Katia

My name is Katia and I am a native German speaker with a B.Ed degree. I live with my husband Steve, who is English. Our two children have both grown up. Our son is coaching tennis in Singapore and our daughter is a primary school teacher. I love passing on my passion for my native tongue and am looking forward to tutoring more private students.
My other passion is gymnastics, as I am the owner and head coach of a gymnastics club for children.
I love reading and walking in my spare time.

Tutoring Experience

I am a teacher and native German speaker who has taught mainly foreign languages and P.E. across all the key stages over the past 30 years.

I initially taught German and French in KS3 and 4 while working for eleven years at Studley High School and for two years at Ridgeway Middle School.
At Studley High School I assisted in writing schemes of work and organised regular exchange trips to my home town in Germany.
I have just finished teaching German to a group of A-level students at Tudor Grange Academy in Redditch. It has been wonderful to teach German at a Higher level but as this temporary contract has come to an end, I would like to expand my private tuition business.

Tutoring Approach

I aim to provide a solid grounding in German while paying close attention to the needs of the individual learner.

An initial meeting establishes the student’s needs and the direction tuition should take. I am happy for a parent to be present if the student is very young.
We begin to work on a program of study which focuses on filling gaps in knowledge and addressing any areas of weakness.
At A-level, I encourage the wider reading essential for the deeper understanding of German literature expected by the exam boards. I concentrate on grammar to help students to improve independence in language learning.

Tuition generally is complementing what the student is doing at school. But the program of study can easily be put aside to prepare an assignment for school, controlled assessment or coursework. As exams approach, the focus shifts towards exam technique and looking at past papers.

I am happy to offer conversational classes to beginners or adults of any age if students request just concentrating on speaking the language.
While I offer short-term tuition when there is availability, my students generally attend for a good part of an academic year excluding the holidays, as I am often in Germany during school holidays.

Over time, I’ve become convinced that private tuition works not just because of the one-to-one teaching but because of the relationship between student and tutor.