Dipl.-Päd. Andreas Benjak - Headmaster, German teacher

"Music and language – two of Man’s evolutionary abilities that have determined our culture and fascinated me ever since I was a child. The first became a passion and the second my profession. Since completing my university degree in educational science, I have taught at a number of rehabilitation and professional further education institutions. My curiosity for the world has brought me together with a wide range of cultures. Today I am in a position to teach people from all over the world about my native language, my country and my culture. To teach others while learning something new oneself at the same time, to be an initiating and creative part of Man’s education process - that is what motivated me to found DSD in 2006, which I have been running ever since."

Andreas Stolte - German teacher

"I teach the way I like to learn foreign languages myself. This is very practical, I ask myself: When do my students need which words and structures? I am always happy when participants say, that they have used, what they have learned privately, at work or in the supermarket. Actually, they have unconsciously applied the substance and realized that exercise pays off. I am sure that these experiences of success give them even more motivation to learn, and I am happy to make this possible."

Roland Bednarsch - German teacher

"After completing my PhD (Germanistic Linguistics) I went to the Silesian University in Katowice for my first assignment abroad. Here I was able to gain my first experience of working with foreign students and to grow into close partnership with Polish colleagues. This has greatly expanded my horizon and developed new demands on my methodology and my self-image as a teacher. From then on I have always focused on the partnership method in my teaching and have always sought cooperation and exchange. Later on in foreign assignments in China and Taiwan, this approach helped me a lot as a successful DaF lecturer in an altered multi-cultural environment. My students have often told me that I am an enthusiastic teacher."

Judith Schreiber - German teacher

"Already as a child I took a great interest in the origins of the German language. Following Goethe´s sound bite saying 'Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own' I occupied myself at school and during my studies with a number of old and modern languages. My desire to convey the joy of language learning also led me to take a degree in German as a foreign language. I firmly believe that learning foreign languages is not only essential for intercultural exchange, but it can also open up new perspectives on one's native language and environment."

Elena Goldstein - German teacher

"I am interested in teaching the German language and the German culture since my school days. Then I often assisted friends and relatives in learning the German language for their everyday life. Because I moved to Germany as a late repatriate and faced miscellaneous difficulties learning the German language I personally know a lot of the stumbling blocks by picking up a foreign language. That is why it is a matter of special concern to me to participate actively in the field of teaching German language and culture."