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
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
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
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.
Marketing assistant
Diana Moreno-Cortes
Degree in Advertising
Diana is a graphic designer who has been working in the advertising industry for the last 9 years. She started working in the Marketing Department at ELC at the beginning of 2023 and is enjoying her new creative space. Diana likes spending time with her colleagues, meeting new students and the outdoors.
Administrative Officer
Tabassum Pansari
Cert. in Service Management and TEFL
Tabassum works closely with our Centre Manager and provides support to the office team. She is meticulous, great at multitasking and ensures our administrative activities run smoothly. She loves arts & crafts, baking and travelling.
Kim-Marie van-Staden Fisser
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Student Assistant & Social Programme Coordinator
John Kambani
John 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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
