Tutors

And this is us:

Study Program: Teaching and Learning

Languages: German, English, French

My most helpful tip for language learning: Watching and listening to TV series, movies and podcasts in the foreign language.

My biggest inspiration for language learning: I want to understand foreign-language books and songs.

I enjoy working as a tutor in the SLZ because I get in touch with diffferent people and cultures!

Study program: Management & Entrepreneurship

Languages: Spanish, English, German and a little bit of Italian

My most helpful tip for language learning: Immerse yourself in the language as much as possible and practice a little every day. Every step counts!

My biggest inspiration for language learning is to get in touch with people from different parts of the world in their own language and to learn about them, their culture and their traditions.

I like working as a tutor at the SLZ because I enjoy the international environment and helping people achieve their language learning goals.

Study Program: Cultural Studies

Languages: German and Spanish are my native languages, but I also speak English and Italian.

My most helpful tip for learning languages: Try to integrate the language into your everyday life. It helped me a lot to watch series and films in the language I’m learning and also to listen to a lot of music. I can highly recommend searching for the song lyrics and trying to understand them. Through such little things you learn more than you think :) And if you have the opportunity to have conversations with native speakers use it, you don’t have to be afraid of speaking, everyone makes mistakes and most people are much more happy about the fact that someone is interested in their language rather than looking for mistakes you make.

My greatest inspiration for learning languages is to be able to talk to the locals in their language while traveling and to be able to immerse yourself even more in the culture of a country and get to know it. Most people are so happy when you try to communicate in their native language, and I think it gives you a lot of happiness in return.

I like working as a tutor at the SLZ, because I myself have great pleasure in learning languages and like to share my enthusiasm for languages with others and help them learn more languages.

Study programme: Political Science

Languages: French, English, German and I'm learning Italian.

My most helpful tip for language learning: I think the best way to learn a language is to speak it with people. But you also need to find a pleasant way of learning it, like watching series or listening to music. It's not all about texts and grammar books, even if in the long run that's important if you want to speak the language properly.

My biggest inspiration for language learning are the people around me and being able to communicate easily with them when I'm travelling or studying.

I enjoy working as a tutor at the SLZ because it's a way of sharing my language and meeting new people. Furthermore, it allows me to perfect my German.

Study Program: Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies & Psychology and Society

Languages: German & English, I am currently studying Spanish and French (and a little Greek and Dutch).

My most helpful tip for language learning: Try to create a routine. You could, for example, start with studying a language for only 10 minutes every morning after waking up with the help of an app which is even possible while still in bed! I learned my Greek basics by studying only some minutes every day, but after a while, I could form sentences and understand a little, which felt like a huge success!

My biggest inspiration for language learning: Bringing a smile on people's faces that speak the language in their mother tongue. I love seeing how happy people get when you try to communicate with them in their own language, it's truly magical. This is what keeps me studying and motivates me more than anything.

I enjoy working as a tutor at the SLZ because I love getting to know people, planning collaborative events and creating an inspiring learning atmosphere in which everyone feels comfortable.

Study Program: Public Economics, Law and Politics

Languages: Portuguese, English, German, and Spanish

My most helpful tip for language learning: Dedication and patience. Learning a new language is always a challenging and sometimes time-consuming process. Therefore, finding enjoyable ways to learn makes the process easier. My tip is to make the process of learning a new language part of your everyday life, connect it to your hobbies and don't be afraid to make mistakes.

My biggest inspiration for language learning: The world of possibilities that knowing a new language opens. Learning a new language gave me the chance to connect with people from different parts of the world. It gave me the opportunity to study in another country and get to know new places and cultures.

I enjoy working as a tutor in the SLZ because I have always been interested in learning languages. That's why I think it's wonderful that there is a place like the SLZ at Leuphana that helps students with the challenge of learning a new language. I think the Self-Access Center is great because you can learn new languages in a laid-back and social environment.

Study Program: Global Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Languages: Italian, Russian, English, French, German, a little bit of Thai (I'm learning it)

My most helpful tip for language learning: Give yourself time! Not seeing results right away may be demoralising, but everyone has their own speed and energy. Just be consistent and trust the process: the results, sooner or later, will arrive without you even noticing them.

My biggest inspiration for language learning: As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein used to say, the limits of my language are the limits of my world. The more languages you learn, the wider your world becomes.

I enjoy working as a tutor at the SLZ because it gives me the opportunity to see my own language with new eyes, and discover something new about my culture. Participants are not the only ones that learn new things during the Sprachcafés!