- It is a wet morning in September of either 7 or 9 AD, and the might of Rome is on the move. In response to a series of reports of unrest by their ally Arminius, chieftain of the Cherusci and trained veteran of Roman campaigns, Governer Publius Quinctilius Varus
- The Relationship between Rome and Germania When we typically think of relations between Rome and the Germanic peoples across the Rhine, it tends to be colored by warfare, conquests, and the eventual fall of the western empire around the fifth century. Popular media and popular thought tends to depict those
- Elections seem to be really trendy at the moment. 2016 had a rather big one and 2017 will see important elections in the Netherlands, France, and Germany. So, we thought we’d take a look the German electoral system. In the light of recent events, it’s particularly interesting to compare it
- She was the Time magazine’s person of the year 2015, and people refer to her as the mightiest woman in the world: Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. If she wins the election in 2017 for the fourth period, she will be head of government as long as her longtime mentor Helmut
- A museum for the “Naschkatze”! Wherever one may live on any of the five continents, it’s impossible to think of chocolate without thinking of Germany, for German chocolate sets the benchmark (“der Höhenfestpunkt”) for two very close, competent rivals, Swiss chocolate and Belgian chocolate. The difference is that German chocolate
- Beer garden Eden The days are getting longer, the temperature is rising and suddenly it is summer. One of the best things you can do in Germany during the warm season is to visit a beer garden, especially when you are somewhere in the south of the country. Especially in
- CSU – Christlich Soziale Union Bayerns The CSU is a particular case in German politics. On the federal government level, the party is part of the CDU/CSU fraction and thus of the German government. It acts as sister party to the CDU, but is more traditionalistic, conservative and currently takes
- Since the early medieval period and the formation of what became the Holy Roman Empire, Christianity has been strong in the lands we now know as Germany. However, even with trade, politics, and other considerations shaping its history, religion in Germany is still an interesting subject. Religion in the Constitution
- Part One: Ante-Third Reich Motion pictures were initially developed in the 1870s by the British American photographer Eadweard Muybridge, building on France’s Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre’s development of the positive photographic process and on England’s William Henry Fox Talbot’s negative photographic process, in order to prove the theory of the wealthy horse
- There are numerous differences between the Anglo-American style of democracy and the German way of organizing legislature, but one of the most obvious ones is the number of relevant parties. Now, it’s of course not a valid method to put the British and the American model on the same end
- When the German national soccer team won the World Cup in 2014, the whole country got on a razzle-dazzle. The fans of the team were expecting the cup for many years, and it was a kind of a relief to finally become the best Mannschaft of the World for the
- In the year of 2016, many beloved celebrities have gone, for example, the singer Prince or Lemmy from Motörhead. But another man died who was something like an icon for many people, not only in Germany. Bud Spencer died on June 27th. But his movies, his bon mots and all
Google Reviews
Google Rating
4.9 
4.9
Ruzanna Harutyunyan
17:13 14 Jan 17
Michael has helped me immensely during my journey of learning. He very quickly identified the weaknesses I have and figured a way to solve them. His approach is tailored to the individual needs of the student, rather than a generic plan on how to stuff the head with information. He helped me organize the information that I already had from various sources, but was unable to put it into practical use.He gave me the confidence to start speaking the language. With his help, now I like the process of learning. And that is the most important achievement I had!
Sai Kiran
22:03 21 Apr 17
I had the opportunity to work with him over a year ago. Though we were not able to continue working due to my unpredictable job and travel, I found his method and training methodology extremely logical and intuitive. Though smartergerman services are relatively expensive than others in the market, the quality is many times more than worth it. Mr. Michael Schmitz has over 20 years experience in language teaching and summons all his expertise for the student's benefit. Highly Recommended.
Tammy Furey
16:03 20 Feb 17
6 years ago, I thought it would be a jolly good plan to move, from the UK, to Switzerland with a young child. Without a word of German. With a husband who didn’t have a word of German. I really didn’t realise the reality of learning a foreign language in a land that doesn’t actually speak high German.
So after 5 years of struggling with the local language schools and banging my head against the wall, I finally decided that I was going to get serious about language learning. I made it clear: this was make or break. I put my work on hold, purely to focus on German learning.
Michael was a life saver. This is something to understand about working with Michael: you are not simply employing a German Teacher - you are employing a coach. Michael had to undo years of anxiety at failing to actually learn the language, years of misunderstandings, frustrations and generally beating myself up. So much was in the way of being able to look at the German language with a clear head and not in sheer panic!!!
