSE outcome you have had a really positive impact - he's even talking about carrying on with German as a hobby!
(Feedback after GCSE results:)
Hi Barbara,
thought you might like to know that my son got a ….. 7!! Thank you so much for all your help – that’s a two grade improvement but even better he’s been learning German in his spare time because he likes it now !!
Kirsten H.
I highly recommend Barbara as a tutor for German.
We relocated to the UK 5 years ago and at that stage my sons had a good level of German for their respective ages (11 and 7).
We wanted them to maintain this invaluable skill and to be able to sit Common Entrance German even though this subject wasn’t offered by their prep school. Barbara has tutored both boys since our arrival in the UK.
During term time Barbara spent time with both boys on a weekly basis giving them the opportunity to speak and listen to German, and also to improve their grammar and vocabulary.
She prepared lessons for our younger son for 4 years so that he had a good foundation to build on in preparation for his Common Entrance exam which he will sit later this academic year.
As a native German speaker Barbara has helped my sons develop excellent spoken German, a skill they are often complimented on and which has helped them gain excellent results in their exams.
She has also been available in holidays to provide the opportunity for my sons to practice their German which is very helpful in the lead up to exams.
Our elder son attained top marks in Common Entrance and GCSE German and is now taking A level German.
As well as being an excellent technical tutor, Barbara is also friendly, accommodating, and encouraging, and my sons are always happy to see her.
James R.
We were fortunate enough to find Barbara after an online search in the local area for a private German tutor. Speaking with her, it was clear that as a native speaker with children of her own she understood the needs of our grade 5 bi-lingual daughter. We discussed lessons happening in person on a regular basis and Barbara also offered to complete an initial 20-minute Zoom call to assess our daughter’s level of German.
Over two months, we had lessons at least twice per week and continue to use Barbara outside of school hours and in the holidays. The lessons are always fun and inventive to keep our daughter engaged in the session.
I would not hesitate to recommend Barbara to anyone looking for a German tutor.
Mark T.
A quick note to say that we heard from Brighton College today that our son has won a scholarship?! His grades were fantastic including a number of A*s, one of which was for German! So thank you very much for your efforts with him. I'm sure he'll have more to tell you next week.
Diane H.
We were looking for a native German speaker to help our two young sons speak and understand German prior to us relocating to Switzerland. Barbara came recommended to us.
Our sons had no prior knowledge of the language. Barbara tailored the weekly sessions to the ability of our children aged 6 and 10 (at the time) and prioritised the usefulness of vocabulary to them in their new environment. This included the basics of introducing themselves and how to interact with other children as well as classroom talk. Barbara kept us up to date with our boys’ development.
It was invaluable for our boys to be exposed to German prior to our move. We have now been in Switzerland for three months. The boys were more comfortable from the beginning because they had been exposed to the German language beforehand. There is enough change when making an international move so removing this surprise was very valuable. The children made friends in their German speaking schools much faster having had such a good start with Barbara.
Barbara was in tune with the boys behaviour so as not to overwhelm them at any time. They both enjoyed their lessons. We would not hesitate to recommend her.