German Tuition in London and Online with a Fully Qualified German Tutor
Private German Tuition
1:1 German tuition online & at our office
£80 / hour
1:1 in-person lessons in zones 1 & 2*
£95 / hour
2:1 German tuition
online & at our office
£90 / hour
2:1 in-person tuition in zones 1 & 2*
£105 / hour
German tuition tailored to your needs
One-on-one German tuition is the most effective way to learn German or improve your existing skills. While all our one-to-one German lessons are tailored to your specific needs and requirements, they typically involve training in
-
conversational German, which allows you to actually speak and express your ideas in the language;
-
the rules of German grammar, which gives you the confidence of knowing that you master the language;
-
reading comprehension, which enables you to get the gist as well as the details of increasingly complicated texts and expands your vocabulary range;
-
listening comprehension exercises that test your understanding of spoken German;
-
writing texts in German as part of your homework, so that you can test what you have learnt and see the progress that you have made.
​
Our German tuition therefore focuses on improving every aspect of your German language skills.
What we cover in our private German lessons
For each of our private German lessons we prepare a text that is tailored to your level and on a topic of your interest, which we will read in the first part of the lesson. In the course of discussing the text, you will pick up around twenty new words in each German tutoring session. We believe that it needs at least three repetitions for a new word to stick, so we make sure to come back to the new words you learnt and phrase sample sentences to show how the word is used in context.
In the second part of the lesson we will focus on grammar, usually starting with the most important rules concerning German word order in both main and subordinate clauses before we cover German articles and prepositions in the German language. In class as well as at home, you will fill out grammar exercises that will allow you to test what you have learnt. Our grammar training has proven to be so successful over the years that we have published many explanations on various grammar topics- from the aforementioned word order rules to the cases- on our German language blog "Auf Deutsch, bitte!" There you will also find definitions of the most important grammar terms because terminology can be quite complex and daunting, especially for beginners.
* including traveling expenses within zones 1 and 2.
For tuition outside of zones 1 and 2, as well as intensive German courses, please contact me for a tailored quote.
Please note that our tuition is subject to a 24-hour cancellation policy. In the event of a cancellation with less than 24 hours notice, the full fee will be charged.
At the end of our lesson you will have practiced and improved your conversational skills, picked up new words, and will have learnt about at least one aspect of German grammar. At home, you will then be asked to produce a text to apply what you have learnt. We will therefore cover listening, speaking, reading, writing.
Work with an experienced native German tutor
Born near Cologne, in West Germany, I have worked as a German language tutor for over 25 years. I hold First-class undergraduate and graduate degrees from RWTH Aachen University and the London School of Economics, and I have recently completed a D.Phil. at the University of Oxford. In 2015, I founded Olesen Tuition and since then my team of excellent native tutors and I have grown the company into one of the leading providers of German lessons in the UK with 5 star reviews on Google and Trustpilot.
In addition to my work as private tutor, I have taught undergraduates for several colleges of the University Oxford, the LSE and RWTH Aachen. I have successfully prepared students of all levels for certificates of the Goethe-Institut (from A1 to C2); school and examinations, such as GCSE, A-level, IB, the French Baccalaureate in German; university entrance exams, such as Pre-U German and Test DaF, and examinations at Bachelor, Master and PhD-level; for job interviews in or their relocation to a German-speaking country; or I have helped them to acquire and maintain competence in the German language more generally.
What are the advantages of private German tuition?
The main advantage of private German lessons is that each lesson is tailored to your individual needs and learning objectives. Apart from assessing your level, our initial consultations normally involve an evaluation of the type of learner you are, so that we can redesign our teaching material to cater to your requirements. Since the same material doesn't work for everyone, personalised learning material is a crucial factor in keeping our students interested and engaged. And without the students' interest, no lesson achieves its goal.
Do you also offer German tuition for children?
We have many years of experience in teaching children and teenagers between the ages of 4 and 17, and we have had great success in bringing many of our young students to fluency in German.
​Please feel free to ask for my Enhanced DBS (Criminal Record Check) and references.
Practicalities
We teach full time, seven days a week from 8am to 10pm. Our lessons can take place at your London home, our office in Hampstead, quiet locations in Central London. Of course, we also offer online German lessons.​​Let's arrange a 'trial lesson' and take it from there. We look forward to hearing from you.
​
Jens
Erik K., Professor
Jens Olesen is the best teacher with whom I have ever studied. A man of tremendous sensitivity and compassion, he really understands not only the linguistic needs of his students, but the emotional requirements as well. He works wonders to help students overcome the anxieties of approaching a challenging language for the first time. He is highly professional, dedicated, reliable, and he has a great sense of humour to boot. I would recommend him without any reservations whatsoever.
Natasha A., M.A. Student
I had quite an ambitious goal at the start of learning German, which was to get my German good enough to enable me to study at Masters level in Germany less than a year after. I was often told that it was impossible...but then I met Jens. We had a wonderful, albeit challenging ten months working together as he shaped me from a complete beginner to a very proud C1-certificate holder. It is no exaggeration to say that Jens was an excellent teacher.
Gerad K., Acupuncturist
Jens is a great teacher. He knows how to keep the session friendly and open while simultaneously keeping the teaching on track. This way it never feels boring or difficult. The grammar that can normally feel difficult and clunky seems to slip in without effort making the session feel fun and light rather than a heavy, back breaking lesson.