So after telling myself for years that I could never, ever get to B1 standard, I got 84.5% on the exam!!! And here is the crucial thing: Michael has changed my way of learning languages for life. I now have a system in which I can continue to learn German, not as a rush to the next exam (although goals are good!), but as a life long learning process which I enjoy. Yes….actually enjoy learning German - who would have thought that was possible?!!……
Simon K
18:24 26 Jan 17
I found Michael & smarterGerman in September 2016 upon realizing I need to start working on my German fluency to be eligible for a couple of International Business Master's degrees I am considering. My main reasons for having decided to work with Michael were a combination of the flexible scheduling (as I'm in my last year of undergrad) and that he had successfully taught numerous students from zero to B1 in a short period of time. Full disclosure, I've had limited German studies in the past at lower levels (university course in 2011, Goethe A2.3 in spring 2014) while struggling along the way, but no active learning during the past two plus years. Having met roughly a dozen times between the end of September and my exam date in December, I'm happy to say that I passed my B1 Goethe Exam with an overall average of 80.25%! Keep in mind, I had to dedicate time around my lessons to the homework and exam preparations, but it was still the most efficient time I've spent learning German. Given my experience, I can highly recommend working with Michael to all who are serious about achieving results quickly.
John Gillam
17:59 20 Mar 17
I began learning with Michael at the beginning of July 2016 and at the time I had only sat my A2 exam a few months earlier and so my goal was to reach B1 with Michael by October. After a short chat with Michael, he upgraded my goal to B2, which was to be achieved in the same time frame. I didn't believe that it was possible when we first began our work together but after only 11 45 minute long sessions, and one hour per week conversation training with another teacher, I sat and passed my B2 exam - including a 100% pass mark in the oral section. I couldn't have done it without Michael's confidence, motivational skills, and ability to root out mistakes and explain things clearly using my mother tongue. His methods (learning cycle) really are fool proof if you follow them. Aim high and Michael will help you reach your goal as long as you're ready to work with it. Best value for money yet!
Nick Doan
22:15 27 May 17
Michael was very generous with his time and expertise when I approached him. He was quick to offer help and provided immediate, valuable insight.
Laura Avivar
15:38 04 Jun 17
The method that Michael uses for teaching is really the one! I studied German before but never so successful as this one. I really recommend him.
John Dean
02:24 26 Jun 17
What a wonderful learning tool Michael has put together! The text of "Die Tote Frau" is fairly simple (for the most part), but he teaches you a new way of figuring out the not-so-simple parts, ways to learn how to read German texts without necessarily knowing all of the words. When I learned Latin way back in high school, I was able to quickly figure out the meanings of many difficult English words, and that was tremendously helpful. In this series, Michael makes it just as easy, using techniques that allow the reader to spot recognizable words within larger contexts. It's highly analytical, which I appreciate, although others may find that they don't necessarily want to go "into the weeds," as they say. Even so, if you stick with it, you'll be glad you did. I often found myself reading a passage, and thinking, "hey, that's an interesting phrase, I wonder where that came from." Sure enough, as if Michael and I were on the same page (figuratively and literally), he would invariably get to that sentence and say, "this is an interesting construction, right here." You gotta love that. Oh, and I should mention - it's quite inexpensive, relative to what you get in return. Highly recommended!
Brandon Dickerson
18:10 03 Jul 17
So far, Michael's learning methods have been very creative and helpful. Looking forward to seeing more.
John Crickett
13:50 04 Jul 17
I have recently purchased the german article buster app and have found that with a little practice (tutorials given on the app) the baffling allocation of der, die and das for nouns is made easier by simply using your own imagination.
I have found the app to easy to use and much better than staring a long list of words which can be very intimidating.
Shay Halpenny
12:08 19 Jul 17
I have been trying to learn German for more years than I care to admit. I've used Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, Memrise and I can even go back as far as Linguaphone tapes! I have attended many German classes including the Goethe Institut in Dublin, Jerusalem, Munich. It was the awful experience I had at the GI in Munchen that drove me to seek out something else. That is when I found Michael.
He is passionate about giving his students the best chance to succeed. His videos are short but do not underestimate their impact. But above all it works.
If you are trying to learn German, especially if you want to site B1 or B2 exams I would recommend you give this a try. I also wish you every success :-)
Shay
Yariv Adan
19:48 03 Aug 17
This is not SMARTER German, but rather SMARTEST German :)))
The learning cycle is purely genius - building on advanced learning and memory techniques. The grammar videos and exercises are by far the best I have ever seen - ultra clear, memorable, and fun to do.
I definitely reached a new level in German I never thought I would, as well as easily passed the dreadful B1 exam ??? :) THANK YOU!!!Finally, I had great fun doing it, and highly appreciated and enjoyed the humorous, intelligent and refreshing approach to teaching.CLEARLY THE BEST, AND WELL WORTH THE PRICE!
