Learn Swiss German from Scratch

Do you speak English? Do you want to learn Swiss German? But you don't have previous knowledge of German? No problem!

Grüezi! Grüessäch!

Why my course is perfect for you:

No German Required

I teach you Swiss German from zero and without German! Focus on what you need and invest your time efficiently. Most language schools will require a B1 level in German. I don't!

Communicate with locals

Swiss German is the language of social interaction in Switzerland. Communicate with locals, feel part of the community and talk to your Swiss friends in their language! I show you how!

Guided Learning

Guided learning transmits security and support. In case of questions and insecurities, you will receive an answer and explanation to everything. I support you all the way through your learning process.
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What you get:

💥 If you take advantage, you get individual lessons for the price of group lessons! 💥


✅ Live Online Lessons
Participate from wherever you are, at home, at work or traveling. You will never again miss a lesson!
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✅ Proven Material
I created all my material on my own. Grammar explanations and exercises have been tested in individual and group classes. I adapt it constantly.
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✅ Speak with a partner and practice
Speaking is highly important when learning a language, especially Swiss German! Start talking and feel comfortable and confident with your Swiss German.
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✅ Replays
All grammar classes are recorded in case you cannot attend the live lesson. They are available during the course.
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✅ Personal feedback on Tasks
Get personal feedback on certain speaking or writing tasks throughout the course.
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✅ Private Messenger Group
Participate in the private messenger group where you can ask questions related to class, material or Swiss German anytime.
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✅ Quizzes and Flashcards
Learn vocabulary with my online flashcard sets and revise before each lesson by completing a short quiz to boost your knowledge.
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✅ Monthly Learning Assessment
Test yourself at the end of every month and get personal feedback on your answers.
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✅ Obtain a Certificate
After the course you can choose between a Certificate of Completion (certifies only attendance) or a Certificate of Achievement (after a short exam)

Courses

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Starter Course - Level 1

Next one starts on Tuesday, 23. January 2024
Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-13h / 18.15-19.15h

You don't speak any German but want to communicate with locals? This is for you!

This course is the first of a series and tailored to students who either do not have any previous knowledge of Swiss German or would like to learn Swiss German from zero and revise the basics.
 Live Online Classes
 No German required
 4-6 participants
 Course language: English
 Duration: aprox. 4 months, 2h weekly
 Private messenger group
 640 EUR
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Quick Starter Course Level 1

Next one starts on Monday, 22. January 2024.
Mondays / Wednesdays 17-18h

Do you already speak some German and want communicate with locals? This is for you!

This course is tailored to students who have A2-B1 Level in High German and would like to learn Swiss German from zero and revise the basics.
 Live Online Classes
 A2-B1 High German
 4-6 participants
 Course language: English
 Duration: aprox. 2.5 months, 2h weekly
 Private messenger group
 320 EUR
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Self Study Starter Course

Coming soon!

Learn Swiss German at your own pace and from wherever you are.
This is the beginner's course for people without any knowledge of German and want to start with the basics.
 Recorded Videos
 No German required
 Grammar and Exercises (Reading, Listening, Speaking)
 Course language: English
 Duration: 12h
 Certificate upon Completion
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Intermediate Course - Level 2

Next one starts on Tuesday 23. January 2024!
Send me a message to reserve your seat.
Tuesdays 17h and Thursdays 9h

Do you already know the basic structures of Swiss German? Did you go through the Starter Course or Book 1? This is for you!

This course is the second of a series and tailored to students who want to improve their Swiss German and go into more depth in Grammar and Speaking.
 Live Online Classes
 No German required
 Grammar and Speaking
 4-6 participants
 Course language: English, Swiss German
 Duration: aprox. 4 months, 2h weekly
 Private messenger group
 640 EUR
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Quick Starter - Level 2

Next one starts on Monday 22. January 2024!
Send me a message to reserve your seat.

Do you already know the basic structures of Swiss German or did you go through the Starter Course or Book 1 and you already have some High German knowledge? This is for you!

This course is the second of a series and tailored to students who want to improve their Swiss German and go into more depth in Grammar and Speaking. With songs and videos we also practise understanding different dialects. 
 Live Online Classes
 B1 German required
 Grammar and Speaking
 4-6 participants
 Course language: English, Swiss German
 Duration: aprox. 4 months, 2h weekly
 Private messenger group
 640 EUR
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Self Study Intermediate Course

Coming soon!

Learn Swiss German at your own pace and from wherever you are.
This is the Intermediate course for people with a basic knowledge of Swiss German, but no High German.
 Recorded Videos
 No German required
 Grammar and Exercises
 Course language: English and Swiss German
 Duration: 12h
 Certificate upon Completion
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Schwiizerdütsch Intensiv

Videos will be ready End of January 2024!
Register to reserve your seat.

In this course we go through: Transformation rules, Present Tense forms, Past Tense, Numbers, Prices, Dates, Age, The Cases, Modal Verbs, Prepositions, Pronouns, Sentence structure, Listenings in different dialects, songs, videos and much more...

