Hello, my name is Sarah Estarin and I'm an experienced native German tutor currently living in Georgia. I have been giving German lessons online with Verbalplanet since 2021. I am currently offering a free initial trial lesson for new students.
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Latest Reviews
jrtrhd United Kingdom
Sehr informative Lektion über Verben in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Gründlich mit meinen Fragen
jrtrhd United Kingdom
Der Unterricht war anspruchsvoll, aber auch unterhaltsam. Das Lernen der Artikel war sehr gut.
Do you want to learn how to communicate in German accurately and with confidence, but without plenty of boring explanations? Or do you just want to talk, but constantly feel stressed when having a free conversation? Or do you already speak German well and wonder how you can improve further?
I'm Sarah, a native speaker from Germany, and I’m here to guide you on your way to success!
For me, it’s important that you enjoy our lessons, but I'd also like to see your progress. I'm a very empathic and sensitive person, so I can very well adopt to different people and demands. My focus is on structured conversation training, since this is so essential - and most difficult for many students.
Qualifications & Experience
As a multilingual secretary, I had plenty of language lessons at school. So I know what works – but more important, I also know what doesn’t. If you regard yourself as an untalented language learner: Don’t worry. I understand you perfectly. I’ve been there. Time to think outside the box. Beyond the horizon of traditional classroom methods, I finally realized that it’s possible to learn a language with fun and ease.
I studied two things: Successful language learning techniques from polyglots. And brain-friendly learning methods from neuroscience. To understand everything about music theory doesn’t make you a good piano player, right? So does understanding grammar makes you speak a foreign language? Of course not!
Neuroscience proves the point: When you only hear rules and explanations, the chance of remembering is about 20%. When you use grammar and vocabulary in a structured and systematic way – at best in a context relevant to you – the chance of remembering is about 90%.
I’ve been a successful full-time online tutor since 2020 now. My classes are joyful as well as effective, always taking into account your personal needs.
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Teaching Approach
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“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” (Confucius)
Understanding and mastering are two completely different things. Therefore, it is not my goal to explain a lot, but to make you USE grammar structures and new words in a systematic way.
WHAT TO EXPECT
• Lessons tailored to your personal needs
• A relaxed learning atmosphere with encouragement instead of fear
• You will receive a variety of materials and you will talk a lot about things which are interesting to you.
• You will have the possibility to work with an INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE – for students who take at least 1 – 2 lessons a week and want to do homework (best suited for levels A1 – B1).
• You will receive feedback, corrections and examples in google docs.
• You will practice grammar and new words systematically in a natural conversation.
• You will also have the option to train reading, writing and listening.
• You will be encouraged to say things in different ways in order to broaden your vocabulary.
• You will focus on practice, not on theory.
• You will have the option to do homework.
WHAT NOT TO EXPECT
• Boring grammar exercises and word lists out of context
• Analysis of the language – since that doesn’t help you speak.
• A lot of translations – I will show you a better method of learning vocabulary.