My name is Astrid Drayson, nee Lenz. I am a German native speaker who has lived many years in London. Throughout my education, I studied a number of languages, but I was not considered a natural linguist. The classroom setting did not necessarily suit my learning style.

I trained as an Economist and Chartered Tax Consultant, but enjoyed being able to speak other languages as a way to travel and connect with others. In fact, I believe that learning a foreign language makes you also more aware of how you communicate in your first language.

When my daughter started to learn languages at school, I realised the limitations of classroom learning. Firstly, for those students who might struggle with the basics, as they might need a different approach or more time. But there are also limitations for those students, who are very competent and want to expand their learning to get to the highest skill levels and exam results. Even though my daughter found languages quite easy, she would not have excelled in her school exams, without some supplementary tutoring.

This, together with others asking me about German tutoring, inspired me to look at how to teach German as a Foreign Language. Thus, I have qualified with the Goethe Institut as a Deutsch als Fremdsprache (German as a Foreign Language) teaching specialist.

I hold an enhanced DBS Certificate.