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New from VAL  ·  Opening 2027

Finally Independent.

Stop asking someone to translate for you. Stop smiling and nodding. Stop being the one who doesn't quite follow. This course gives your whole family the German to handle daily life in Germany — on your own.

🇩🇪🇦🇹 German  ·  Self-paced  ·  Expat families
You're on the list. You'll hear from Anna when the course opens. 🎉

Early-bird price €197 — regular price €297 at launch  ·  No payment now  ·  Unsubscribe anytime

7+
Years teaching expat families
225+
Lessons delivered · 5.0 stars
100%
Real-life German — no textbook
€197
Early-bird · Lifetime access
Sound familiar?

You've been here for a while. The language still feels like a wall.

It's not that you haven't tried. It's that most language courses teach you things you'll never say — and skip the things you say every single week.

🏫

The Elternabend problem

The teacher is speaking. Parents are nodding. You catch a word here and there — your child's name, "Montag", "bitte". You smile. You write nothing down. You have no idea if school is closed on Friday.

🏛️

The Behörde window

You rehearsed what to say. You had it. Then the official replies in a different sentence structure and uses a word that sounds like three words stuck together. You say "Entschuldigung?" twice. Then you nod.

💬

The WhatsApp group

47 unread messages from other parents. You translate the first few, lose the thread, translate more. By the time you figure out what's happening, it's already too late to respond.

You don't need another A1 vocabulary list. You need German for the situations that actually happen to you — built around the rhythm of expat family life in Germany. That's exactly what this course is.

Who it's for

One course. Every member of your family.

Finally Independent is designed for the whole expat family — the one who goes to work, the one who manages the home, and the one sitting in a German classroom every day.

🏢

The professional who needs to show up in meetings

You follow most of it. But when you need to speak, push back, or present — German lets you down. After this, it won't. You'll know how German meetings actually work, and how to hold your own in them.

🏫

The parent who dreads the next Elternabend

You want to be involved in your children's school life. But the teacher, the forms, the WhatsApp group — it's one wall of German. This module breaks that wall down, situation by situation.

🏠

The partner who handles everything at home

Appointments, neighbours, the Behörde, emergencies — it all lands on you. You need practical German that actually covers what comes up, not A1 phrases from a textbook that was written before you arrived.

What's inside

Two modules. Every situation covered.

Each module is built around the real conversations you'll actually have — with real scripts, real vocabulary, and real German from someone who grew up in it.

Module A

Daily Life

The German that keeps life running.

  • ✓Culture clash and the first weeks — what nobody tells you
  • ✓School meetings & Elternabend — follow everything, contribute confidently
  • ✓Doctors, pharmacies and health forms — real scripts for real appointments
  • ✓The Behörde — what to say, what to bring, how to follow up
  • ✓Neighbours, supermarket, everyday edge cases
  • ✓Parent WhatsApp groups — read them, respond to them
  • ✓Emergencies — the phrases that matter most, when they matter most
Module B

The Workplace

The German that builds your career.

  • ✓Meetings — how to follow along and contribute, not just listen
  • ✓Small talk with German colleagues — what's normal, what isn't
  • ✓Emails — tone, formality, and the sign-off that doesn't sound wrong
  • ✓German work culture — the unspoken rules that change everything
  • ✓Presenting confidently — structure, delivery, questions
  • ✓Direct feedback culture — how to give it and receive it without misreading it
  • ✓After-work — Feierabend dynamics and when German gets more informal
Your teacher

Anna understands both sides of the language wall.

I grew up between southern Germany and Belgium — raised between cultures, educated in international schools, fluent before I could explain why. And then, at 18, I moved to Brussels and became the person who didn't quite understand the conversations around me. I know what it feels like to be on the wrong side of the language.

That experience shaped everything about how I teach. I'm not just a native German speaker. I'm someone who has lived the expat experience from both directions — and who knows that what's missing from most language courses isn't vocabulary. It's the specific situations. The script for the Behörde appointment. The tone for the school WhatsApp group. The phrase that doesn't offend your German colleague.

