German Courses in Zurich

Finding the right German courses in Zurich

Finding the right language school for a German course in Zurich is not an easy task. The price range is wide and the combination possibilities are endless. So, how do you find the appropriate German course for your specific needs? You have to consider different aspects: personal goals, ideal time frame, size of the group, professionality of the instructors, and ample speaking opportunities. At VOX, we prioritize oral communication: Speaking proficiency is the most important facet to language learning. All other language skills can be built on the basis of speaking, but not vice versa.

Quality, money, and time when learning German

When choosing your German course in Zurich, always ensure that you learn in groups with a maximum of 5 students. In larger groups, the teacher will simply not have enough time to focus on your individual progress. Always check the qualifications of the teacher. Ideally, the teacher should have an academic background in linguistics; otherwise you risk going through an endless cycle of boring grammar exercises (in a book). The teacher will not be able to explain how the language works due to a lack of specialized knowledge. If you choose a course with a native speaker who does not have a university background in linguistics, the learning process will eventually take longer, as the only way you will be learning is by imitation.

With clear grammatical explanations of the structure of the German language, you save valuable time, which can be redirected towards improving your speaking proficiency. That is why the German courses offered by VOX in Zurich only take 1-3 months to cover one full level. We consciously decided not to subdivide our courses into discrete levels, e.g. A1.1, A1.2, A1.3 etc. Our setup allows for German grammar to be integrated extremely fast into actively speaking. If you consider the price of the course as well as the value of your time, you will see that VOX has a very competitive offer on the market, which saves you time and lets you reach your goals straight away. Join a trial lesson and see for yourself.

Group size

The maximum group size is an essential factor for learning efficiently. In large groups, the teacher will have to use group exercises as an economical compromise, since it would be impossible to dedicate enough time to each student personally. In the best-case scenario, the teacher tries to alternate between different groups to create value in the exercise and correct the students’ spoken language. Most of the time, the students are left alone with the responsibility of correcting themselves without receiving any input. In this setup, it is unlikely that the students will learn from their mistakes, but rather that they will copy those made by their fellow classmates. In the long term, this leads to the development of bad linguistic reflexes, which are very difficult to correct. At VOX, we only do exercises that allow the teacher to pay the appropriate amount of attention to every participant.

Psychology, motivation, and learning efficiency

For children, it is easy to learn languages, because they apply a set of strategies that lead to success. If that is the case, why is it so difficult for adults to master a language? The reason lies in the psychological barriers that evolve during adolescence. At VOX, we are aware of that, and we developed a set of strategies to dismantle those barriers and enable you to learn like a child again. Once you know how to actively use the strategies to successfully learn a new language, we will help you discover your intrinsic motivation to learn German. Living in Zurich is very challenging, and there might be many external reasons why you would like to start to learn German. Internal motivation will always be the best driver for language acquisition. We will support you in defining a reason that will genuinely help you learn fast and let you have fun doing so.

Everybody has a strategy to learn languages, but there is scientific evidence on integrating language-related information more efficiently; we will use that knowledge to help you reach maximum learning efficiency.

Different learning targets

Everybody has different goals when booking a German course. Most people would like to strengthen their speaking proficiency for personal reasons, but there are also other grounds for this, such as preparation for an official exam (TELC or Goethe) or improvement of spoken and written communication and establishment of professional vocabulary for work purposes. No matter what goal you have, we, at VOX, tailor the course to your specific needs. The small group size allows for the teacher to factor your goal into the lesson and to bring you to your particular target in the best possible way. We take responsibility for your individual target and will never leave you to struggle by yourself.

Shaping your German course

At VOX you have full flexibility. If you feel like you’re not making any progress or that something is going wrong during your German lessons, we have a quality control department that checks in with you at different times throughout the course. We will always listen to your feedback, and if there is any issue, we will always try to find a fast and appropriate solution. If there are any difficulties with your instructor, you can request to change the teacher at any time of your German course.

Central location

If you intend to book a German course, you will invest money and time, which are precious resources nowadays. We chose a very central location in Zurich, so that you can come to your lessons on your way home or when going to the office. Our school is situated right at Zurich Central and only a couple of minutes by foot from Zurich Main Station in the historic Polybahn building. If you go on a business trip or vacation, you will also be able to join your class remotely with the help of our innovative VOX digital board setup and still enjoy the highest quality of learning.