About us
How we started and our vision:
Intercultural Business Communication was founded in 2008 because the demand in business German courses was increasing.
Germany is one of the stronger economies in Europe and an important market for the Netherlands, which is why more and more companies decided to expand their business activities to Germany and the German market.
Highly qualified, native-speaking trainers support both Dutch and international companies and organizations in developing the German speaking market or in improving their cooperation with German business partners.
Intercultural Business Communication
is coordinated by:
Elvira Groot was amongst others author of several course books for Business German.
Elvira studied German and English Linguistics and Literature at the Universities of Düsseldorf (Germany) and Reading (Great Britain). She started her career as a research assistant at Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf at which
she contributed to a range of European research projects focusing on intercultural communication and on culture-specific communication patterns.
Alongside her academic career in Germany, Elvira has provided hands-on language courses in business German and cross-cultural training for managers of multinational companies including AMS Management Systems, Johnson & Johnson,
E.On, Esprit, Siemens and Henkel.
Having lived herself in Great Britain, the Netherlands and Nigeria, Elvira has first-hand experience of living abroad and facing the challenges of everyday life in a foreign culture.
Currently she coaches expatriate staff and teaches German as a foreign language with a strong focus on intercultural communication, e.g. at the European Patent Office and the Goethe Institute. Here she is also a certified examiner
for the Goethe Examinations.
Elvira’s approach of teaching is very interactive and absolutely student oriented. She strives to make the language learning process for every student a positive learning experience. The art of teaching is to find the best way of learning for each individual student.
Client Testimonials
Dont’t take our word for it – here’s what our clients say:
Elvira Groot was a freelance-teacher for German as a foreign language at the European Patent Office (EPO) from 2016 to 2020. During this time, she offered group courses for all levels of the CEFR. She taught about 4 courses a year with a duration of 18 to 120 hours and a group size between 4 and 12 participants. She also gave individual lessons to managers.
Ms Groot’s work was always independent and characterized by extraordinary motivation, enthusiasm and initiative. Particularly noteworthy are her intercultural skills to successfully teach people with very different backgrounds and mentalities. Her profound pedagogical knowledge as well as her efficient, inspiring and creative didactical skills have considerably contributed to a very successful and positive language learning experience for EPO staff during many years, guiding many of them from their very beginner level to be fluent speakers and writers. She always carried out every aspect of her work to the highest possible standard. All tasks assigned to her were performed at all times to our utmost satisfaction. Her work for the EPO was consistently characterized by reliability and loyalty and her behaviour towards management, colleagues, staff and students was always beyond reproach. Ms. Groot definitely was a key element in the success of EPO’s Language Development Programme!”
Jesus Goya
Head of EPO Talent Academy
In 2009 and 2010 Continental Gas Storage BV hired Elvira Groot to improve the German language skills of its staff. As we were faced with a broad range of communication in Germany, such as permit applications, discussions with stakeholders, commercial negotiations, it was absolutely necessary improve the level of German speaking and writing skills of the CGS staff. For a longer period we had weekly classes, not just on grammar and speaking, but also focusing on specific natural gas industry, economical and technical terms.I can say that we have enjoyed the successful cooperation with Elvira Groot and I would highly recommend her to others.”
Jippe van Eijnatten
Manager at Intercontinental Gas Storage
I studied German for my work. Elvira was always present in my journey in obtaining my certificates, from A1 to B2. I had in-class and private lessons with Elvira and both were always very fruitful. Through private tuition, Elvira was able to tailor the course for my personal situation, helping me strengthening my weaknesses in German. In-class lessons were always very innovative, dynamic and fun, making it more enjoyable and productive to learn the language in groups. I recommend Elvira’s work without any reservation, to anyone who is in the path of learning German, at any level.”
Gilberto Lopes
Enterprise Architect at European Patent Office
I have taken a B2 course at the Goethe Institut in The Hague with Elvira as a teacher. Her teaching methods were varied and the exercises diverse. She was quick to understand and address any particular problem that we students had. On top of that, she created a very pleasant atmosphere in the classroom which made the lessons very enjoyable.”
Jasper Faber
Manager Economics at CE Delft
October 2013, I had a full month of intensive German Language course, twice a week with Elvira. It was very successful, I was able to jump 2 levels in one Month! Elvira is highly skilled, not only for teaching German, but also for motivating us to go forward and study harder. Thanks!
I highly recommend Elvira for language teaching and coaching.”
Charbel Melhem
Patent Examiner at European Patent Office
A great teacher of German language & culture. She taught me starting at level A1 till I finished level B1. The lessons were very pleasant, informative and perfectly planned. The group I was in was diverse from all over the world and she managed to cater to everyone in multiple & different aspects such as language levels, speed of learning and lingual background. I’d definitely recommend Elvira Groot.”
Sabbah Hindawey
former student at International Studies, University of Leiden