Testimonials
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Testimonials
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German
Testimonials from our German Language Students
Marcus Wearne
German Student
Thank you very much for this excellent class with Phillip, that started this week. The atmosphere was great and trough 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.
Tony Neal (60+ and a notorious Luddite)
Lawyer
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).
Robin Henry
Musician & Music teacher
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 just 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.
Grace Rodrigues
Student
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!
Mandarin
Testimonials from our Mandarin Students
Claire Robertson
Year 9 Student
Mei is a great Chinese teacher. She is extremely patient and her teaching methods are always helpful. Her approach and learning strategies are very clear , easy to understand and immediately put you at ease . My time with Mei greatly helps to add value and reinforce the Chinese language content taught at school.
Paul Smith
Engineer
I have been learning Mandarin with the Language Centre my company for 3 years and enjoyed all the classes very much. We have learned speaking, reading and writing as well as many cultural aspects of China. I feel much more confident with my business contacts now. I plan to continue my lessons and would highly recommend the EMLC to anyone who is interesting in learning Mandarin.
Lynne Lloyd
Retired ESL teacher
I have been learning Mandarin as a private student at the East Melbourne Language Centre for three years and have greatly enjoyed the experience. As an older student, I have appreciated the friendly informality of the Centre (a contrast to larger institutions) as well as the professionalism of their educational programs. My teacher is Chinese and is both well qualified and experienced, having taught English in Beijing secondary schools before coming to Australia. With her help, I have completed a semester at a Beijing university and prepared for HSK examinations to Level 4. Together we have had many lively inter-cultural discussions and I have gained many insights into Chinese life. I recommend the Language Centre to anyone, at whatever age, wanting to learn a foreign language for business, travel or fun.
Arabic
Testimonials from our Arabic Students
Helen Petricola
Director of Whittlesea Lodge Aged Care Facility
As an Arabic teacher, Ahmed is amazing! He teaches in a way, completely different to others- no doubt due to his total understanding of many languages & Arabic in particularHe is challenging, extremely supportive & encourages his students to be not afraid to make mistakes. As well, he has a fantastic sense of humor. We are very lucky to be under his tutelage.
Eva Alisic
Arabic A1 Intensive Student
I went from having absolutely no idea about the language to now knowing some basics, finding it fascinating, and knowing how to continue. I am very happy with the Arabic teacher Kinda: she is lovely, fun, patient and I learned heaps. Both about the language and the culture. What I liked most about the intensive Arabic class? The mix of different elements. Listening, speaking, writing, reading, etc. And having a great teacher makes a world of a difference.
Spanish
Testimonials from our Spanish Students
Leonie Loveday
Legal secretary
4 years of studying Spanish at EMLC has been good fun, challenging and rewarding. David brings a special approach and knowledge of his language to classes and interesting texts for out of class work too.
Russian
Testimonials from our Russian Students
Laura Liao
Student
Elena is an experienced teacher in language skills development and class management. She has the exceptional ability to interact with adult students to make the class coherent and benefit everyone. I enjoy learning Russian and am glad to see the progress I’ve made under her tutoring.
Indonesian
Testimonials from our Indonesian Language Students
Wendy
Student
I have been studying Bahasa Indonesia at East Melbourne Language Centre for several years. My current teacher, Dr. Lily Farid, makes learning the language a real pleasure. She bases her lessons on topics as widely diverse as current affairs, cooking recipes, literature from Indonesian writers and helpful hints for travelers. She is always cheerful and positive as are the staff at the language school. I myself enjoy writing parallel text children’s picture story books in English and Indonesian and Lily has been very helpful to me with her comments and editing. I am happy to recommend her as a teacher for students of any age and any level from beginner to advanced.
VCE Training
Testimonials from our VCE Students
Max Drezga
Viewbank College
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 realized 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.
Kate Lowe
Viewbank College
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! 39 scaled to 47!!
Lincoln Saliwonczyk
Scotch College
Almost two years ago I was ready to quit VCE German. My marks were not good at all. Particularly the task of succeeding in speaking assessments was very daunting. I found that my low confidence in speaking German was my greatest weakness. However after beginning tuition at the East Melbourne Language Centre I found that my German was greatly improving. My confidence was increasing greatly and also I began to grasp grammatical concepts that were previously confusing. My time at the East Melbourne Language Centre included private tuition and also frequent workshops. I feel that my time at the East Melbourne Language Centre has been greatly beneficial for my VCE German and I have discovered some success in the language. It has helped me discover the fun of learning a second language and for this reason I recommend the East Melbourne Language Centre to all VCE students who are learning a second language. I got a raw score of 31 which scaled to 40!! Very happy!
Michelle Huang
Robertson Girls′ High School
Having grown up speaking two languages at home, learning German was a challenge unlike any other I have had to face before. Something I thought would come easily to me proved to be a struggle in the early years of high school, and I had very little confidence in areas such as speaking and grammar. I was introduced to the East Melbourne Language Centre through a friend, and it was one of the best discoveries I had during VCE. Not only did the sessions greatly improve my confidence in all aspects of the language, including grammar and speaking, I also found this confidence translating to other areas of my study. Everyone at the Centre truly cares about your learning and growth as a student, and through one-on-one classes and small groups I found that I was able to learn more effectively than in a larger classroom setting. I would greatly recommend the Centre to anyone looking to gain more confidence in their language skills, or simply a new outlook on German.” Raw 45 scaled to 50.45!! Thank you!!
Justin Tey
Melbourne High School,
After failing German in year 10, I doubted if continuing was the right decision but thankfully, through the weekly sessions at German Language Centre, my German speedily improved. Without the help from Katharina, the complexities of German grammar would have otherwise been too difficult to grasp on my own, but by breaking the rules down and using easily digestible examples, Katharina made grammar my strong suit and also helped me a lot with my style. Learning a language can be tough but it can also be a lot of fun! Having to constantly speak German during the sessions was always a challenge I looked forward to and translated greatly in the oral exam. Thanks to Katharina’s experience, her tips and tricks for every component of VCE German made the year a breeze and definitely saved my study score! I got a 42 which scaled to 48.5!
Seungho Ham
Melbourne High School
During VCE, I found German to be my most rewarding, yet most difficult subject. Whilst searching for ways I could develop my grasp of the language, a friend introduced me to the East Melbourne and German Language Centre. Katharina and other teachers were very friendly and knowledgeable. All aspects of the German language were covered in-depth, putting us in good stead for upcoming SACs and exams. Difficult topics were explained clearly and classes were tailored to our individual needs to ensure we would get the most out of each session. Deciding to attend the East Melbourne and German Language Centre was one of the best decisions I made during VCE. Without their help, my German definitely would not have improved as much as it did. Thank you Katharina and other teachers for all your hard work and dedication and I definitely recommend East Melbourne and German Language Centre to anyone interested in learning German.