Experienced Native German Tutors in London and Online
Work with a fully-qualified German tutor in London or online
Hello, I'm Jens. I'm the founder and director of Olesen Tuition. Originally from the Cologne area, I've been a qualified German tutor for over 25 years. I hold First-class undergraduate and graduate degrees from RWTH Aachen University, the LSE, and the University of Oxford.
For six years, I also worked as a university fellow, having taught at Oxford, the LSE and RWTH Aachen. I have successfully prepared students of all levels and ages for certificates of the Goethe-Institut (A1-C2) and other test centres; school examinations, such as GCSE and A-Level, International Baccaleauréat (IB) and French Baccaleauréat (Bac), and Cambridge Pre-U German; university exams at Bachelor, Master and PhD-level; for their relocation to, or job interviews in, a German-speaking country; or I have helped them to gain and improve their competence in the language more generally.
Throughout my teaching career, I have brought thousands of students to fluency and many more to intermediate level with a unique combination of tailored vocabulary training, solid grammar foundation and my challenging yet motivating teaching style. In addition to my work, I am an avid traveller (particularly to my beloved Greece), and passionate about fine food and wine.
Introducing my team of excellent German tutors
Jens Olesen
German Tutor &
Founder and director of Olesen Tuition
To meet the increasing demand for high-quality German lessons, I hired a small group of excellent colleagues who teach for my company. As a team, we teach our small German classes, private German lessons, and we offer business German language training for companies in London and abroad.
Hi guys! I’m Annika from northern Germany. I studied German as a foreign language at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena. Having lived and worked in both Chile and Spain, I enjoy interacting with people from a variety of cultures. In my teaching I make sure to adapt to my students' individual needs in order to help them make the progress they yearn for. It’s very important to me that my students achieve their goals and gain a positive and satisfactory learning experience. I have over 10 years of teaching experience, and I look forward to working with you.
Hello, my name is Anja, I have been working as a German teacher with groups and individuals for over 15 years and I am certified examiner. I have been teaching people from all sorts of backgrounds with a wide variety of reasons for learning the beautiful and challenging German language. I enjoy teaching not only because I love German grammar but also because I am very interested in each person's unique approach to learning a new language and encountering a whole new cultural universe.
Hi there, I'm Kai. Originally from northern Germany, I have taught German for over 20 years in the US, Germany and the UK. I know that the most important thing about teaching and learning German is that you will get loads of opportunities to speak, while I'm helping you to understand the necessary tools like grammar and all kinds of useful phrases. German is luckily quite straightforward if you get precise and clear explanations. This will enable you to enjoy speaking with confidence, and we can keep it fun and relaxing while we're working hard - it's possible!
Hi, my name is Andreas. I was born in Augsburg (Bavaria) and studied German as a foreign language at the University of Dresden. In 2014 I started to work as a German teacher for the Goethe Institut and VHS in Dresden and Hamburg and since 2019 I also give online German lessons. I am very grateful for my job because I love teaching the German Language and learning about different cultures as I work with students from all over the world.
Hi, my name is Uta, and I have been working as a German teacher for over 10 years. I am a qualified teacher for German as a foreign language and have been teaching students from different backgrounds and all levels. I worked for different institutions teaching German in London until I moved back to Germany. I am certified for all Goethe exams. I love teaching German, and I also enjoy learning languages myself. At the moment I am learning Italian, but I also used to learn Finnish, which supposedly is even more challenging than German.
Guten Tag, ich heiße Britta und ich komme aus Deutschland. I'm originally from Aachen but I have lived and worked abroad for more than 25 years. I've been teaching German in different language schools, institutes and universities in France, Japan and in the UK and I also give tailor-made private lessons. Though all students are, they all want to learn in a nice, pleasant atmosphere with well-structured input and ... have fun while doing it! Looking forward to meeting you!
Hallo, ich bin Sylvia und komme aus Bayern. I hope you like learning languages as much as I do. I also love teaching languages and even did my PhD on it. I specialise in helping people to express themselves better in German and to improve their speaking und writing skills, also on an academic level. I know the different language levels and their difficulties, and I am also a trained examiner for international certificates. If you are looking for a motivating, patient, and competent teacher with experience, you have come to the right place. I look forward to working with you.
Hallo, ich bin Andrea und komme aus Italien. Yes, you understood correctly, I am Italian by nationality, but German is nonetheless my mother tongue. I grew up in a German speaking area called Südtirol. From an early age, I was surrounded by different languages and dialects and expressed a wish to become a linguist. I have now over 20 years’ experience as a language teacher. When learning a language, in my opinion the most important aspects are having fun, not being afraid of making mistakes, enjoying the journey, and showing an interest in the culture, as they always go hand in hand. Also, ich freue mich auf dich! Bis bald!
Hello, my name is Kristin. I am from a small city south of Berlin and studied German linguistics at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. In 2017 I started working as a German teacher for the Goethe-Institut in Glasgow. I am excited about the many people who have an interest in my language and culture. My goal is to teach German in a way that is fun and motivating. The cross-cultural interchange with my students is an enriching experience for me.
