Visited 6 hours ago
Ivo Niethammer
German
Native
Swiss German
Native
Chinese (Mandarin)
English
French
Thai
Spanish
Japanese
Other
American Sign Language (ASL)

From Switzerland

Living in Taipei, Taiwan

Certified German Teacher: 15+ Years of Inspiring Language Journeys Native Swiss Teacher & Linguistics PhD | German & Swiss German | Beginners, Conversation & Exam Prep I'm Ivo, a Swiss teacher of German, trained educator, and PhD researcher in Linguistics. I explain why German works the way it does, so it makes sense instead of feeling like rules to memorise. Most students come to me for one of these: › Starting from zero (or nearly). Complete beginners welcome. We build a foundation step by step, at a pace that suits you. › Speaking more naturally. Conversation with real feedback: pronunciation, phrasing, the small things that make you sound like a person, not a textbook. › Swiss German. Understand the dialect and start speaking it. As a native, I teach genuine spoken dialect. Ideal if you live in Switzerland or plan to. › Preparing for an exam. Goethe, telc, TestDaF, or the Swiss fide test and naturalisation interview. We work backward from the format and date, together. › Settling into a German-speaking country. Everyday German plus citizenship and integration prep. I explain the customs behind the language too. › Making it stick. Review efficiently: flashcards, spaced repetition, a system that keeps you improving between lessons. Structured lessons, conversation, or a mix: I adapt to your level and goals. My aim is to make German, in every variety, challenging, enjoyable, and useful. 華語學習者:我可用中文解釋德語,並持有對外華語教學碩士學位。歡迎預約。 📅 I open next month's availability mid-month. If nothing fits, message me and we'll arrange something.
My teaching material
  • PDF file
  • Text Documents
  • Presentation slides/PPT
  • Audio files
  • Image files
  • Video files
  • Flashcards
  • Articles and news
  • Quizzes
  • Test templates and examples
  • Graphs and charts
  • Homework Assignments
Read more
Trial Lesson
164 lessons completed
USD 10.00+
Basic German - Erste Schritte (Levels A1-B1)
A1-A2
Language Essentials
739 lessons completed
USD 75.00+
15% off
Advanced German - Sattelfest in Deutsch (Levels B2-C2)
B2-C2
Language Essentials
45 lessons completed
USD 80.00+
15% off
Spoken German - German Conversation (B1-C2)
B1-C2
Conversation
1,177 lessons completed
USD 50.00+
16% off
Written German - Schreiben & Lesen (Writing & Reading)
B1-C2
Language Essentials
175 lessons completed
USD 80.00+
15% off
German Exam Prep - Goethe, telc, TestDaF & Swiss Naturalisation (fide & Interview)
A1-C2
Test Preparation
112 lessons completed
USD 83.00+
15% off
用中文學德語(初學者友善)
A1-B1
Language Essentials
0 lessons completed
USD 80.00+
15% off
Based on your timezone (UTC)
5.0
219
Reviews
100%
Attendance
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All
Chinese (Mandarin)
German
For beginners·40
Structured lessons·2
Patient·1
Provides materials·1
Student Jordan
Jordan
100 German lessons
Teacher’s pick
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.
Student Josh
Josh
212 German lessons
Teacher’s pick
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!
Student Molly
Molly
26 German lessons
Ivo is a really great teacher! I’m making lots of progress with German after just a short time in my lessons with him. He makes the process of learning fun and natural, so I always look forward to our lessons. Because of his background in linguistics, he also has lots of interesting extra knowledge about the German language! Overall really great, and I highly recommend you book a lesson with him if you’re looking to learn German.
Student bianca huzum
bianca huzum
16 German lessons
Teacher’s pick
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 :)
Joana
41 German lessons
Ivo is an amazing teacher who’s been helping us with spoken German for over a year. His classes are always fun and engaging, and he picks very interesting, real-world topics that make it easy to share our opinions in German. He is patient with our mistakes and knows how to correct them without breaking the conversation flow. When a new word comes up, he provides example sentences so we understand and retain the meaning of the word, rather than just the translation. We've naturally improved our grammar and vocabulary, and we feel much more confident speaking German in our daily lives in Switzerland. We always look forward to our next class and highly recommend studying with Ivo!
Jing
89 German lessons
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.