Our story

East Melbourne Language Centre students and teachers

Founded in 1989 on Lansdowne Street, the East Melbourne Language Centre began its journey as the German Language Centre. Over the decades the school quickly grew into a vibrant multicultural community hub, reflecting the passion and curiosity of our learners. Over the decades, we expanded into many languages, building a rich community of students, teachers and cultural experiences.

Nowadays our main focus is German. With more than 35 years of teaching expertise, we continue to deliver high-quality language education shaped by tradition, innovation and genuine cultural exchange. And while our primary focus is now German, we are still happy to connect you with our network of quality teachers for other languages.

At our school you are not only a learner of grammar and vocabulary. You are also given the opportunity to immerse yourself into German culture through our special events, such as German film nights, game nights and seasonal celebrations like Christmas in July and Christmas markets where you mingle with the local German community.

Most of our classes are now taught online, offering flexibility and access for learners everywhere, though we still maintain a few inhouse classes for those who prefer face-to-face interaction. Get in touch and we'll help you find the learning format that suits you best.

At the German Language Centre, you're not just learning a language, you're joining a community with decades of expertise, cultural richness and a genuine passion for bringing people together through language.

Our school in pictures

East Melbourne Language Centre

Meet our teaching team

Katharina Kleiminger - Director of East Melbourne Language Centre

Katharina Kleiminger

Director of East Melbourne Language Centre

Studied Spanish, French and pedagogical studies at Hamburg University. She worked as a language teacher in Paris and Madrid before moving to Australia in 1989. Then worked as a broadcaster for SBS Radio in Melbourne and became the Director of the East Melbourne Language Centre in 1990. Taught at Monash University for many years where she also conducted teachers training courses.

I am proud of the diverse community of cultures and languages we have built at the East Melbourne Language Centre.

It is a true privilege to share such a diverse world of languages and cultures with like-minded people.

I love playing tennis, yoga, gardening, bushwalking and cooking with and for friends and family.

Kim - German teacher from Dortmund

Kim

German teacher from Dortmund

Guten Tag, mein Name ist Kim. I'm from Dortmund and did my tertiary studies in the Netherlands where I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Educational Science. I also hold a Master's degree in Business Administration. As a current student of Spanish, I keep up with the challenges and techniques for language acquisition from a learner's perspective. I moved to Australia at the end of 2024 and am excited to have the opportunity to share my native tongue and its culture with students. I love fitness, camping, travelling and eating.

Ann-Kathrin - German teacher from Bonn

Ann-Kathrin

German teacher from Bonn

Guten Tag, mein Name ist Ann-Kathrin! Studying Oriental and Asian Studies in Germany and Jordan opened a whole new world for me that I like to share with my students. I enjoy teaching German because I like the gift of learning a language and getting to know other cultures myself. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, baking, reading and browsing the lovely sights and places of Melbourne.

Moritz - German teacher from Berlin

Moritz

German teacher from Berlin

I was born in Berlin, which is a city I still love and visit regularly. I initially studied law, then social work and pedagogy. After travelling extensively I moved to Australia in 1994 to live with my partner. For me language is a means to communicate, to be inspired, to share humour and form relationships. I recognise, that different people learn languages in different ways and try to apply different teaching methods and tools to meet these needs.

Phillip - German teacher from Düsseldorf

Phillip

German teacher from Düsseldorf

I grew up in the west of Germany in a town between Düsseldorf at the German/Dutch border. After my tertiary studies of German, History and Intercultural Education at University, I worked in several educational institutions as a secondary school teacher of German for immigrant communities. I enjoy very much making the most of the diverse language courses offered so that I can broaden my horizons and become more familiar with the international community, while travelling and during my daily life.

Marlene - German teacher from Minden

Marlene

German teacher from Minden

My name is Marlene, I come from the small city of Minden in central Germany. I completed a Masters in Trans-Cultural Studies in Bremen. Throughout my studies and work, I focused on foreign language education and autonomous language learning. I have always loved travelling, exploring different countries, cultures and languages. In 2018, I moved to Australia and undertook a further education course with the Goethe Institute. I am very passionate about teaching and love helping students on their journey of learning German.

Marlies - German teacher from Bavaria

Marlies

German teacher from Bavaria

Hi, I'm Marlies! I moved to Australia from Germany with my family in 1996, and have been teaching German at the GLC for over 25 years. In Germany I was a researcher and taught Biology and Chemistry. I love gardening, hiking, photography, music, and reading, but I particularly love travelling and learning languages. This is why I teach German; I am convinced speaking other languages is the key to making friends all over the world.

