JACKY LINNEMANN Contributing Writer

Hallo Piedmont College.

I am an exchange student from the University of Paderborn (UPB), Germany. The UPB is one of the partner universities of Piedmont College. I am a student worker and a tutor.

Obviously, I am one of the German tutors at the Learning Center. Not only because I am a native speaker, the opportunity to become a tutor seems to be uncomplicated. If you are very good with a subject of your choice and have an overall good GPA, apply and try to help your classmates! If you are up to trying new adventures, it is always a great opportunity to learn new languages such as French, Spanish or German.

As it is part of your general education courses, Piedmont students must have two introductory foreign languages classes. Why not choose German? German is as easy to learn as French or Spanish and it is also a great opportunity to do a semester abroad at UPB. And, it doesn’t hurt to have things such as this on your resume. My tutoring job is a great chance to offer help for every student, even if it is general study skills rather than related to German. I can help students with their pronunciation, grammar or help them with time management.

Most of my “tutees” are coming to get help with German. The best way to learn a new language is to make it fun for you. Even if you study a language because it is a requirement, it should not be a boring or a forced adventure. If you study for 10 to 15 minutes each day and use the material the teacher provides, you will improve your language skills a lot by the end of the semester.

To set up an appointment should not be a feared process. Every tutor I have met so far is very nice. Every appointment is confidential and no one should make fun of you. To be tutored does not mean that you are dumb – it just means that you are not where your goal is. That is not a shame at all. We are in college because we want to do something big in our lives and that also means we must build up our knowledge.

Bis bald, Jacky. To make an appointment with the Learning Center, vitist Pilgrimnet.com and click on the student resources tab.