OUR TEAM

The teachers at UCT English Language Centre are all highly qualified and experienced in the field of English as a Foreign Language. Most teachers have their own specific area of expertise and interest which contributes to the development of our team and ensures that ELC delivers on its promise of teaching to the highest standards.

In addition, ELC runs accredited, high-quality TEFL courses (Teaching English as a Foreign language) which offers aspiring English teachers a chance to learn from the best. These courses are designed, run and facilitated by ELC trainers. When not providing training, TEFL trainers form an integral part of the teaching team, as well as supporting teachers' continuing professional development.

The staff members are committed to ensuring your experience, from the moment you enquire to study with us until the day you graduate from our school, is a positive one.

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. After many years of teaching, she moved into a managing position, where she now oversees the daily operations of our school.

Academic Manager: Group classes

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.

Academic Manager: Private & Corporate

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.

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 joined our team in 2020 as a 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

Cert. PR, BA, PGCE, 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 director. Annaëlle enjoys interacting with her colleagues and the students, establishing good rapport is important to her. She is efficient and appreciates contributing towards the growth of the school. Her areas of interest include creating relevant content for the school on social media, keeping fit and spending quality time with her little boy.

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. Catherine manages all our accommodation and ensures that the facilities are always up to standard. She is friendly and efficient.

Academic Coordinator: Teacher development

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.

Academic Coordinator: Group classes

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.

EFL Teacher + IT Assistant

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.

Lead 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 + Social Programme

Khanyi Zulu

MA in International Education and BA

Khanyi Zulu is a dedicated ESL teacher with more than a decade of teaching experience. She is passionate about pedagogy and excels in multi-level ESL classrooms, fostering inclusive and engaging learning environments. Committed to social responsibility, she integrates elements of Cross-cultural education into her lessons encouraging students to become conscientious global citizens.

Lead EFL Teacher

Michelle Rautenbach

B.comm in Business Management and Logistics, TEFL

Michelle has been teaching ESL since 2011. She thrives on making grammar and critical thinking fun for her students. She loves pushing them to think outside the box. Her passion extends to people and different cultures, making her classroom a vibrant place of learning and acceptance.

EFL Teacher + Administrative Assistant

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 + Social Programme

Miche Shamrock

PGCE, BCom, BTech and TEFL

Miché has been teaching for over 8 years in Southeast Asia and South Africa. She thrives on fostering critical thinking in her classroom and promotes a learning environment that builds confidence to take on challenges. She loves travelling and learning about new cultures. Her areas of interest include technology in the classroom, gamified learning and functional language.

EFL Teacher + Marketing Support

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

Libby Young

BA (Hons) in English and Economics, TEFL, 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

Leroy Glam

BSocSc, LLB, LLM, TEFL

Leroy has been teaching TEFL since the start of 2023 after completing his masters in law. He enjoys encouraging a welcoming 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

Karen Colvin

B.Soc.Sc, MA in Education, CELTA

Karen began teaching at ELC in 2018. Prior to this she taught in Durban and has worked in many education related SA NGOs including the South African Committee for Higher Education (SACHED) Trust and the Valley Trust. She thrives on the cultural interaction she has with international students at ELC and loves the fact that she can make a positive contribution to their lives. She has a particular interest in curriculum and materials development.

EFL Teacher

Kim-Marie van-Staden Fisser

TEFL, BA, HDE and MPhil in Linguistics

Kim-Marie has worked as an English Language teacher for 30 years. She has taught EFL in various countries, most notably Germany, Ireland and the Middle East. Her particular interests within the field include teaching methodologies, articulation and pronunciation, bilingualism and language mixing. Foreign languages, Anthropology and guitar music are among her other interests.

EFL Teacher

Nicole Jacobs

BA in psychology and linguistics, TEFL

Nicole has been teaching at ELC since 2022. She has a special interest in integrating technology in the classroom and looking for innovative ways to make learning fun and engaging for all.

EFL Teacher

Taahirah Esack

BA, PG.Dip in Library and information studies, TEFL, MPhil (current) in Digital Curation

Taahirah has been an EFL teacher since 2022 after discovering her passion for language learning during her years of studying Linguistics. Her Masters research is about the importance of language in cultural identity and how digital archiving plays a role in preserving languages. Taahirah believes that a fun and engaging learning environment is the best way to learn and is constantly on the lookout for new activities, apps and methods.

EFL Teacher

Alexia Beckerling

MA (Classics; Photojournalism; History of Art), BA (Hons), CELTA, DELTA (module 1)

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.

Executive Assistant

Tabassum Pansari

Cert. in Service Management and TEFL

Tabassum works closely with our Principal, providing vital support in managing day-to-day administrative tasks. She is known for her exceptional multitasking abilities and attention to details. She loves arts & crafts, baking and travelling.

Student Services Officer

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.

Sales & Marketing Officer

Siya Mstako

Degree in Events & Tourism Management, Certificate in Digital Marketing

Siya started working in the marketing space in 2017. His role at ELC lies in supporting marketing initiatives, assisting in event planning and compiling digital content. In his spare time, Siya enjoys DJing and helping in community outreach programmes.

Business Development Assistant

Stephano Nkosi

Postgraduate Diploma in Management and Entrepreneurship

Stephano has a solid foundation in business operations and has many years of experience working in the Non-Profit Sector. His passion for driving positive change, combined with his proven leadership abilities, positions him to make significant contributions to our institution’s endeavours.

Student Services Assistant

Fatima White

Certificate in Fashion Design

Fatima is an experienced receptionist and secretary. She has worked in the aviation, corporate and higher education industries. She is passionate about helping people and understands the importance of excellent customer service. Fatima loves fashion.

Student Services Assistant

Sibongile Diko

Diploma in Office Management and Technology

Sibo is a dedicated professional with three years of experience as a receptionist, specialising in customer service and administration. She has good communication and organisational skills, enabling her to provide excellent support to our students. In her spare time, she enjoys building meaningful connections with friends, cooking, and listening to podcasts. She loves working at ELC as she learns about new cultures daily.

Operations Assistant

John Kambani

John 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.

Admin 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.

Student Support Assistant

Khanyisile Lwabi

Diploma in Management Assistant

Khanyi is passionate about fostering an engaging environment for the students. With a background in support services, administration and registry, he is perfectly equipped to assist our diverse group of students in their enquiries. Outside of work, he enjoys content creation, reading & writing and networking.