Why you should work with a native German tutor
The aim of our German tuition is that our students read, write, understand and speak our mother tongue to the best of their abilities. Being native speakers puts us in the position of working on our students' German in all aspects of language learning - from improving their pronunciation and intonation of German words, expanding their vocabulary in "Hochdeutsch" (standardised German) to advancing their understanding of various idiosyncrasies in German grammar. Even though many of these aspects can of course be taught by a non-native teacher, only a trained native speaker of the language will know whether your choice of words is not only appropriate but also natural in the context in which you used it, and will be able to help you speak German without accent.
Unlike other German tutors, we don't believe it is possible to focus exclusively on conversational German. While speaking German is an important part of the learning process, even the most basic of sentences tends to require a good understanding of several, often interconnected, grammar rules. Hence, a good understanding of German grammar is essential. Otherwise, you would run before you could walk, and unfortunately the latter strategy is often encouraged by tutors who follow a conversational approach. Instead, our lessons involve speaking, writing, reading, listening, and a thorough grammar training, so that you learn the language properly.
Our approach to teaching German- simple but correct
With absolute beginners to the German language, we start by looking at the basics, such as how to introduce yourself in German, express likes and dislikes in German, and talk about your hobbies. In the process, we explain the conjugation of regular and irregular verbs in German, and key rules regarding German syntax and introduce them to the cases in German and German prepositions. We also advise on the proper pronunciation of German words and point you to those letters that sound different than in English. While building your vocabulary on a range of topics from here on, our main focus will be to keep your sentences simple but correct, before gradually adding complexity as we move along. You'll find explanations of all relevant topics in German grammar, as well as an A-Z guide to grammar terms, on our German language blog "Auf Deutsch, bitte!"
Beginner German students often struggle to express their ideas not because their vocabulary is so basic but because they try to translate literally between their native language and German. Simple but correct stops students from translating by keeping their focus on German grammar, by showing them to simplify their ideas with ease and by encouraging them to make good use of the German words they have learnt. Even fairly complex ideas can be expressed in simple terms when you think of synonyms for what you'd like to say and you concentrate on bringing your point across. The advantages of this approach are grammatical accuracy and confidence in writing and speaking. As soon as our students have developed the flexibility to simplify with ease, we work towards increasing nuance and complexity of their sentences through text work, grammar training and discussions in class.
Intermediate and advanced German students also benefit from our approach as it helps them to unlearn mistakes they made in the past and develop their fluency in speaking and writing. Having used and refined our method over the last 25 years that we have been teaching the language, we are convinced that our method will allow you to learn German properly.
Our German tutoring services in London and online
Whether you are looking for one-to-one lessons or prefer to learn in a small group, on the following pages you will find a course option that suits you. Private German tutoring and intensive German courses are designed for students who intend to progress quickly in the language through lessons that are tailored to their individual needs and interests. My German group classes are an affordable alternative to private lessons and ideal for those who learn best in a small group of like-minded students. We offer both adult group classes as well as German courses for kids and teens. If you intend to learn German for work or you are looking for German lessons for your employees, my in-house German language training in London will help you achieve your aims. Finally, if you are studying for an exam in German and you are looking for support to get top marks, my German exam preparation tutorials will be the right option for you.
Please do not hesitate to contact us, should you have any questions. You will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about our German lessons here.
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We look forward to hearing from you.
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Jens and his team
Tony B., English tutor
I have been taught by Jens over the past six months. Although I spoke little to no German before I met Jens, I have now become a competent writer and speaker of the language. I intend to study a language-based subject in a German university within the coming years and both Jens and I believe this to be an achievable aim, given the distance we have made in the past six months and what this illustrates about my capacity to work under Jens's rigorous and holistic guidance. As a teacher myself, I have been impressed by the way Jens teaches. By attending not only to the normative demands of teaching a language but also to the specific needs, rich idiosyncrasies and irreducible particularity of the student before him (me), Jens has shown me that, instead of indiscriminately applying language like an iron to those one teaches, one should, as he does, facilitate and participate in the development of each student's own relationship with a language in both its most practical and imaginative applications. Thanks!
Anne E., Accountant
I have been studying German with Jens for nearly a year and have found him to be a really good teacher, patient and encouraging, ensuring we concentrate on my weaker areas so I continue to make progress. The main focus of each lesson varies between grammar and reading/discussing texts on a variety of topics which have introduced me to a wide range of new vocabulary. Jens also has a wonderful range of signals to indicate if I go wrong when speaking so I can correct myself. I still have lots to learn but enjoy the lessons and definitely feel much more confident with my German now than when I started
Paddy G., PhD student
Jens' tutorials struck the perfect balance between laying a solid grammatical foundation (much needed in my case)and introducing a range of useful every day topics. His academic background and clearly extensive German-teaching experience put his sessions streets ahead of other teaching I have experienced. He's a nice guy too!