Christine Burgmer | Blog

… and my blog.

I’m a native speaker of English and a fully qualified language trainer and coach based near Cologne in Germany.  I work with adults who need English for work, for travel or just for pleasure.  It’s a great job because I thoroughly enjoy working with people, having stimulating conversations, passing on the passion I have for learning and languages (whether face to face or online), generating new ideas and facing new challenges.

My own foreign language learning experience wasn’t at all motivating in the beginning. After 10 years of French at school and college, I was still not able to speak the language. I was able to read French books with the help of a dictionary (and the English translation!!), but I was so scared of making mistakes and of looking ridiculous that I just didn’t open my mouth.

I started learning German as my second foreign language at school. After a year at college I applied for an internship at Daimler-Benz and spent a wonderful six weeks in Stuttgart. It was during this time that I realised just how important it was to focus more on speaking the language rather than on grammar rules and practice exercises. It was an amazing experience, and great to see just how quickly my German speaking skills improved.

My life experience has deeply influenced my teaching practices. I see it as my job to encourage and inspire; listen and observe; communicate and interact; provide assistance and support; empower and motivate; answer questions and give examples; guide, coach and teach; correct and explain; plan and organise…

And why keep a blog? Well, I wanted a place where I can post links (and perhaps some articles and photos) which I think might interest English language learners.  So perhaps you would like to pop in from time to time to see whether you can find something which interests you.  You might even like to subscribe to this site by following the link on the right hand side of this screen.

I sincerely hope you enjoy what you find.

Christine