Teach English Online to German Students

Teaching English to Germans online requires you to focus on some specific issues.

Teach German Students: Top Companies

Here are the top companies you can work for to teach English online to German students. Germans are very interested in learning foreign languages and English is actually the most common foreign language in Germany.

Germany is very international and you will hear lots of other languages, like English, French, Spanish, and then Turkish and Italian in German cities. If you are interested in helping German students learn English, there are quite a few options.

#1 Cambly

If you want to teach English to German students then Cambly is the company for you. Though Cambly lets you teach students from all over the world, you can tailor your time zone and profile to attract predominantly German students if they are your ideal student audience.

Pros of Teaching for Cambly

The best part about Cambly is how easy it is. It is easy to get hired and also easy to be a Cambly teacher. To apply to Cambly, you apply online and upload a video of yourself with an introduction. That’s it!

  • no degree or teaching certificate necessary
  • must be a native English speaker
  • earn $10.20 USD/hour
  • no minimum hours, no commitment.

#2. Learnlight

Learnlight is based in Germany and it is a global EdTech company and a global leader in providing blended learning solutions for teaching language and soft skills. They have several hundred thousand learners in over 150 countries.

Check out arenalingua.de to learn more.


#3. www.inlingua-berlin.de

www.inlingua-berlin.de – Inlingua English courses in Berlin

Tips for teaching English to German students

When teaching German students,focus on the unique issues that German speakers face. There’s even a funny tiktok trend about Germans trying to pronounce English sounds. Don’t be afraid to use humor to point your students attention to specific English language issues that arise from growing up speaking German.

Here are some common issues with pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and idiomatic expressions that German speakers may face.

Say What?! Struggling with Pronunciation of ‘s’ and ‘th’

Pronunciation: German speakers may struggle creating certain sounds, such as the “th” sound and the English “r” sound. They may also have difficulties with English stress and intonation patterns. In order to work on these issues, prompt your student to take a Needs test to isolate their pronunciation weaknesses. Include The Rainbow Passage, which is an excellent gauge of general pronunciation issues.

My German students usually laugh a lot when I stress the importance of getting their s/s/s and /th/ sounds right by showing them this:

Radio: Mayday! Mayday! Hello. Can you hear us? Can you hear us? Can you…[static]…Over! We are sinking. We are sinking!

Junior coastguard: Hello. This is the German Coastguard.

Radio: We are sinking. We’re sinking!

Coastguard: What are you…thinking about?

Der, Die, Das or The, The, The: German grammar and English grammar are pretty different

English has a more rigid word order than German, and English verb tenses are more complex. German speakers may also have difficulty with English articles, prepositions, and phrasal verbs.

Sprechen Sie English?

Overall, German speakers may face pronunciation and grammar challenges when learning and using English, so focusing on giving them practice and exposure to these parts of the English language will really speed up their proficiency and communication skills.

Teach English: Live in Germany

In addition to checking out these opportunities to teach English online to German students, you can also consider actually moving to Germany and getting a job in a school there. If this interests you, then read Teach English in Germany.

Please note that you will probably need a TEFL or CELTA certification and a university degree to teach English if you are based in Germany and want to work at a school. The average salary for teaching in Germany is $2,500 – $4,800 per month.

I also made an extremely comprehensive comparison chart that you can look at, too. You can sort through the columns to filter by companies that only focus on German students and find the company that is the best fit for you.

If you are interested in this, you may be interested in these posts, too.

Learn More

Ingrid Maria Pimsner, MA, BA, TEFL
Ingrid Maria Pimsner, MA, BA, TEFL

Ingrid Maria Pimsner has been teaching for over a decade in various universities, nonprofits, and private academies. She has taught English as a Second Language for Lutheran Children & Family Service, Nationalities Service Center, Lernstudio Barbarossa Berlin-Tegel, and more. In addition to her Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certification, she holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a MA from Maryland Institute College of Art.