German for work in Zürich
German for work in Zürich, my 3-month in-depth 1:1 programme geared towards busy professionals such as yourself, is all about breaking through that barrier that has been in your way for far too long and finally start speaking German with ease – in the workplace.
Learn how to build on your existing German to become more confident and fluent-speaking without worrying about embarrassing yourself. If you want to speak like a native overnight, you may have the wrong idea, but it’s a complete myth that you can’t make a convincing first impression in German despite not being perfect.
If you want to increase your value on the job market, improve your fluency to be able to speak spontaneously and fit in better, as well as make German your everyday language and feel good about it, you’ve found the perfect place.
Does this sound like you?
- You avoid speaking German at work for fear of sounding incompetent and unprofessional.
- You’d like to be able to converse in German with your German-speaking work colleagues.
- You feel exhausted when you speak German as you’re constantly trying to find the right words.
- You understand a lot of what people say but you feel stuck when you need to respond.
- You feel embarrassed when you can’t follow the discussion and need to ask for clarification.
- You can’t progress in your career as the natural next step would require German.
- You speak English because trying to express yourself adequately in German would take too long.
- You worry about your language skills a lot of the time and about the fact that you don’t fit in properly.
- You feel you’re not your authentic self in German and prefer to stay silent.
I think I know why you still find speaking German harder than you’d like it to be …
I’ve been a German teacher in Switzerland for almost 15 years now and I’ve often seen high-achieving and motivated professionals like you feel frustrated about their German skills.
I’m guessing you’ve come to Switzerland to be with your partner or because you had an interesting job offer – or both.
You know that in the long-term, you can only make a success of your life in Switzerland if you speak German, which is why you’ve already done quite a few German courses and, if you’re not too hard on yourself, you might even admit that you have got to a decent level.
You’ve learnt all the grammar, you can read German well and also understand a lot of spoken German – as long as people don’t speak Swiss German.
However, as soon as you try and speak German, you often get a response in English – or worse still – in Swiss German. The former is probably because people want to be helpful, the latter because your German sounds really good, but let’s not dwell on the why.
Let’s look at how you can change this so you feel less frustrated about the fact that interactions in German don’t always go the way you’d like them to.
If we’re perfectly frank, the fact that Swiss German is the spoken language in this country does not help learners of German at all. You’re not exposed to spoken High German as you go through everyday life and you have no opportunity to practise what you’ve learnt and as a result you still feel stuck when it comes to speaking German.
Here’s what we’re going to do:
Step 1: The key to a rewarding outcome is thorough preparation. With my help, you’re going to remind yourself of the vocabulary you need to navigate real-life work situations in Switzerland successfully. We’re also going to build on this and give you some super useful phrases and helpful strategies to master communication at all levels, from chats at the coffee machine to meetings with the CEO.
Step 2: Together, we’re going to get to grips with how to keep a conversation flowing, even when you don’t know what to say or how to say it. We’re going to encounter exactly the types of scenarios you face out there in the real world, giving you plenty of opportunity to speak and improve your fluency in precisely the types of situations you’re likely to face on a daily basis in work environment.
Step 3: Practice makes perfect. As you know from previous experience, what you do in the lesson is not enough. You need more exposure than that. And that’s why I’ve created some very friendly AI work colleagues to help you. At your level, the real value lies in the interaction and the feedback, not simply in having a conversation in German. Your AI colleagues will challenge you to communicate at a more sophisticated level without making the experience feel like an exam. The goal is to help you move from being able to work in German to feeling genuinely competent, articulate and influential in a German-speaking professional environment. To get there, we need to make sure the practice opportunities don’t stop when our 1:1 sessions end.
Needless to say, there’ll be plenty of support from me along the way. We’ll stay connected even when we don’t see each other and you can always check in with me if you need help or want to get something off your chest.
Having me as a coach and linguist on your side to guide and push you is the best way to make progress and achieve things you may not even consider achievable right now.
And here’s how the programme works:
- The programme runs for three months and there are 12 modules of pre-recorded material on an online platform, consisting of professional videos recorded by me, workbooks, pdfs and other useful resources. This gives you a lot of flexibility as you can go through each module when it best suits you. You won’t just be consuming content, you’ll also be preparing your won individual contributions to the live sessions so you get the most out of them.
- Each week, we’ll be looking at one topic from different real-life situations in a Swiss company and practise speaking with different scenarios from a work environment. The content of the programme is designed so you can easily fit it into a busy schedule.
- Three big milestones are part of the programme, where I’ll set you a challenge to complete, such as preparing a presentation, writing an e-mail to a client or responding to a complaint. Exactly what these milestones will be depends on your area of work and your personal goals. They will be adapted to suit your needs and to prepare you for situations that you personally are likely to encounter at work.
- For the first three weeks of each month, we’ll have two weekly 40-minute 1:1 live sessions. In the fourth week of each month, you’ll be completing a milestone task. I will give you detailed, personalised feedback on each of your milestone projects.
- In addition to our twice-weekly 1:1 coaching sessions in the first three weeks of each month, you will have one 30-minute 1:1 session with me each month where you get personalised support on grammar or vocabulary topics relevant to your own specific needs as well as some mindset coaching to get you in the right frame of mind for continued success.
What’s included?
- Lifetime access to the high-quality materials on the course platform.
- 18 x 40-minute 1:1 coaching sessions.
- 3 x 30-minute 1:1 coaching sessions designed around your requests so you can work on certain specific areas of German that we have identified as needing attention.
- 20+ easy-to-follow explanatory videos that you work through at your own pace over a 3-month period.
- Personalised feedback on your milestone tasks.
- Opportunity for extra practice with friendly AI colleagues in addition to the live session.
- My expertise as a linguist and my calm, friendly manner as a language coach to provide support, guidance and quickly erase any doubts you may have.
- Detailed personalised feedback from me on your milestone tasks.
- Accountability and momentum with weekly check-ins via email.
- A highly professional service from a passionate teacher and coach for a smooth and enjoyable learning experience.
- Me as a partner on your side, which ensures you never feel lost or overwhelmed.
You’ve probably got questions, right?
How much time will I need each week?
What level of German do I need?
Will this programme really be what I need?
I have decades of experience in language teaching and have lived in Switzerland for around 15 years now, so I know exactly what you need in order to take your German to the next level and speak with ease. Also, we will dedicate our 1:1 sessions to your very own individual needs.
Will it really make a difference?
This is what my clients think:
More about me:
My name is Sandra and I am a teacher and coach for German as a foreign language. Originally from Germany, I have been living in Switzerland for more almost 15 years now and can therefore specifically support international professionals who have decided to move to Switzerland for work.
With my academic background in translation and interpreting as well as my teaching diploma in foreign language teaching to adults, I am ideally qualified to teach German as a foreign language.
I have more than 20 years of teaching experience in both private language schools as well as state schools in Germany, the UK and Switzerland. I have worked with adults from a wide range of cultural backgrounds and developed a tried and tested teaching method. Since 2021 I have been a self-employed language coach and look forward to supporting you on your journey!