I built Finally Independent from 7+ years of teaching exactly these conversations to exactly the people who needed them. Every lesson in this course comes from a real question a real student asked me — and couldn't find the answer to anywhere else.

✓Native German speaker — grew up in Bavaria and Belgium
✓Finance degree (Munich) + TEFL Certificate (Chicago, 2022)
✓7+ years teaching expat families and international professionals
✓225+ lessons delivered · 5.0 star rating across all platforms
✓Founder, Virtual Academy of Languages
Anna — Finally Independent
Anna Kimmich
Founder · Virtual Academy of Languages
★★★★★
7+
Years teaching
5.0
Star rating
225+
Lessons
Student Stories

Real families. Real progress.

★★★★★

"We were nervous about our kids learning English before moving to the US, but VAL made it so easy and fun! The classes are interactive and Anna is amazing at keeping the kids engaged."

CH
Changyu
Engineer · Audi AG · Relocating family
★★★★★

"Anna is extremely good at teaching. She makes the entire experience fun, engaging and super tailored to the individual — I learned more in a few sessions than in months of trying on my own."

NI
Nicoleta
German language student · VAL
★★★★★

"Anna is a native-speaker German teacher and I really enjoy learning German with her. She puts lots of effort into making the experience tailored to the individual — which makes it actually fun!"

AR
Arber
Specialist · Auxmoney
★★★★★

"Anna ist super! Seriously, Anna is more prepared than any other teacher I had! She adapts herself to various needs and is always in a good mood. I recommend Anna 100%!"

ÉL
Élisabeth
Marketing Manager · Robotiq
Questions

Things people ask before joining.

My German is really basic. Can I still do this? ›

Yes. The course is built for everyday use, not grammar perfection. You don't need to be fluent — you need to be functional. Finally Independent meets you where you are and gets you to where you need to be, with real scripts you can use from day one. If you can introduce yourself in German, you're ready.

We're in Austria, not Germany. Does this still work for us? ›

Absolutely. The course is designed for both Germany and Austria. Anna is herself from southern Germany — close to the Austrian border — and the content reflects the bureaucratic and social realities of both countries. Dialect differences are addressed where they matter.

Is this for adults only, or can children use it too? ›

The course is designed for adults in the family — the parents and working professionals who handle the administrative and social side of expat life. The content of Module A (daily life) in particular is built around what parents need to navigate on behalf of their children, not what children study in class.

How long will it take to complete? ›

The course is self-paced — there's no deadline and no pressure. Most students will work through it over 4–8 weeks if they do one or two modules per week. But you can go faster, slower, or dip in and out whenever a specific situation comes up. Lifetime access means you can come back any time.

When does the course open? And what is the early-bird price? ›

The course opens in 2027. Everyone on the waitlist will hear from Anna directly — before any public announcement — and will have the first opportunity to enrol at the founding price of €197 (vs. the regular price of €297). Joining the waitlist costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

Can my company cover this as a professional development expense? ›

In many cases, yes. Language training is commonly covered under L&D budgets at German and international companies. VAL issues formal invoices fully compatible with corporate reimbursement. If you have questions about this, email anna@valanguages.com and Anna will help directly.

Pricing

One course. Your whole family. For life.

One purchase. Lifetime access. Both modules. No subscription, no hidden fees — and no more paying for language lessons that don't cover what you actually need.

Early-bird · Waitlist only
Founding price
€197

One-time payment · Lifetime access

✓Both modules — A (Daily Life) + B (Workplace)
✓Real scripts & downloadable workbooks
✓Audio practice exercises
✓Lifetime access + all future updates
✓Founding student community access
After launch
€297

One-time payment · Lifetime access

✓Both modules — A (Daily Life) + B (Workplace)
✓Real scripts & downloadable workbooks
✓Audio practice exercises
✓Lifetime access + all future updates
You're on the list. You'll hear from Anna when the course opens. 🎉

No payment now  ·  You'll hear from Anna directly when the course opens  ·  Unsubscribe anytime

Questions? anna@valanguages.com  ·  Back to main site →