Nicole W
New tutor
Your anchor on the stormy seas of German learning.™
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Tutor Bio
Guten Tag, ich heiße Nicole und ich liebe die deutsche Sprache!
Have you ever said:
* I took German in high school, but I don't remember any of it.
* I started German lessons, but I haven't stuck with it...
* 342-day streak on this app! But I still can't speak German.
or
* I'm in a German class, but I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do!
You're in the right place--the place where you can finally learn to speak German.
The majority of my clients have tried learning German other places--in high school, in college, in small group classes, in fits & starts over years, with computer programs and apps. And it didn't work because:
* the class had to culminate in a test, forcing a fast & ineffective pace,
* the materials didn't suit the student,
* they realized an app isn't going to get them where they need to go,
or maybe the most common:
* they only ever talked about German, not in German.
I teach for language acquisition, that is, I teach so that you learn to speak German, not just talk about it.
We work together on your language skills, building from your strengths and strengthening your weaker language muscles so you can communicate when you travel through Germany, meet those distant relatives in Cologne, rent a bike in Austria, and feel comfortable on business trips.
Overall, my clients tend to have a deep and abiding love for the German language and Germanic cultures, they really like to travel in the German-speaking countries, are dating/are married to a German speaker, or work for a German/Austrian/Swiss company.
I've been a German instructor/tutor since 2010 and have logged over 7,000 hours of instructional time. 100% of my clients who have taken a proficiency test have passed on the first try, and my longest-standing client has been working with me for over 10 years.
Degrees and Certificates
- Degrees: B.M. in Vocal Performance, Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MNM.M. in Classical Voice, Manhattan School of Music, New York, NY
- Certications: CELTA Certification, Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults, University of Cambridge/Hamburg School of English, Hamburg, GermanyDaF Unterrichten, teaching German as a Foreign Language, Goethe-Institut, München, GermanyGoethe-Zertifikat C2 Grosses Deutsches Sprachdiplom, Goethe-Institut, Chicago, IL
Personal Interests
Board games, Cooking, Genealogy, Listening to music, Pet, Reading, Singing, Hiking, Travel, Exercising
Learn more about Nicole
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What is your favorite word in your language and why?
My favorite phrase is "Erst Ordnung schaffen," or "First, create order," and this is a principle by which I live my life. Of my many favorite words in German, several are: "Schadenfreude," or joy at someone else's pain and suffering; "souverän" to describe someone who is poised and confident; and "schnallen," which means to 'get' or to grok something.
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What is your favorite dish from your hometown? If you no longer live there is there a good local restaurant that serves it?
Sadly none of the local restaurants from my time there still exist, however after funerals there are usually a host of Jell-O salads and casseroles, and that's when I show my true western Wisconsinite side. Hands off my Pistachio Jell-O Salad!
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Besides the languages you teach, do you speak or study any other languages?
I've learned just enough Spanish, Italian, and French to get by in a pinch, and I've sung an entire song cycle in Vietnamese. And on my bucket list is a trip to Poland to visit the village my ancestors lived in for several centuries (when it was German), so I'll learn some Polish in the future.
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What are your interests outside of teaching at Strommen?
As a big geek, I have a hobby of collecting new hobbies, because I love to learn new things. I sing German music (Bach, Mozart, etc.), do Essentrics (an exercise program out of Canada also known as "Classical Stretch"), cook German food, go hiking, ride my German bicycle, watch live bands, attend classical music concerts, watch British/Welsh/Australian/New Zealand TV, meet up with friends at my local and drink German beer, I read books, play autoharp, watch foreign films and movies, and I'm also into genealogy and every once in a while I work on teaching myself to read and write in Kurrent (Old German Script). I've even got a German typewriter.
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What do you consider your hometown? Why do you love it?
My hometown is New Richmond, in a part of western Wisconsin known affectionately as "Wisconsota," because it's in Wisconsin, but completely dominated by Minnesota media and sports teams. I love being able to get in the car and drive anywhere because I know the roads like the back of my hand. No thinking, no GPS, just drive.
Hourly Rates
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Pay as you go$130/hr
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10-hour package Save $50$125/hr$1,250 total
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20-hour package Save $200 Best value$120/hr$2,400 total