Aparna Taneja
12:46 09 Aug 17
I highly recommend Michael and his team for learning German. His learning methods are unique and effective. He is very prompt in answering any questions and helping you practice writing and speaking skills. He focuses on the areas you need most improvement and makes learning German fun :).
TIJA Driss
15:11 04 Aug 17
I never attended a live course with Michael but I bought his grammar book. I write him all the time when I have a technical problem and he always finds time to answer me. I printed his book and love working on it. I make all the exercices and I feel that my methods before were bad. I lost so much time in the past. We should all begin by his book. Thank you Michael
Oksana Cyhanukova
07:58 07 Aug 17
I just began learning with smarter German and so far I find it very helpful.I think the programme that Michael Schmitz created is engaging.The approach is more practical and that works for me better than intensive classes I used to take. There is still much material that I need to go through, but so far I would highly recommend it.You get also several tips how to make your German language learning easier.
Nicole Mignone
16:02 13 Sep 17
I have so many positive comments about Smarter German. I appreciate the various methods Michael uses to present the rules, the exceptions, the concepts, the logic, and the practical use of the grammar. The crime story translation process is brilliant and I highly recommend it for someone who is a visual learner. Some of his mnemonic devices are just brilliant. Thank you.
paolafaessler
16:10 08 Sep 17
It was a great idea to convert smarterGerman course into an online format. I found it very intuitive and balanced (not too easy nor too hard). Besides, it's being much easier to keep me on track and to avoid procrastination. Still amazed about the amount of attention and care Michael puts into it.
Panagiotis Tsareas
20:13 16 Aug 17
Interesting and impressive job that simplifies the learning of German language. Just set up your goals and spend some time and the results are there.
Timothy Alston
08:15 08 Sep 17
I agree with all positive reviews, refreshing to see such an intuitive tutor at work. Highly recommend the course. Only smart people explain complex problems/issues in an understandable way :)
Danielle Stewart
17:25 05 Nov 17
When I decided to learn German, I previewed many different online grammar courses. Most of them were fine for tourists, but lacked in learning how to speak fluent and correct German. I took advantage of smarterGerman free article course and I was hooked. Michael and Margareth provide a beautiful structure in which to learn. It is not overwhelming and you slowly build upon previous topics. There are tricks they teach that help with remembering genders and learning how to speak in complete sentences.The course has you read, write, and listen. It is easy to ask questions and responses are fast and clear. Despite it being an online course, it really does feel like I have real life teachers. It's obvious they care about me as a student and want me to succeed. They have made a beautiful language even more stunning and accessible at the same time.I hope someday someone asks me where to go to learn German. I know exactly where I will send them. It's worth every penny - and more.
Fatemeh Nikayin
08:32 07 Nov 17
I am so happy and grateful to find Micheal website. His method is very engaging and make learning language also fun. His technique in remembering articles is amazing. I would highly recommend his online course to anyone who wants to learn German without spending hours of time in different lessons. Keep up the awesome work Micheal :-)
Jason Fishburn
14:38 12 Feb 18
SmarterGerman is a fantastic resource for learning German, None of the nonsense that Duolingo gives you. Easy to understand instructions, it's like learning German as easy as a child does
Filip Stojiljkovic
18:40 01 Jan 18
SmarterGerman easily fulfilled all my expectations and with its quality gave me the opportunity to go even beyond my initial goal which was to reach B1 level German in three months. It’s simple yet very effective way to learn a language. I enjoyed the materials tailored to provide information in a way that is clear and easy to remember, making learning process simpler and more enjoyable while providing constant feeling of progression. Along with great materials the passion and dedication of sG tutors were simply amazing! It has been a great journey. Thank you!
Kate Jobe
13:42 11 Feb 18
I've tried a lot of courses for learning German over many years. First of all, this course if fun, I get a sense of my progress through it's structure and diversified repetition, (not rote learning). Michael knows how to boil things down without losing the complexity of the language. It's brilliant in its simplicity and comprehensiveness. Michael brings information not only about the language but also educates about learning helping one create a healthy learning environment. I learn so much from participants comments as well. Overall this is a great learning experience.... at last. Thanks Michael and team.
Jo Dill
15:43 14 Apr 18
True to its name. SmarterGerman makes learning German language interesting, time efficient and easier than normal. As a busy mom with two babies ...the techniques of SmarterGerman motivates me to aim for a high quality of learning the German language in a fun way but in a short but very efficient time.
Tony Georgiev
21:54 25 Feb 18
The creator and the instructors of the platform have found and implemented great techniques to help you speedup the learning process and make it more fun
