Sprachkurse - Sprachschule in Zürich City | StL Sprachschule (RHZ)

A Zürich institution with European breadth

StL Sprachschule, formerly known as RHZ Reisehochschule Zürich, is a language school based in Zürich City. The firm was founded in 1955, making it over 60 years old and one of Zürich's most established language providers. It occupies a prime location on Oberdorfstrasse 8, near Bellevue in the heart of central Zürich. The school has built a reputation for offering what it claims is the most diverse language catalogue in Europe, with more than 50 languages available across group courses, private lessons, certification preparation, and specialist modules. All instruction is delivered by native speakers who hold teaching diplomas and relevant experience. The school's longevity and scale suggest it has become a fixture in Zürich's language-training landscape, serving both individual learners and corporate clients across the region. Seven decades of operation have allowed the school to refine its teaching method and to build a network of native-speaker instructors spanning continents.

Why StL suits arrivals settling in Zürich

An arrival moving to Zürich faces immediate practical pressure to acquire German and Swiss German. StL offers German language courses at all proficiency levels, alongside French and Italian for arrivals from Romance-speaking backgrounds. More distinctively, the school includes Swiss German (Schwiizerdütsch) in its course lineup, which few language schools offer. The standard German course teaches High German, the official language of media, education, and formal settings, but Zürich's residents speak Swiss German among themselves, and an arrival who speaks only High German will struggle with colloquial conversation. StL's inclusion of both standard German and Swiss German makes it uniquely positioned for Zürich newcomers. The central location on Oberdorfstrasse, accessible by public transport, removes a practical barrier: someone working in central Zürich or living in an outlying district can reach classes without a long commute. The firm also offers online courses via Zoom with a 10% discount for all subscriptions, which suits an arrival juggling relocation logistics and cannot always attend in person. Class levels are individually assessed before the course starts, ensuring someone joining mid-term is placed at the right proficiency and is not held back or left behind.

The breadth and structure of courses

StL structures its offerings across four main types: Gruppenkurse (group courses), Privatkurse (private lessons), Spezialkurse (specialist courses), and Schülerkurse (student courses). Within group courses, the school teaches languages across three continental groupings: Sprachen Europas (Albanian, Armenian, Bulgarian, English, Finnish, French, Georgian, Dutch, Italian, Greek, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Slovenian, Spanish, Czech, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hungarian), Sprachen Asiens (Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nepali, Persian, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese), and Sprachen Afrikas (Swahili). Swiss languages include German, French, Italian, Oberländer Romanisch (Sursilvan), and Swiss German. Private lessons are available in nearly all of the same languages, from Albanian and Armenian through to Spanish and Vietnamese. Specialist courses (Spezialkurse) include Massgeschneidertes Sprachtraining (customised language training), Sprachcoaching für Führungskräfte (executive language coaching), Interkulturelles Training (intercultural competence), and Business Skills Training. Diploma courses prepare students for internationally recognised certificates: Business English Certificates (BEC), Cambridge Advanced English (CAE), Cambridge Proficiency (CPE), First Certificate in English (FCE), IELTS, TOEFL, and TOEIC. The scope of languages and certificate options reflects that StL serves a genuinely international clientele: expat families, skilled migrants, and professionals whose work requires language credentials.

How group courses work in practice

StL's group courses are structured to accommodate different schedules and proficiency levels. Most group courses run for 12 weeks, meeting for 90 minutes per session. This is notably longer than many rival schools in Zürich, where standard lessons typically run 45 to 50 minutes. Longer sessions allow deeper engagement with material and more conversation practice per meeting. The extended session length is especially valuable for adult learners working full-time: a 90-minute lesson allows time for meaningful dialogue and practice, rather than a quick grammar lesson and exit. Classes are deliberately kept small, which StL emphasises as a strength: small group sizes mean the teacher can respond to individual learners' pace and priorities. Before starting, prospective students take a level assessment so StL can place them correctly; courses are scheduled to avoid school holidays, and any course can be extended with follow-up courses if the learner wishes to continue. The school's testimonials (Maria on Japanese, Georg on Portuguese for Brazil prep, Eveline on Arabic, Alexander on Persian, Susanne on Italian, Beatrice on Swahili, Denis on Korean, Simon on the overall experience) consistently mention the quality of native-speaker instruction and the close attention paid to individual progress. No two reviews repeat the same language, which hints at the breadth of the roster and the diversity of learners the school attracts.

What remains unclear

StL's website does not publish tuition fees or course pricing. An arrival investigating whether a 12-week German group course or private Arabic lessons fit their budget would have to contact the school directly via phone (044 924 11 55, Monday to Friday 09:00 to 18:00) or the contact form. Similarly, the site does not specify how many different course start dates run throughout the year, whether courses are continuous intake or start only at set intervals, or how far in advance one must register. An arrival hoping to start a German course in two weeks would need to confirm availability. The school also does not detail payment terms, course completion certificates, or whether any courses lead to recognised external qualifications like the Goethe-Zertifikat or Cambridge exams. For learners prioritising a formal credential for employment or naturalisation purposes, clarifying which courses offer externally validated qualifications is an important pre-enrolment conversation.

Who should apply

StL is ideal for Zürich arrivals who value native-speaker instruction, prefer small classes, and can commit to attending in person (or supplementing in-person with online sessions). The 12-week course format and emphasis on individual placement make it well suited to someone planning to spend at least a term of three months settling into the city and building language skills. The broad language menu and specialised corporate training mean StL also serves expat families with non-European home languages and professionals seeking executive coaching. The central location makes it accessible to anyone in or near Zürich without a car. The school is less suitable for arrivals who need urgent or emergency language instruction within days, who cannot reach the Oberdorfstrasse location regularly, or who prefer the flexibility of drop-in or self-paced online courses. Anyone seeking a specific standardised qualification (TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge, GOETHE) should confirm that the course covers exam preparation, since the calendar and structure vary by certificate and level.