Principal
Simon Harrison
MA, DELTA, BA (Hons), CELTA
Simon has worked in ELT for 15 years in the UK, Spain and Brazil, before joining UCT in 2014, where he established the English Language Centre. His areas of interest include systems of collocation, prosodic features of speech, IELTS training, and business development in ELT.
Centre Manager
Christelle van Niekerk
BA, DELTA, Trinity CertTESOL
Christelle moved from a career in chartered insurance into ELT in 2012. She has taught in London, Manchester and Cape Town, joining ELC in 2015. Her areas of interest include discourse in written production; lexical systems; developing learner autonomy.
Director of Studies
Alex Abdellah
BA (Hons), Delta, CELTA
Since training in Oxford, Alex has worked in a range of teaching, teacher training and ELT management positions in Cape Town and the UK. His areas of interest include motivation in ELT, metacognitive learning strategies, lexical retention and recall.
Director of Studies
Monica Boshoff
MA, BA, CELTA
Monica has over 15 years’ experience in the EFL industry and has experience in teacher-training, IELTS & Cambridge ESOL examining as well as working in Academic Management. Monica is passionate about all areas of education, especially alternative progressive models. She also has a keen interest in teacher development.
Assistant Director of Studies
Thuto Borole
BSocSci, TESOL
Thuto has been as ESL teacher since 2015 and has experience as an academic director. She is passionate about languages, travelling and cultural exchanges. Her areas of interest include conversational English, IELTS training and Academic English.
Business Development Consultant
Johannes Kraus
Diploma in Labour and Economic Law (Germany)
Johannes ran his own English Language School, Kurus English, for 13 years and he joined our team in 2020 as Business Development Consultant. He brings the Language Excursions, an experiential learning programme to ELC. Johannes is a passionate entrepreneur and marketer in the EFL industry.
Sales & Marketing Coordinator
Annaëlle More
BA, PGCE, TESOL, DipTESOL
Annaëlle has been in the field of education since 2007. She has had the wonderful opportunity to work as a high school teacher, EFL teacher and academic manager. Annaëlle loves teaching and interacting with students and colleagues. Her areas of interest include creating materials, developing autonomous learners and blended learning.
Accommodation Officer
Catherine Scott
BSocSc (Hons), TEFL
Catherine has worked in Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) and EFL since 2003 in South Africa and Spain. She ran EFL, EAP and TEFL courses at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) before joining ELC. Her areas of interest include English for Academic Purposes and Digital Story Telling as a tool for teaching and learning in ELT.
EFL Teacher
Nicoletta Di Gia
Tesol, CELTA, DipTesol
Nicoletta has over 18 years experience in the EFL industry and has been a teacher, TEFL trainer, academic director and school owner. She has worked in Italy, Malta, the US and South Africa. Nicoletta is passionate about intercultural communication, course design and teacher training. Her interests lie in Academic English and English for Specific Purposes, having taught Aviation, Maritime, Medical, Business, Legal English and English for Yoga.
EFL Teacher
Nervina Pillay-Ellis
BA, PGCE, CELTA
Nervina has worked in ELT for 15 years, teaching in the UK, Japan and Mexico before returning to South Africa. Her areas of interest include teaching methodologies and language analysis and awareness in the ELT classroom. She is also a copywriter and thus passionate about encouraging students to develop a love of reading and writing.
EFL Teacher
Mark Sampson
Diploma in Electrical Engineering and Broadcasting, CELTA
Mark started off in the IT industry and it was his love for the language that led to a change in his career. Mark has been in the TEFL industry for 8 years. His areas of interest are pronunciation and Business English. Mark is known for his great sense of humour and play on words.
EFL Teacher
Donné Nortjé
BA (HONS), PGCE, TEFL
Donné has been teaching for 13 years and has taught in the UK and South Africa. She is passionate about travelling and learning about other cultures. Her areas of interest include teaching grammar, using technology in the classroom, and fostering a creative, engaging learning environment.
EFL Teacher
Libby Young
BA (Hons) in English and Economics, TEFL, studying towards her MA in English
Libby has a background in journalism and web development. She enjoys using technology to enhance the classroom experience and has a particular interest in teaching writing skills. She is also a keen photographer and enjoys Cape Town’s many hiking trails.
EFL Teacher
Nicholas Ashby
TEFL
After studying drama at UCT Nick started teaching English in Cairo in 1987. He’s taught in Taiwan and Russia. He has worked as an actor, published a novel, and is also a mountain guide. He relishes helping language learners gain confidence in the early steps of their journey.
EFL Teacher
Karen Colvin
BSocSc, MEd, CELTA
Karen has been an EFL teacher since 2018 and before that worked in a range of Educational settings and NGOs. She has a particular interest in curriculumn and materials development.
EFL Teacher
Michelle Williams
BA, CELTA
Michelle has been in the EFL industry since 2016 and has taught in South Korea and South Africa. She is particularly interested in vocabulary building and development, teaching grammatical structures, and using interactive methods. Michelle believes in fostering a fun and supportive learning environment.
EFL Teacher
Judith Stewart
BSocSc, BA (Hons), CELTA
Judi has over ten years experience as an ELF teacher, group facilitator and invigilator in China and South Africa. She is also a researcher, writer and filmmaker and is interested in incorporating film into the curriculum.
EFL Teacher
Alexia Beckerling
MA (Classics; Photojournalism; History of Art), BA (Hons), CELTA, TEFL (UCT)
Alexia has taught EFL in Cape Town since 2013. She is a lifelong learner who is passionate about sharing her love of languages and the outdoors. Her areas of interest include functional communication, and creating a learning environment where students feel relaxed and confident.
Student Assistant & Social Programme Coordinator
Jon Kambani
Jon is the Social Programme Coordinator at the school and his job mainly consists of organising social activities for the students. He started working at UCT English Language centre in 2021 and what he enjoys most about his job is the conducive working environment, the friendly staff and meeting students from all corners of the world.
Administrator
Sandra Kropp
Sandra manages the reception area and handles administrative duties. She loves the outdoors as well as travelling and always looks forward to welcoming students from all over the world.
Student Assistant
Kiasha Moodley
Current BA Law
Kiasha is a current UCT student. She assists with administrative duties around the office as well as helping students. She enjoys interacting with people and her passions include travelling and making a difference in the lives of others.
