Professional German Teacher with 5 Years' Experience Helps You to Learn German Fast

Find out more about Christiaan

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I am a semi-native speaker. That may sound weird, but it is true for two reasons. First of all, I moved to Germany when I was 12 years old, meaning that I was exposed to the language at a very young age. I did all of my high school in German, and the same goes for my Abitur (final exam of high school). I also attended university in German, together with all the other native speakers.
  I am a semi-native speaker of German because I was born in the Netherlands. Dutch is very close to German. The two languages have a similar pronunciation, many cognates and doublets, and speakers of the two languages can understand each other if they speak slowly - a bit like Italian/Spanish/Portuguese speakers.

• Can you name a living, historical, or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  My favorite author in German is definitely Stefan Zweig, who had to flee to the Americas prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. His view of history was really magical which was probably also the reason he was so disenchanted with the developments in Germany and Austria in the 30s, followed by the Second World War.
  Apart from that, what makes German special is the plethora of famous philosophers who wrote their works in German.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behaviour in the language that you particularly like?

  Karneval is a great tradition in Cologne, where I lived for two years. Also, Germans have a great bread and cake tradition. Nothing beats German bread and pie 😊
  Some funny expressions are animal-related:
  "Er hat einen Vogel" ("he has a bird" = is crazy)
  "Du hast Schwein gehabt" ("you have had pig" = you were lucky)
  "Ich habe einen Kater" ("I have a male cat" = I am hungover)
  "Ich habe keinen Bock" ("I have no male goat" = I don't feel like doing that)
  Of course, these expressions are all very colloquial, so don't use them in professional settings! German can be a very formal language.

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  The fact that German uses declensions (the nouns and the articles change depending on their function as a subject/possessive object/direct object/indirect object) makes it a very elegant language.
  German matters to me because it gives me access to the literature of an intellectually very interesting country. Right now, I am reading a war-time novel by Fallada. One thing the literature reflects is how multi-faceted Germany is, something I hope to explore again when I go there again.

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  German is trickier than Dutch, English or Spanish. Luckily, I have both a grammatical and an intuitive understanding of the language. The challenge is knowing 1) what to understand and 2) what to learn by heart. Both points apply to declension choices, declension application, verbs, and syntax. I am very good at explaining these points - I even enjoy thinking and talking about it!

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  I had a couple years of Latin in high school. We used the method where you just translate, no speaking. Of course, I forgot most of it. Looking back as a teacher, I realize that the most important part of memorizing a language is the student wrestling with and actually applying the language (i.e. speaking and writing). Intuitive contact with the language is more important than the grammar (which is something I struggle with because I love grammar)
  Good news: I took up Latin again, and it is a lot of fun 😊

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  Travelling to different parts of the German-speaking world and hearing the different dialects has helped me to get acquainted with the intuitive side of German, as standard German can be a very rule-bound, grammatically analytical language (but the dialects are not).

• What makes you a Superprof in language?

  I am a German Superprof because I have a lot of experience teaching - I can adapt perfectly to the student's needs at that stage in their learning journey combined with what they are capable of on that day. If a student is well-rested, you teach one class, if they had a professionally or emotionally draining day, you have to teach a completely different class.
  Also, I have heard most grammar questions before - I have an answer for almost every doubt a student can have.
  German has many difficulties, and I have experienced German both as a learner and as a semi-native speaker. Therefore, I can answer questions that even a native teacher can't answer.