A good understanding of High German is necessary.
 Video Classes
 B2+ High German required
 Course language: German/Swiss German
 Classes in total around 60 min divided into shorter bits to improve studying, one video per week
 Private messenger group for questions
 35 EUR/monthly
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Language and Culture in One

Coming soon. Send me a message to reserve your seat.

  • Learn about Swiss culture in combination with the language.
  • Every Workshop covers a different topic: 3 Kings, Carnival, Easter, Sächsilüte, 1st August, Halloween, Samichlaus, Christmas, New Year, Money, National sport, Must Visit Places in Switzerland, school system etc. 
 Video Class
 A2+ High German required
 Course language: English, Swiss German
 Duration: Each class between 40-60min, one class a week
 Personal Feedback to Workshop Exercise
 35 EUR/monthly
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One-to-One Classes

Anytime and from the comfort of your home.

  • Learn at your own pace
  • Decide frequency and timing 
  • Include personal things, children songs, writing or answering personal messages
 Live Online Class
 any level welcome
 individual
 Course language: English, Spanish, Swiss German (I adapt to your needs)
 Duration: 55min
 Homework correction included
  60 EUR/class

🔔 I want to be the first to know when a new course opens.

Subscribe to my email list to stay up to date with courses, videos and material. Follow me on Instagram for daily practice on Swiss German!

And join my Facebook group here.
Thank you!
Meet the teacher

Rahel Roth

I am a graduated language teacher for High Schools and since 2018 I have been working as a freelance German teacher online.

I noticed that many of my students would like to learn Swiss German but struggle because of the scarce learning material and courses. Moreover lessons are often tailored to students with at least an intermediate knowledge of German.

My goal is to help expats learn Swiss German from scratch without any previous knowledge of German.
Patrick Jones - Course author
Course Material

Course Book 1

If not otherwise stated, the book is not included in the course price.

This book contains everything I created for my students to successfully learn Swiss German! It teaches English Speakers Swiss German from scratch without any previous knowledge of High German.

Thanks to carefully designed grammar, reading, listening and speaking exercises you will learn the most common structures of Swiss German.

Although there are many different Swiss German dialects, all of them share a common structure and none of them is more worth than another. My goal is to help you get used to different dialects, since you will surely meet people from different cantons and want to be able to understand them as well.

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Course Book 2

This book is the second of the series. It teaches you further structures and vocabulary that you need for a successful communication in Swiss German.

Book 2 guides you in 12 chapters through new topics of daily life in combination with more advanced structures.

Learn to express what you actually want to say and in your own words. Thanks to straight-forward grammar explanations with corresponding writing, listening and speaking exercises, you practice your understanding and expression.

After completion of Books 1 and 2, the student should feel comfortable with the basics of Swiss German conversation.

The book comes with
  • access to all audio files,
  • downloadable solutions,
  • transcript document
  • vocabulary list
  • virtual flashcards
  • alphabetical word list (SG > EN; EN > SG)
  • grammar summary of the book
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Videos

Get to know me 

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Meet the teacher

My name is Rahel Roth and I am your Swiss German Teacher.
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Example of a Lesson

This is a Demo Lesson for you to see what my classes look like.
Testimonials

What My Students Say About My Courses

I have been living in the Germanic side of Switzerland for the last 6 years. I speak and work in the English language so I haven't had the necessity of learning German or Swiss German but during the last few years I started to feel bad because I couldn't understand a single word when my Swiss friends were speaking.Some months ago I found the book from Rahel and after checking it with a Swiss friend, I bought it ( he said that was amazing.. so I trusted him ). After starting the course I feel extremely happy and I am encouraging myself to use everything that we are learning daily. It is really nice that slowly I am understanding, learning and using it in my daily basics. The course and book are really complete, easy to follow ( if you study ) and the explanations from Rahel during the lessons have been ALWAYS helpful and excellent. I am extremely happy with the course and I will finish it!
Mariona Dalmau
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As an English speaker coming to live in East Switzerland with practically zero German experience, I have found Rahel's book and course to be extremely useful. Resources for Swiss-German spoken language are hard to find and even when you locate some references without pronunciation guides and help they are not much use. By combining the reference book with online tuition, quiz games and guided group discussion progress is fast and understanding is easy. 5 stars!
Andy Long
I have started swiss german lessons with Rahel beg Jan and can only recommend it! The book is very well written, there are a lot of exercises and links to apps to practise. The online lessons are very interactive and I can already start to understand some sentences when I pick up my daughter at the Kita or when I go shopping 🙂 The fact that lessons are available in replay afterwards is very useful if I cannot connect to the live session due to kids or work. I am looking forward to continue learning more with Rahel in the coming weeks!
Cécilia lemaire
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I am starting to test it in my workplace and already seeing surprise reactions 🙂 thanks Rahel for her great efforts 👏
Manpreet Singh
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Rahel is an awesome German teacher:
- You progress super fast: She will combine explanations with listening, reading and speaking exercises which makes it super fun
- She completely adapts to your needs in terms of time, homework, level etc....
- She is super cheerful and has such a positive attitude that it makes it way easier to continue with lessons to achieve your goals.
Daniel Moral
I've been living in Zürich for two years, married to a Swiss German man, and have been taking German for several months now... I've learned more useful phrases in one month of taking Rachel's course than from anywhere else! She is concise in her teaching method, her lessons are simplistic but very comprehensive. They are challenging but fun!
I definitely recommend her courses to anyone living in the Swiss German area of Switzerland who want to become more integrated and know what the heck is going on around them!
Her book is a fantastic companion to her lessons and a wonderful additional resource! Initially I was concerned that simultaneously studying High German and Swiss German would cause confusion in my learning, but I am actually finding the duel studies have been helpful for my overall comprehension and learning. I feel like
Rahel's course is giving me a nice "edge".
Erika Schenk
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Rahel is really fantastic in understanding the needs of each student and very flexible to tailor the teaching as per the needs. Very strong fundamentals and very friendly.
Jygnesh Vyas

Frequently asked questions

I do not know any German, can I still participate?

Of course! This course is designed for English speakers without or little previous knowledge of German.

Even if you know bit of German (level A1, A2) you are welcome to participate. The structures are very similar, and you can pay more attention on the pronunciation while reviewing the basics.

I already have German knowledge. Is this course for me?

Yes, this course is for people up to a B1 Level in German. With previous knowledge you will have the advantage that you understand more easily, and you can focus on pronunciation and structure. We will revise the basics which are the same in German and you will be able to solidify what you already know. It is very important to follow the course and do the tasks, because even if it seem easy, it is not the same language and you will have to be careful not to mix Swiss German with regular German. For differentiation of advanced students, I offer regularly tasks where you can adapt your current knowledge.

If you are not sure, message me - I am happy to assist you with the decision :)

Live videos or recorded?

All lessons of the live course take place live and online. The lessons are not available before hand. I record the lessons live and upload the replays for those who want to re-watch it. The replays are available only during the course. This means, you can watch the previous lessons, but not the ones to come because they haven't taken place.

Where do the lessons take place?

The lessons are hold online on this platform. Once you sign up for a course, you will see the course outline with the different dates and the material.

What is the duration of a lesson?

Grammar lessons are 60 min.

I cannot attend the live session. Is there are replay?

Yes, and this is the advantage of my course. In in-person classes you would miss the lesson, I offer you the option to watch and re-watch it as many times as you want during the course. There are replays of all lessons and they are available shortly after class. Keep in mind that the live courses require attendance. If you are looking for videos to watch flexibly, choose the video courses. There you have unlimited access.

For how long are the replays available?

During the course. The replays are an advantage I offer over regular language schools so that you do not miss any lesson, even though you cannot attend it.

How can I pay?

Choose the course you want to attend and it will guide you through the sign up process. You can pay by credit card.

Can I cancel if I see that I do not have enough time to attend the lessons?

No. Once you pay, you confirm your participation in the course. There is a limited number of participants. So, out of respect to me and other students once you pay, the price is not paid back unless I cancel the course.

Do I have to buy the book?

Yes, I recommend purchasing the print book version, as it's way easier to take notes. Remember that in the kindle edition the note taking option is very limited and you will not be able to do the tasks well. The learning process is better when activating different senses, like visualizing, listening and writing.

I have heard that there are many different dialects. Which one does this course teach?

That is true. Swiss German is very diverse and even from village to village you will find differences. I include the basic structures and vocabulary in the book. I do not teach very specific vocabulary as this is more difficult and will be acquired when you start communicating with locals. All dialects have a common structure and it is also an advantage if you do not focus only on one dialect because you will meet people from many different cantons.

Do I have to buy the book separately?

Yes, the book is not included in the course price. You can order it directly on Amazon (Yes, Amazon also ships to Switzerland) and you can choose between print and e-book format.

Do I also learn about Swiss culture?

Yes, of course. We will talk about different events happening during the year. This material is not in the book and will be available as a separate PDF document on the platform to download. What we will be talking about depends on the course period, eg. if you start in August, you will learn about events happening in these 4 months of course.

I don't like online classes, I think in face-2-face classes I'll learn more.

I have heard that many times and honestly, it is not true. My online classes are not just recorded videos, I seek direct interaction with my students, ask questions, answer your doubts and go over something again, if necessary.

I also adapt the syllabus according to the groups level. If I notice that the group struggles with a certain topic, we do more exercises, if I see that the group advances quickly, I add extra topics.

My lessons have a lot of advantages over regular f2f classes such as
 the flexibility to participate from wherever you are,
no time loss to travel to class,
  watch the replays when you have time and never miss a class,
 re-watch the lesson if you have not understood anything,

The fact that you we are very small groups makes the lesson extremely personal, I can give direct feedback to each of you and at the same you can learn from each other.

If you take advantage of everything I offer, you have individual lessons at a group lesson price.

Do I get a certificate at the end of the course?

Swiss German is not an official language, for which there are no levels or language exams to take. However, I offer you the option to choose between a completion certificate (after finishing the 4 months course) and a certificate of achievement (after taking a short exam) for your personal satisfaction and to show off. Remember, this is not an official certificate.

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