Native speaker, former radio DJ and University of Cape Town language graduate with a supportive, engaging teaching style offering practical, personalised German language coaching for real life.

I honestly couldn’t recommend Marilyn highly enough. She is an exceptional teacher, and her energy, enthusiasm and genuine love of teaching make learning German with her such a positive and motivating experience.

One of the things I appreciate most is how skilfully she personalises every lesson. Nothing ever feels generic or like she is simply working through a textbook or predetermined programme. She really gets to know you as a learner – your level, interests, goals, strengths and the areas you need to work on – and somehow brings all of that together into lessons that feel completely tailored to you. She is also brilliant at finding ways to explain difficult concepts so that they actually make sense, while creating an atmosphere where you feel comfortable speaking, making mistakes and experimenting with the language.

This has been particularly important to me over the last couple of years, as I have been dealing with some health issues that have affected my concentration, memory and ability to retain new information as quickly as I once did. As someone who had always found learning and remembering things relatively easy, this was a big adjustment and really knocked my confidence as a learner. Marilyn has never once made me feel self-conscious or frustrated about this. Instead, she has been incredibly patient and encouraging, adapting to what I need and giving me the confidence to keep learning even when progress hasn’t always felt as quick or consistent as I would have liked. That has meant more to me than she probably realises.

Marilyn makes all of this look incredibly effortless, but having previously worked as an English teacher myself, I know how much thought, preparation and work must be happening behind the scenes to create lessons that feel this natural and personalised. That, to me, is a real sign of an extremely skilled teacher.

Her enthusiasm is also infectious. German can be a challenging language, and there have definitely been times when my own motivation has fluctuated, but I almost always come away from a lesson with Marilyn feeling more enthusiastic and motivated to keep learning. She manages to be encouraging and supportive while still challenging me and keeping me progressing.

Beyond being an excellent teacher, she is also simply a wonderful person to spend an hour with. Our lessons are engaging, interesting and very often full of laughter, which makes such a difference when you are learning a language over a long period of time.

I feel incredibly lucky to have found her and would wholeheartedly recommend Marilyn to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, thoughtful, encouraging and genuinely passionate German teacher.

Marilyn has been my German teacher for the past three years. Over the course of nearly 200 hours of lessons, she helped me progress from an A1 to a B2 level very effectively, even though we had less than two hours of class per week.
I highly recommend her to anyone looking to learn German. She is an excellent teacher: professional, knowledgeable, and highly skilled at structuring lessons and study plans in the most effective way to achieve steady progress.

I was referred to Marilyn by a church member. Marilyn is a German native, so who better than a great teacher to really teach the basics and fundamentals of the German language, grammar, and pronunciation, which are key in learning any language.
My experience with Marilyn as a teacher: she thoroughly explains, provides examples, and allows you to create similar scenarios, whereby she then engages and interacts with you.
I would most certainly recommend Marilyn anytime. She is committed and passionate about what she does. She had so much patience with me, and I felt my lessons had a personalized approach that suited me.

I had German lessons with Marilyn and she was a wonderful teacher! She helped me work all the way up to my A2 level, and I honestly don't think I'd have gotten there without her. What I appreciated most was how much she focused on actually speaking the language. She had me talking early on, which did a lot for my confidence, and she always made sure the grammar was solid alongside it.

The lessons were always comfortable too. Marilyn has a relaxed, friendly way of teaching, so you never feel awkward about making mistakes. If you want someone who will genuinely help you improve while keeping things enjoyable, I recommend her without hesitation!

I've had such an awesome experience having Marilyn as my German tutor! I've taken German in a class setting before at University, but having a tutor that gave me individual attention was an absolute game changer. She is very patient, explains the grammar concepts extremely well, is super approachable, and tailored the material to a style that suited me and my interests. With her help, I passed the Goethe-Zertifikat B1 certification! I cannot recommend Marilyn enough!!!

I can highly recommend Marilyn as a German teacher. I started lessons with her to improve my German conversation and confidence, and I found her lessons to be practical, well-structured and very supportive. She has a patient and encouraging way of teaching, and she explains things clearly without making the lessons feel too formal or intimidating. I especially appreciated the focus on real communication and speaking naturally.

I needed a German teacher who could meet me where I am in terms of time and level of commitment to learning the language - Marilyn was exactly this. No matter where you are in your learning journey and your motivation, she can adapt and keep you coming back for more. If all you have time for German is the time you have set aside with her, she makes the most of it and never makes you feel guilty for not doing homework. For me, the emphasis on conversational German and lessons based on my own way of speaking gave me the ability to be more confident in trying to speak in day to day life. The mental hurdle I met in more formal classrooms, the sense I would never get more comfortable with this language, was never the case with Marilyn.

I have been taking lessons with Marilyn for around six months and would strongly recommend her.

My situation is a little specific: I live in Switzerland and do not need German for my professional life, but learning the language makes a real difference in everyday social situations. Marilyn understood that distinction very well from the beginning. She helps me with practical, everyday German, while keeping the formal structure of the language in the background and bringing it in when it is useful.

I also really value the perspective she brings as a German expat who speaks several languages herself. She understands not only the grammar, but also what it feels like to learn and use a language in real life. Her lessons are supportive, well structured, and focused on the kind of German I actually need.

I would happily recommend her to anyone looking for thoughtful, practical, and personalised German lessons.

I absolutely recommend Marilyn as your German tutor! She was my first German teacher, whom I worked with since I was 13 years old and got to watch my own skills improve in real time. Marilyn is such a warm, friendly and engaged tutor that each lesson flies by! She truly manages to focus on what's important, while also taking into consideration each student's individual interests and preferred approaches. We constantly worked on grammar, speaking, writing, reading, - all of these elements via various resources. It was truly meaningful to me that Marilyn also helped me with proper pronunciation and always noted my progress. I started feeling a lot more comfortable with the language soon after we started working together and was finally able to say "I speak German!". That was a big motivating factor for me, among other things. I truly enjoyed my lessons with Marilyn and to this day am very happy with where we got with my German! :)