Language Trainer, university lecturer, and curious traveller
I am an ambitous and empathetic teacher, cheerleader, and strategic thinker who creates a safe space for my clients - but also pushes them out of their comfort zone, if needed. My primary motivation is to help others become confident speakers and writers of English with clear and focused work routines - so that they can pursue their personal and professional goals with a clear direction, strategy, full of energy and motivation.
Having been a student at Ivy league universities in the UK and the USA, I understand where my clients come from, what they struggle with, and what their goals are. I can not only help clients understand different language aspects in English better, but also anticipate situations in academia that they need to be prepared for. I have prepared clients for funding committee hearings, post-doc interviews, conference paper presentations and Q&A sessions, and summer school applications to Yale University.
The power and complexity of language has always fascinated me and I love to learn about other languages and cultures from my international clients. My work and teaching methodology is also influenced by findings in neurolinguistics and learning psychology, the concept of “deep work”, and etymology (the history of words).
I started my career as a university lecturer at the Ruhr University Bochum where I still offer 1:1 English training for research staff. I also currently teach Business English and Academic English at the University of Sydney.
While teaching English at university, however, I noticed a gap in the courses that were offered: Many courses were aimed at undergraduates and Master’s students - but what about PhD students? Post-docs? Full-time researchers and lecturers? Researchers at think-tanks? This group of academics has unique needs and goals that often do not match “traditional” English courses at university. So I decided to offer bespoke language training for exactly this group of people. My group of people :)
I pursued my undergraduate studies in German Philology and English/American Studies at the University of Münster, Germany. As I love studying and have a never-ending curiosity about everything language, literature, and culture, I completed not only one, but two Master’s degrees: I hold a Master’s degree in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford and a Master’s degree in comparative literary, cultural, and religious studies from Harvard University. I am also an associate member of and recognized as an expert in English Language Teaching (ELT) by the National ELT Accreditation Scheme Ltd (NEAS) in Australia.
In the last decade I’ve spent time living and working in Germany, the UK, the US, Sweden, and Australia. Currently I live in Sydney, Australia with my partner where we often go for long hikes in the beautiful national parks.
Meet my wonderful Team & Collaborators
-
Julia Starr
Leadership & Career Coach
As a leadership and career coach, Julia helps clients achieve foundational shifts in their lives and work, using a blend of psychology, strategy, and intuition. She has coached hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds and industries, including consulting, technology, finance, healthcare, and social impact.
Her niche expertise is in adult development psychology, immunity to change, growth mindset, career pivots, and business strategy. She holds an Ed.M. focused on Adult Development Psychology from Harvard University, where she also served as a teaching assistant on motivation.
-
Racheal Roberts
Business Coach for Language Teaching Professionals
As a business and mindset coach, Rachael feels passionately about two things most of all: The opportunity to work directly with people and help them to help themselves change their lives for the better. And: The great colleagues she gets to work with, as a teacher, teacher trainer, manager and materials writer.
Working as a business and mindset coach with ELT freelance professionals enables her to combine both those things, and to use her skills and experience to have a real impact.
-
Judith Havemann
Artist & Illustrator
Inspired artist, watercolour magician, and business woman alike, Judith is one half of the artistic duo "Farbmotten". Her work centers around urban watercolour, but also uses gouache, and coloured pencils. Her naturalistic, playful, and gentle art features a love of detail that adds a subtle layer of sophistication and humour.
I am very grateful to work together with Judith to create a down-to-earth, warm, and inviting look for my brand and teaching material. She always comes up with wonderful ideas to translate my thoughts from words to visuals and is a joy to work with.
-
Jennie Reed
English Language & Pronunciation Coach
When speaking your second, third or even fourth language do you ever feel worried about your pronunciation? Perhaps you realise after you've spoken that you mispronounced a word, or maybe, on occasion, you've even noticed someone make a face that implied they didn't understand what you said! You're not alone. This happens to all of us who speak more than one language. And sometimes even in our mother tongue!!
Jennie helps English language teachers, coaches and educational leaders to feel proud of their pronunciation. Working with small groups, allows her to help her learners focus on the way their mouths move, how their tongues are positioned within the mouth and how their vocal variety can affect the meaning of what they are saying. This helps them to be able to identify words and meaning clearly, when speaking and listening, without having to rely on context or understand every single word.
With nearly 15 years experience Jennie knows how it can feel when you're doing the same thing day in day out: sometimes you lose your mojo. Her mission is to help English speakers love their English everyday. With a different perspective on how they see their own pronunciation, as well as learning tips and tricks to get rid of that imposter feeling, the learners I work with increase their job satisfaction as well as future career prospects.
current Partners & Clients
What my clients Are Saying
“Working with Julia on our Feedback-Sessions has been an absolute game-changer for me. She helped me with my application essays for Yale, and the transformation was nothing short of incredible.
Initially, I had a decent essay in hand, but Julia's dedication, responsiveness across time zones and unwavering commitment to my tight deadline were truly awesome. Through email exchanges, her meticulous feedback guided me towards a fresh perspective, not just highlighting areas for improvement but also helping me craft an essay that sets me apart from thousands of applicants. In our subsequent Zoom meeting, Julia created a comfortable space for me to express my concerns and ideas. She skillfully captured my interests and ambitions in each essay, revealing what makes me unique as a prospective Yale campus student.
With her own experience as a former Harvard student, Julia understood the nerve-wracking process of applying to rigorous programs and universities. Her support made me feel truly confident about sending out a strong application.
Julia is an exceptional English teacher and extremely good at what she does,
don’t hesitate to reach out to her!”
— Grace N., Yale Young Global Scholar 2024
“Julia is a great teacher and it’s not an exaggeration when I say that she has shown me a completely new approach to the English language. I started our sessions with the goal of becoming more self-confident when speaking English, both in a professional context as well as for everyday small talk.
Working with Julia has exceeded my goal and my expectations by far. She has helped me gain the necessary self-confidence to trust my own language intuition. No other language course that I took before has taught me so much.”
— Kaya Zeh, PhD Student in Germany
“I am working with Julia for the second time now during my PhD studies. My main goal was to practice speaking, to understand different accents in English better, and to become more confident when I go to conferences (and do the Q&A session, for example). Each English session and all the exercises that Julia gives me to prepare and follow up our sessions are exactly what I hoped to get out of this language coaching. What I want to highlight is that Julia always caters exactly to what I want to work on. She is always flexible for changes/wishes and I can tell that my success is really important to her.
I also want to emphasise Julia’s professional, kind and empathetic personality. I can always talk to her about current language challenges in confidence and always feel very comfortable with this. Thanks to Julia’s open and kind nature the English training is also really enjoyable and fun – which makes learning easier.
I would recommend Julia to everyone who wants to grow their language skills and wants to be guided by someone who always focuses on your goals, uses different methods and strategies, recognises your strengths and expands them, appreciates you, and works with you as an equal.”
— Uta Menges, PhD STudent in Germany
Let’s work together
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and I will be in touch shortly! I am looking forward to hearing from you.