Services

Porta mundi prepares students for both the 4-year as well as the 6-year Gymnasium. The lessons are based on our own course material, which is constantly adapted to current requirements, and are generally carried out on a one-to-one basis as a bespoke programme is more effective. Coaching sessions in small groups are possible on request. Exam preparation courses can be carried out on a one-to-one basis or in a group. These classes will take place at our premises in Erlenbach – circumstances permitting. One-to-one lessons are mainly conducted online, but we can be flexible in this regard.

We offer lessons that follow the school curriculum at our premises in Erlenbach. These are scheduled to take place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. During this time, students can focus on their homework, ask questions and prepare for upcoming exams while being supported by teachers. Porta mundi also provides additional material for students to work through at home. Small groups with a maximum of five students will generally be supported by two language and two maths teachers.

Students often have a very good command of a subject but struggle to retrieve that knowledge during an exam. Another difficulty, especially when transferring from primary to secondary school or the Gymnasium, is how to properly group and process information and content. Porta mundi teaches its students learning and exam strategies to help not only in school or with a specific subject, but also with other areas of their lives. We believe that you don’t just learn for school, but for life. As the network of information grows and becomes more challenging, excellent planning and organisational skills are of great importance across all areas of life.

German is a big part in every students’ life, not only in the sense of it being a subject, but also in that it affects other areas – for example this could be in written maths problems or writing essays in history. It is really important that the student’s language skills are not just fit for daily use, but also that their spelling, writing, reading, grammar and communication skills are well developed. Porta mundi pursues a holistic approach in which all these skills are linked. The structures of the language are also taught so that students can compare them with foreign languages and gain an overall picture. Porta mundi also specialises in teaching German as a second language and offers comprehensive support for this option.

Porta mundi believes that reading is an essential part of both professional and cultural education. Wherever possible, we place a strong focus on the student’s reading skills. Firstly, reading allows for the range of vocabulary to be increased, and secondly, texts are great food for thought to develop a student’s understanding (and knowledge) about other cultures and backgrounds. This is essential for the interconnected and globalised world we now live and work in. Furthermore, experience has shown that several Gymnasium students struggle with their literature classes. This can be nipped in the bud through reading skills training at an early stage.

More often than not, essay writing is not (or is only superficially) addressed in regular classes at school. porta mundi offers customised writing training, which focuses on essay writing assignments as are typical in school, and also on writing different types of texts. These include reports, narratives of experiences, discussions, descriptions of pictures, newspaper articles or even job applications. Each writing activity includes orthography as well as vocabulary exercises, interlinking the subject areas.

A solid grasp of maths is essential for students in their future careers. Here, the aim is to consolidate the skills required in academia while also laying the foundations for related subjects such as physics or chemistry. Students often enjoy maths at the beginning, but then either lose faith in their skills over the years, or more and more gaps accumulate, which puts them at a great disadvantage for future lessons. Porta mundi focuses on the consolidation and understanding of the core competencies to help students in their current academic topics. A great deal of attention is paid to mathematical reasoning skills, as these often cause difficulties from a linguistic point of view. We also teach strategies for the right approach. This means that tasks are not viewed as individual problem areas. Instead the assignments are dealt with across topics so that students can develop a comprehensive understanding of mathematics.

Calculation skills are extremely important – not just in school but in many other areas of life too. Often this is practiced briefly in primary school, but then not sufficiently revisited. This causes students to lose speed and confidence. It also makes the rest of the maths lessons more difficult and means students are even more likely to use a calculator, even for routine sums. Porta mundi wishes to counteract this trend and therefore regularly incorporates mental arithmetic into its coaching sessions. The knowledge gained in this way not only has a positive effect on mathematical matters, but also on the students’ self-confidence.

Porta mundi believes that the acquisition of foreign languages is central to future career and employment opportunities. The earlier that intensive lessons are started, the easier it is for students to acquire the language. Here too, it is important to follow an approach that links reading, writing and speaking skills as well as grammar.
We offer lessons that accompany the school curriculum as well as coaching for official language diplomas. Porta mundi specialises in the following foreign languages: French, English, Spanish, Italian and Latin.