We’re all aware of the reasons why… almost everyone in the world can, at least to some extent, speak English. That makes such things like international travel so easy for us, but to integrate in a country where English is not the national language… then it gets complicated.
My mother-tongue is also English and I know how difficult it can be to learn High-German in Switzerland (where the nationals would rather speak to you in either English or Swiss German).
But I have good news for you… when I came to Switzerland in July 2007, I couldn’t speak a word of German (except for, maybe, “Danke” and “Gesundheit”). Three years later, both my High-German and Swiss German (Züritüütsch – Zürich Deutsch) are fluent. I hardly ever speak English anymore – I have been totally accepted by the Swiss community as a person who, although a foreigner, communicates in Swiss German.
I would like to help my fellow English speaking allies achieve this same success – namely, true integration in Switzerland. I am a CELTA qualified English teacher (and German to English translator), and have been teaching English in Switzerland since September 2008, so have the necessary training, know-how and experience to successfully and dynamically teach languages.
My newest educational project is teaching both High-German and Swiss German to English speaking expatriates…
Course overview:
1. “Bridging the gap between High-German and Swiss German 1” (best suited to those who have very little to no knowledge of High-German).
2. “Bridging the gap between High-German and Swiss German 2” (for those with an approximate A1/A2 level in High-German).
Bridging the gap between High-German and Swiss German 1
- Small class (minimum 2, maximum 6 students).
- 6 month semi-intensive course (4 hours per week, split into 2 hours per day – every Tuesday for 2 hours and every Thursday for 2 hours, for example – with a two-week break corresponding with the national school holidays in Switzerland).
- The first 4 months focusing on High-German (with the main emphasis on conversation/speaking, but also time spent on grammar, reading, writing and naturally listening exercises).
- A short “progress test” every 5th lesson, to ensure students are keeping up with the pace of the course and, for me, to highlight common problem areas worthy of repetition in future lessons.
- The final 2 months bridging the gap between High-German and Swiss German. (Again, with the main emphasis on speaking, but also sufficient time spent on pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. I do have some reading material written in Swiss German which we would also make use of).
- You would begin at Level A1, and emerge with a B1/B2 level in both High-German and Swiss German.
- The classes would take place in Wädenswil (Canton Zürich), unless an interested party has sufficient, quiet, well-lit and well-equipped office space in Zürich which we could use for free.
- For those who are interested, field trips (at a small additional cost) to several wineries in Switzerland could also be organised, together with the occasional dinner with my Swiss husband, family and friends (providing you with multiple opportunities outside the classroom to practice your High- and Swiss German).
Bridging the gap between High-German and Swiss German 2
- Small class (minimum 2, maximum 6 students).
- 4 month semi-intensive course (4 hours per week, split into 2 hours per day – every Tuesday for 2 hours and every Thursday for 2 hours, for example – with a two-week break corresponding with the national school holidays in Switzerland).
- The first 2 months focusing on High-German (with the main emphasis on conversation/speaking, but also time spent on grammar, reading, writing and naturally listening exercises).
- The final 2 months bridging the gap between High-German and Swiss German. (Again, with the main emphasis on speaking, but also sufficient time spent on pronunciation, vocabulary grammar and listening exercises. I do have some reading material written in Swiss German which we would also make use of).
- You would begin at Level A1/A2, and emerge with a B2 level in both High-German and Swiss German.
- The classes would take place in Wädenswil (Canton Zürich), unless an interested party has sufficient, quiet, well-lit and well-equipped office space in Zürich which we could use for free.
- For those who are interested, field trips (at a small additional cost) to several wineries in Switzerland could also be organised, together with the occasional dinner with my Swiss husband, family and friends (providing you with multiple opportunities outside the classroom to practice your High- and Swiss German).
My idea is especially unique, in that it incorporates the learning of both High-German and Swiss German in the one course. No other language school in Switzerland offers this. Although I am not mother-tongue German (or Swiss), as a fellow English speaker I can share with you my plethora of tips on how to bridge the gap between English and German. As we all know, it is not worth it just learning Swiss German – only learning Swiss German means you are unable to read or write (amongst other things), and these are two very important and essential life skills. The only way to really, successfully learn Swiss German is to have a sound basic knowledge of High-German first (although that may sound nonsensical, it is fact). It is possible to learn both languages in Switzerland – and I would really like to help you achieve this success.
To obtain a course prospectus/for more information, please send me an email via the "Contact" section of the website.