MaraLisa Tutor Interview

Q. Hi, MaraLisa. please introduce yourself!: A. Hey, i am 28 years old and originally i am from Bamberg, a small town in Bavaria. Now i live already since 4 years in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. I came here because i did an internship after my Bachelor studies of cultural science and worked for 12 month at the DAAD (German academic exchange service) office in Georgia. In this time i met my turkish husband, who studied and worked in Tbililsi as well. We married and got a little daughter. At the moment i work as a teacher for German language and i study Management for cultural and non-profit-organizations at the same time.
Q. Please tell us something about Georgia.: A. When i heard the first time that i will spend 12 month as intern in Georgia… i was shocked! Where is this country? What language do the people talk there? And will i like it??? The answer is YES, i love it! The people are very friendly and like to talk to foreigners. I always try to speak Georgian, even when i am not fluent and all Georgians love it and diretly tell me their life stories or who of the family is living anywhere in Germany. Georgian is not an easy language with an own alphabet and not many people speak it. In Georgia just 4 Mio. people are living but they are very proud of their language, which is one of the 10 oldest of the world. Also traditions and the orthodox religion as well as selfmade wine are important to Georgians. Georgia is definately a country to travel to and spent a nice holiday time. Although its a very small counry, you can find beautyful landscape everywhere for everyone and every activity. There is the Black Sea for swimming, the caucasus mountains for skiing and hiking, lots of rivers for rafting and delicious food in combination with wine everywhere to gain a lot of weight :)
Q. What motivated you to become a German teacher?: A. While i was intern in the DAAD office, i started to teach German to students at the university. The students were highly motivated and it was a lot of fun to teach. Especially i love to organize seminar weeks or workshops of different topics in German language. Right now i organize a seminar about Simulationgames and Conflict management for georgian students held in german language. I am always fascinated how much passion students have to learn German and how proud they are while they talk German.
Q. How do you spend your days off? Is there anything you’ve gotten into lately?: A. Since my daughter was born one year ago, there is not too much free time alone. Always I am with my child, but we do many things together.We go for walks, enjoy the sunshine or just play a lot. I also started to dance georgian national dance again. The rest of the time i teach, study or organize seminars ;) But talking to my students is most of the time like talking to friends: we laugh a lot and i get many information about their families and daily lifes. I love it!
Q. You’ve studied foreign languages yourself. How has being a student yourself helped you with teaching German to your students?: A. I learned many languages… right! In school i learned Latin, English and French. In university i learned Romanian and Bulgarian. For my husbands family i am still learning Turkish and as well i am still learning Georgian and Russian for daily live conversations… Sometimes my brain gets confused ;) I know learning a language is a lot of work and lessons need to be interesting and a motivation for the students to keep on. I want my students to enjoy my lessons and have pleasure while they speak with me. I dont like to be a strict teacher. Language sould be fun, so i like to talk about funny and interesting things!
Q. What are you most careful of when you teach your students?: A. That my students feel comfortable!!! I want them not to be stressed and think ‘ Oh my goodness, i need to talk German in a perfect way’. No thats not right! The most important is that they feel good and like to talk, so they use the words they already know. And while talking about interesting topics, they easily learn new vocabulary.
Q. Finally, would you like to leave a message for our students?: A. If you want to learn German or already studied a while and just need someone you can easily talk to… contact me!!! Teaching via Cafetalk is a big pleasure for me and while my students train their German, I learn a lot of interesting things about Japan, its traditions, language and food as well!!! Thank you for this oppurtunity!