Learn German at beginner to intermediate level from an experienced tutor and YouTuber
I’m Aidan, experienced language coach, author and YouTuber and I offer tuition in German from beginner to intermediate level and beyond using a mixture of face-to-face tuition and audio-visual materials selected and developed by me.
My degree is a BA Honours in German and French from Trinity College Dublin, and I have high level, near-native competency in German.
In my freelance career, I combine language teaching with media creation via my AidanEyewitness and AidanEyewitness Deutsch YouTube channels (see screenshot above).
To make an enquiry or find out more, please use the contact form below
Learn German Through Media
Over many years of teaching, I’ve found that the best way to learn a language is by ‘consuming’ interesting and useful video clips, audio recordings, dialogues, articles and other items. I select media from YouTube and the German-speaking media and carefully produce transcripts, exercises, side-by-side translations, vocab lists and grammar explanations. For beginners and new learners, I can provide a sample of course books that you can purchase online.
Today there are some very good online learning resources, such as the Easy German YouTube channel, Babbel, Yabla and Fluentu. They are all good, but as an independent teacher, I can offer something extra: personal contact, inspiration and feedback.
Learn German One-to-one, in small groups and through guided self-study.
You cannot learn only during the lesson you must turn yourself into an independent language learner and that’s what I help you to do. The concept of ‘homework’ is outmoded. Self-study is an integral part of language learning.
I provide audio, video and written materials to students in advance of the lesson so they can present the material to themselves. Then in the lesson, we can concentrate on practice, consolidation and having an enjoyable time reading aloud, taking part in dialogues and roleplay. I provide follow-up activities, such as extra material, translation and writing assignments.
Learn how to learn a language effectively.
I often talk about good language learning methods as well as some of the underlying principles that enable us to learn a foreign language.
We need to learn a foreign language quite differently to the way we learn our native language. Guidance on these techniques is an integral part of what I offer.
Fun, flexibility, fluency.
That’s what I am to make my courses about. Language learning should be fun. It should be an enjoyable activity, not a chore.
I’m flexible, that means I always try to take into account the interests and ability of students.
Fluency is one goal but accuracy is important too. You can be fluent in a language, but make too many mistakes. You can have a good level of accuracy, but lack fluency. We should aim for a good balance of the two.
A different approach to grammar.
I’ve found that it’s much better to learn grammar within the context of the material that you’re working with. With every word, phrase and sentence of the foreign language you encounter, you have examples from which to learn. It’s impossible to “master” the grammar of any language. Even native speakers make errors in grammar, especially when speaking, so it’s better to accept that mistakes are a part of the learning process and gradually improve your grammatical accuracy step by step.
Try out one of my themed short courses.
For my intermediate students, I am creating short courses on specific themes. The first one was on the work of the police in Germany and was for intermediate level students.
Ian Morrison
More courses are in planning. They are open to my existing students, new students and past students.
All courses and tuition are open to anyone, anywhere via Zoom.
Despite its occasional technical shortcomings, I find that Zoom works well.
It enables me to work with students outside my local area who I would not traditionally be able to teach. For me, that’s a game-changing advantage. It’s possible to record sessions for viewing later.
During each session, I write course notes as we go along and display the file on screen. This file serves as my whiteboard and as a diary of everything we’ve covered. I send the notes out after every lesson.
Where necessary I can also record audio notes, a mini-podcast of around 5 minutes summing up the main points of the lesson, including pronunciation of difficult words.
Learn German from a tech-savvy content creator with journalistic and dramatic experience.
I make full use of present-day technology. I am a content creator producing YouTube videos in English and in German. I use my audio and video editing skills to create materials for my students.
My journalistic experience is useful for language learning. Note-taking, interviewing, writing, presenting audio and video are all very relevant to language learning.
I also have experience with filmmaking and drama, and so in my group sessions, I behave like a director. We rehearse the dialogues as if they were the script of a play or movie. That makes it more fun and more challenging.
Contact me by e-mail or text message
So why not join one of my group courses or become one of my one-to-one students? Get in contact by email or text and I’ll get back to you right away.
For business clients, my hourly tuition rate is £40 or 45 euro.
For private individuals and groups, the standard rate is £30 or 35
About Aidan
- I am an enthusiastic linguist, content creator and tutor
- I have an Honours BA Degree in German and French from Trinity College Dublin.
- My YouTube channels are AidanEyewitness and AidanEyewitness Deutsch
In addition, I have…
- The Post Graduate Certificate in Education for Modern Languages and English.
- Many years of experience learning and teaching Languages.
- Very high competency in German language C1/C2.
Also important…
- I love teaching languages, especially German. I’ve helped hundreds of students to learn and improve in their chosen language.
- I’m registered with language teaching agencies such as Chris Polatch, Languages for Life, Listen and Learn.
- I have an up-to-date DBS certificate available.
- I also teach English as a Foreign Language and occasionally French.
Contact
For more information, please use the contact form below. If you prefer you can text me on this number:
