Mission statement

TANDEM BIELEFELD e.V. Our mission statement:

Who we are and what we stand for
TANDEM Bielefeld e.V. was founded in 1987 by a group of  teachers for German as a foreign language and has become one of the leading language schools in Bielefeld. On account of our field of work in intercultural communication and international understanding, the school is a registered non-profit organization.
We are proud to have succeeded in establishing high-quality, modern foreign language tuition as a trademark of our school and in offering an alternative to the courses that can be found at larger institutions. Language learning at TANDEM comprises of professional consultation, support and advice as well as a positive learning environment. This is ensured by our open and trusting educational spaces, communicative teaching methods and qualified native-speaking teachers who are passionate about teaching languages and working with people. Carefully selected current training material and modern equipment are as particularly important to us as our bright, friendly classrooms.
In the age of globalization, language learning and cultural exchange are becoming increasingly important, opening doors to other people, cultures and various vocational fields.

„With languages, you are at home everywhere.“ – Edmund de Waal

That’s why we teach languages with both professional expertise and passion. With a maximum of experience and flexibility we linguistically stimulate and encourage everyone individually by teaching them learning-strategies to motivate them to discover their own potentials and to progress. The way we work is embossed by an accepting and appreciative attitude towards the individual and his path. We work in a spirit of mutual respect.
At our school we behave in a respectful and caring way. We are learning from and with one another. Our school is open to innovation and excels by responding to changing conditions in educational work with flexibility. It has to be a developing institution while remaining true to itself.
It is of great importance to us to handle natural resources responsibly and to show social and cultural commitment. As initiators of integration we believe that integration is a mutual process and we’re happy when our course participants from foreign countries feel as though the school is their second home. We promote the development of gender justice and self-empowerment.

Our Team
Many years of teaching experience and high standards for the teaching staff ensure the implementation of our high level of quality and exceptionally good results for our students. All teachers undergo professional training on a regular basis both within the school and externally.
More than anything else our team collaboration is sustained by our skills, knowledge, motivation and communication. With a guidance style of appreciation and cooperation, the initiative and the active commitment of all participants concerned is crucial. For this reason we utilise transparent participation and decision-making systems. We create space for all team members to realize their own ideas and to take over responsibilities.
Our teachers identify with and are involved in the school’s aims while being mutually supportive. That’s because everyone’s conduct not only contributes to a good working atmosphere, but goes hand in hand with our high level of customer satisfaction, too and thus is responsible for the success of our work.

Our aims
At the heart of our service is the quality of teaching serving to guarantee lasting learning success. Language skills are the keys to successful integration, to everyday life, to the world of work and, of course, essential for higher education.
TANDEM Bielefeld is actively committed to social diversity and to building bridges between different cultures and languages. Learning requires experience, along with practice and the implementation of systems; it’s quality depends on how both complement each other. For this reason, the focus of our teaching is on communication which enables our course participants a better understanding with their interlocutors according to their learning level, as well as to enhance their (re-)integration into the employment market.
Being on a par with our clients and establishing a relationship based on trust is very important to us.

Our offer
As a language school, we specialize in German as a foreign language, but we also teach English and Spanish in one-to-one lessons. We endeavour to base our courses as much as possible on the participant’s needs and requests as a way to find access to everyday-life, profession and university studies in Germany. All offers are based on a didactic-methodical approach and aligned with a wide, and sometimes diverse, range of methods.
We are an authorized examination centre for the European Language Certificates (telc), which are internationally recognized.
We openly seek the cooperation of enterprises, further-training institutions and public institutions in our region.
Our range of clients includes adults from all over the world with a higher educational level; such as:

  • integration-course students
  • young migrants seeking an apprenticeship, job-seeking or unemployed migrants who need vocationally related language training (DeuFö) and who are entitled by the Bundesagentur für Arbeit or the Jobcenter
  • trainees who need linguistic support during their vocational training for successful completion (Deufö)
  • students preparing for academic studies at a German university
  • employees who want to improve their language skills for their work
  • migrants who need to reach a certain language level alongside the recognition of their foreign qualifications or for access to their profession
  • people coming to Germany with the aim of learning more about the German language and culture
  • enterprises and institutions, which need effective language-teaching for their employees
  • people who want to improve their language skills with a Tandem-partner

Our cooperation partners

By networking with local integration-course providers and educational institutions, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit as well as the Jobcenter, universities, companies and associations and our membership in „Tandem International“ enrich our work on the spot. Such cooperation networks provide direct support for spreading our work results and the implementation of good practice in education and participation structures. The experiences of our cooperating partners as well as current research results are directly included in our practice. This ensures a consistent focus of our offers on the target group’s needs.

Our quality
Tandem aims to do more than just develop the highest quality teaching standards. Our mission of “inspiring people to learn, connect, and engage with foreign languages in a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience” means a strong commitment to responsible social values, promoting cross-cultural awareness, and fostering understanding among students, staff, and the community.
Our Quality Seal transcends the simple certification of school services. It is a resource we offer to independent schools that share our values, so that they develop that quality consistently through collaboration and partnership. Tandem is a democratic network of schools helping each other to grow by sharing resources, knowledge, and experience. We provide each other with the support needed to develop our companies, just like we promote the development of our students.
The process to obtain this certification is simple yet strict. We need to assure that all schools work in harmony with the principles of our organization and that they are committed to improve and exceed the quality of their services over time.

Definition of successful learning
We consider learning to be successful when our students have completed their course with us and are convinced that it helped them to achieve their learning goals. In other words, they are communicating more confidently in their chosen foreign language and using these skills for their own life path. This also means documenting their achievements in the form of test results.
They are now familiar with different cultural perspectives, enabling them to integrate and participate socially. Regarding their experiences, biographies and learning needs they feel appreciated at our school, also because they can easily get involved. They know they have been optimally catered for and have enjoyed their time on the course so that they are motivated to continue their studies at TANDEM Bielefeld e.V. and to recommend us.