Maggie

I grew up in Germany where I went to Stiftsgymnasium Sindelfingen and took A-Levels in German, English, French, Maths and Geography.

After finishing secondary school, I attended classes at the University of Stuttgart where I studied English, French and Politics. I graduated with a first state exam (equivalent to Bachelor of Honours). During my studies, I was able to experience studying abroad and travelled to St. Xavier's College in Mumbai where I attended a course, which was taught in partnership with my home town university in Stuttgart. I also studied at St. Francis Xavier University in Canada, where I attended classes but was also given the opportunity to work as a language assistant in the German Department.

As I studied politics at university, I was involved in local politics in my hometown, amongst others being the first female chairwoman of the youth party. Furthermore, I was given the incredibly amazing opportunity to work for an MP in the German Parliament which I did whilst still finishing my degree.

When I came to the UK, I first worked as a language assistant at Felsted School for one year. Afterwards I did a PGCE at Oxford University. Whilst doing my PGCE, I was offered to help students at the Oxford Language Center where I tutored and supported students from all over the world. After finishing my PGCE, I returned to Felsted School where I worked as a fully qualified German teacher and gained plenty of experience teaching KS3, GCSE, A-Level and IB classes as well as being a tutor in a girls’ boarding house.

Since leaving Felsted School, I have been working as a full time professional language tutor all around London and worldwide, teaching students either in person or online.

As a French and German tutor I often hear my students say that learning languages is very hard and knowing English will help you to get around in the world.

However, even a little knowledge of another language can make a difference in attitude when one meets people from other countries. Speaking another language helps to break down barriers and helps to build confidence.

My approach to tutoring French and German is very systematic. For me it is crucial to ensure that the foundations of the language are well established, i.e. taking a rigorous approach to grammar, sentence construction and vocabulary building. I like using authentic materials like newspaper articles, songs, movies, accident reports and interviews, which make my students curious and acquiring a language becomes fun rather than just a difficult task.

I love researching child and young adult psychology, focusing on literature on how best to help different children learn. I find this a fascinating subject and love the challenge of understanding the needs of all different children and young adults that I teach. I have attended a workshop at Harvard Graduate School of Education with the title ''The Opportunity of Bilingualism: Serving Today’s Young English Language Learners'' and I finished a further education course on Psychology (''Psychology in the real world'') at the Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge.

Throughout the school year, I volunteer as a career coach for the charity My Big Career where I support students from disadvantaged backgrounds with career support.

Furthermore, I am involved in the national tutoring sector, having acted as a Director for the National Tutors’ Association (TTA) as well as a TTA Regional Hub Leader for Central London.

Whenever I have some spare time, I love travelling and snorkelling in different places all around the world.