Ivo Niethammer

Ivo has been my German teacher for about three years now, and it was the best decision I made for learning German. Ivo is both personable and patient, making conversations stress-free. I never feel insecure or unsure about making mistakes because Ivo turns them into excellent learning opportunities. He is a wonderful conversationalist with whom I’ve had many great discussions. Not only are these conversations natural and engaging, but I also gain a great deal of new vocabulary on everyday topics. He is very well organized with his teaching materials, providing lesson topics, vocabulary to study after sessions, and additional “homework” to keep you practicing until your next lesson. It truly does feel like I am taking a professional course—but a lot more fun! I would recommend Ivo to anyone whether they are just starting their German journey or are already well established in the language. It is absolutely worth every penny.

When I turned up to a traditional in-person group German class yesterday it was at this point I realised just how much progress I had made with Ivo. Students that had attended this class in the A1.1, A1.2, A1.3 and A2.1 classes over a year had not progressed as much as I had with Ivo in 8 weeks. Thanks Ivo!

Another really good lesson! Ivo is very patient and good at explaining things for a beginner like me. Because he tries to explain a lot in German too (though can switch to English if needed), I feel my comprehension is already improving!

Ivo truly understands how to make language learning both effective and engaging. His teaching style stands out through his ability to create an interactive and supportive learning environment where I feel encouraged to speak and practice the language actively. What makes his lessons particularly valuable is his thoughtful approach to teaching new vocabulary. Rather than simply providing word lists, he creates meaningful contexts and offers multiple examples that help cement new words in memory. Ivo's lessons are consistently fresh and varied, focusing on interesting topics that keep me engaged while building practical language skills. And on top of that he has a great sense of humor. I can only highly recommend Ivo :)

Ivo is highly professional and demonstrates a level of teaching didactics that is genuinely rare to find on italki, or anywhere else. As a teacher myself, I continue to be impressed by how Ivo consistently introduces new elements and formats to make the 60-minute lessons both more enjoyable and more effective. I highly recommend him to anyone who wants to make the most of their time learning German.

A really great trial lesson, Vielen Dank!