Julita - German teacher from Stettin

Julita

German teacher from Stettin

Hello, my name is Julita and I am a German teacher. I am originally from Poland but I used to live in Berlin and Vienna before I decided to move to Melbourne. I studied Applied Linguistics at the Warsaw University and worked as a German teacher for 7 years. I also worked for the Polish embassies in Germany and Austria, which helped me get to know the culture and the politics of these countries better.

Uli - German teacher from Hamburg

Uli

German teacher from Hamburg

Hi! I'm Uli and I'm passionate about teaching! I was born in Hamburg, where I studied to become a language teacher. Soon after my studies, I moved to Madrid, and then to London, where I taught languages. The last 20 years I taught German and Spanish at Melbourne University. Now I have joined the wonderful team at the German Language Centre. Apart from teaching, I love and work with dogs! (My second passion)

Sophie - French teacher from Paris

Sophie

French teacher from Paris

Salut! Je suis Sophie. A Parisian native who now calls Melbourne home. I've been teaching French in Australia for the past 10 years to students of all ages and levels. I have a particular interest in developing oral skills, with a specialisation in teaching pronunciation, and extensive experience tutoring for VCE. When I'm not teaching French, I enjoy reading (especially sci-fi), listening to music, cooking, and riding my bike around the city.

Marion - French teacher from Paris

Marion

French teacher from Paris

Bonjour! My name is Marion and I have been teaching French for more than 10 years. I studied Law in France but did a diploma of teaching French as a foreign language with Alliance Francaise in 2014. I love teaching because I'm hoping to help people with their language skills no matter their ages, objectives and abilities. I also enjoy interacting with people from different backgrounds and share my original culture through language.

Liudmila - Russian teacher from Moscow

Liudmila

Russian teacher from Moscow

Hello, my name is Liudmila, I was born and grew up in Moscow. I have been teaching Russian for nearly 30 years and moved to Australia 12 years ago. Teaching Russian to anyone & everyone, I have a Masters degree of teaching Russian & Literature. Over my career, I have most enjoyed sharing my passion for the Russian language, our culture and rich history with 100s of foreign students. Teaching is a fantastic vocation, with some of my students now life-long friends from various cultures and backgrounds.

Elena - Russian teacher from St Petersburg

Elena

Russian teacher from St Petersburg

I have been teaching Russian as a foreign language for about 20 years. I graduated from Pedagogical University of St Petersburg where I obtained a PHD in teaching Russian in 2003. I lived in many countries and taught Russian wherever I went: Switzerland, Lebanon, Jordan, and finally Australia. In 2009 I arrived in Melbourne and started to teach at EMLC. I always aim to present Russian in a structured way, considering individual goals and interests of the students and creating a motivating atmosphere.

May - Mandarin teacher from China

May

Mandarin teacher from China

I have completed the Bachelor's Degree study in China, and a Master Degree study in Australia. I have been a school teacher in China for 7 years and have more than 10 years Mandarin teaching experience in Australia, including school teaching for first and second language learners, and private tutoring for all levels and various backgrounds, as well as business communications from beginners to advanced levels. I have the lifelong hobby of learning about history and culture, and I am interested in traveling, hiking and outdoor exploring.

Kaori - Japanese teacher from Tokyo

Kaori

Japanese teacher from Tokyo

Konnichiwa!! I'm Kaori (like Maori). I've been in Australia for nearly 10 years and have been teaching Japanese for several years in Melbourne. After I studied communication studies at the university in Tokyo, I worked for publishing companies and made lots of magazines and books. Through these experiences, I came to like the Japanese culture and language more and more. I'd like people to know how interesting Japan is through my lessons!!

Martina - Spanish teacher from Argentina

Martina

Spanish teacher from Argentina

¡Hola! My name is Martina and I'm a Spanish teacher. I was born in Argentina and I grew up in Spain. I studied Hispanic Philology at the University of Barcelona, where I also completed a master's degree in Advanced Studies in Spanish and Latin American Literature. In 2013, I started teaching Spanish at different language schools in Barcelona, as well as private tutoring. Besides language and literature, I love traveling, and in 2018, I decided to come to Melbourne, where I have been teaching Spanish ever since.

Talking German, finding love: Our Stammtisch story

Matt and Steffi - A love story that began at our language centre

Sometimes love finds you when you're busy conjugating verbs. In 2019 Matt enrolled at our school to learn German, the way dozens of students do every year. Steffi had just arrived from Germany to spend a year volunteering in our office. They passed each other in the hallways plenty of times, trading quick hellos and the kind of polite smiles you give someone whose name you sort of know.

The real conversation didn't happen until Stammtisch, one of our regular evenings where students gather to practise German over good food and German beer. Without the pressure of classwork or office tasks, people tend to loosen up. Matt and Steffi found themselves at the same table, swapping stories about their lives, laughing over the universal embarrassment of language mistakes and realising they had a lot in common.

What started as practising conversational German turned into conversations that lasted well beyond the event. They began dating a few weeks later, and the relationship grew quickly from there. Within a couple of years they were married. They took the opportunity to travel the world together, exploring new places as a couple before coming home to start a family. Now they're expecting their first baby.

Who knew that learning German could lead to finding the love of your life? At our community events, you might practise mehr als nur Deutsch (more than just German). Though we can't guarantee you'll meet your soulmate, we can tell you that good things tend to happen when people sit down together and actually talk.

Matt and Steffi are still part of our community, and their story has become one of our favorites to tell. It's a good reminder that learning a language can take you places you never planned to go.

What our German students say

"Thank you very much for this excellent class with Phillip, that started this week. The atmosphere was great and through rotating partner work, new students and great exercises learning is a lot of fun. I am really glad that the course has started again. I would recommend the East Melbourne and German Language Centre anytime. I am totally satisfied."

Marcus Wearne

German Student

"I found (to my great surprise) that Zoom was very user friendly and that the audio and video quality was very good. I used my iPad. Structurally the class worked similarly to a face to face class. Great to be able to enjoy the society of my classmates even if only virtually. Also standards of attire were respectfully maintained (no one appeared in trackie daks or PJ's as far as I could tell)."

Tony Neal

Lawyer (60+ and a notorious Luddite)

"After starting my German language studies in Germany, I was pleased to begin classes again at the East Melbourne Language Centre, with its highly experienced and effective teachers, and its fun classes. My teacher, Katharina, is brilliant in how she explains the complicated German language, and this is greatly helped by her deep knowledge of English as well as several other languages. Classes are very thought-provoking, and offer me an ideal level of challenge, and a supportive environment in which I can improve my language skills. In class, we don't just learn language, but we very much engage with German culture and history through media including film, TV and print. I am grateful for the experiences I have had at the East Melbourne Language Centre, and very much recommend the school to others."

Robin Henry

Musician & Music teacher

"I am thoroughly enjoying learning German at East German Language Centre. The physical classrooms have been a fantastic learning environment! However, it is particularly commendable that they were able to swiftly transition into online class during a global pandemic. It's comforting that the students' and teachers' health and wellbeing is a priority of the school. My personal experience in the virtual classroom was fantastic. The software, Zoom, was easily navigated by everyone in my class, regardless of our diversity in age. Our teacher also did a fantastic job of quickly adapting to this new teaching format and made the physical-to-virtual experience seamless!"

Grace Rodrigues

Student

VCE success stories

"Being partly bilingual I always thought that I did not need any extra help with my German but once I was deep into essay writing I realised there are certain challenges that arise from this mindset. A huge flaw of mine was grammar. It is easy to fall into the trap of neglecting grammar as a bilingual because a lot of the time, sentences simply fall into place. But literally after even just one intensive grammar workshop I suddenly started to get a much better idea of the actual grammar rules, and was able to iron out my mistakes. I then also had some private classes to prepare for the actual exam, which obviously is a huge help for little tips and tricks, oral practice and more writing feedback. You gain a lot of confidence this way I find and I highly recommend this approach if you want the edge."

Max Drezga

Viewbank College

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"As a VCE student undertaking German in year 12 I wanted more practice for my German skills outside of the classroom, and so I took up the Skype classes offered by the East Melbourne Language Centre. The classes were able to fit around my school schedule and were flexible for my needs, whether it was speaking or grammar practice. Through the classes I was able, not only, to practise speaking for the oral exam, but to go over my work for assessments during the year and the written exam at the years end. These classes made an incredible difference to my confidence levels and the ability to practice German weekly made it possible for me to retain and revise my knowledge through-out the year, I recommend the classes highly for those who want extra practice and a confidence boost!"

Kate Lowe

Viewbank College

Join our teaching team

We're always looking for passionate, qualified language teachers to join our team.
If you're a native German speaker with teaching experience and a love for sharing your language and culture, we'd love to hear from you.

Ready to start your German learning journey?

You can pay online to immediately enrol into group classes through the course timetable. If you have questions or would like help deciding which course is best for you, feel free to email us at info@languagecentre.net.au or call us on 03 9417 2265.

Whether you're looking to join one of our group courses or need a custom private lesson arrangement, our friendly office team is here to help you get started.