School Coordinators and Teaching Staff

Silja McIver – Adult Coordinator [email]

I was born in Giessen (near  Frankfurt) where I went to university to be a secondary teacher (with English as one of my subjects). I grew up in a semi-rural area, spending lots of time in nature – riding my push bike, going for walks, riding horses and other outdoor activities, and the passion for nature-based activities has remained with me to this day. Whilst at university I had the opportunity to participate in an exchange program with an American university where I was able to teach German and complete a degree in German literature and language acquisition. My permanent move to Australia came unexpectedly after traveling to Tasmania where I met a handsome Aussie guy who became my husband and father to our three children. I started teaching at the Brisbane German Language School in 2020. I enjoy sharing the language and culture of Germany with other people and I like to add some games and songs to our classroom.

Sandra Macha-Peck – Youth Coordinator [email]

I am a native German speaker, as well as a Registered Nurse from Thüringen and have been living in Brisbane since 1995. My husband is an Australian from Sydney but Brisbane is now home for us. Since our three children came along, I have worked part time at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital where many students come through my ward to get work experience to become nurses one day. For many years I led and coordinated the Monday German Mothers Group in Brisbane. I started teaching at the BGLS in 2011 and really enjoy  interacting with children and watching them discover their talent for language learning.

Anita

I am originally from Namibia (Africa) where German is one of the national languages. I am a native German speaker and have been teaching at German Schools overseas and in Australia. 

I joined BGLS in 2018 and thrive on the enthusiasm and keen participation of the students I teach every Saturday in my Junior group. It is a privilege to be able to teach German and share my culture with young Australians. My passion is to promote learning for young people enhancing their interest. My free time is dedicated to my family, animals and garden.

Birgit

I am originally from Vienna in Austria where I tutored high school students in German during my university studies. I met my Australian husband whilst travelling in Africa and subsequently moved to Australia in 2000. In 2015, I started tutoring adults and home-schooled children on the Gold Coast. I came to the Brisbane German Language School in 2020. I thoroughly enjoy teaching German and seeing the progress students make. In my spare time, I enjoy pilates, bushwalking, movies and planning my next travels.

Birgit Stein

I was born in Hamburg in Northern Germany and have always held a strong interest in Languages and Culture. Since my arrival in Queensland in 1988, I have worked as a teacher in various schools, uni’s, roles and positions, mainly teaching German, French and English for over thirty years. I am passionate about teaching German to children, fostering their understanding and ability to speak and function in more than one language and social context. I started working for BGLS in 2022. It is a real joy to participate in the development of boosting students’ knowledge, confidence and achievement levels in learning the German language and culture in addition to English.

Christian

Hi, my name is Christian and I’m Australian. I’ve been a teacher since 2007. I studied at the University of Queensland and the Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena, Germany.

I’ve taught German Immersion and I currently teach German and Social Sciences at a private girls’ school in Brisbane.

In my spare time, I like to read and go to the theatre.

Cornelia

I am a native German speaker from a city near Köln in Germany. I first came to Australia to study Psychology. After completing my degree and marrying an “Aussie”, I became a mum of twins.

During my studies at the University of Queensland, I was a tutor for undergraduate psychology students. This sparked my interest and love of teaching. I now enjoy being a teacher at BGLS, where I strive to create engaging and interactive lessons for kids.

I love spending time with my family, our dog and chickens, as well as doing sports and travelling.

Elke

I am a native German speaker and have been teaching students at High School and Primary Level, including the German Immersion programs in Brisbane since 2003. Originally from Melbourne, I have spent my childhood and some of my adult years in Sachsen-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bremen.

I love teaching German to foster the language in creating interesting and exciting classes for the students.

In my free time I like to hike and go to the theatre.

Holger

I come from Frankfurt am Main in Germany. In 1998 I completed my studies in business administration and have worked in this area since. I commenced teaching at BGLS in 2015.

One of my favourite parts about teaching is showing kids how to have fun whilst learning. I have a wife and two children.

Nuria

Hi, my name is Nuria. I was born and grew up in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, near Bern. I really enjoy learning languages and love sharing my Swiss-German heritage. Teaching postgraduate students while I was at uni and now clients how to use new software is fun and rewarding in my current job as an implementation specialist. I am excited to teach German at BGLS and love to show students more about German, Austrian and Swiss culture. In my free time, I enjoy being out in nature either hiking or having a coffee, ideally on a beach. I also love climbing and volleyball and keep studying foreign languages like French and Mandarin. 

Richard

I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and attended the German School Johannesburg until middle school. I immigrated to Australia in 2000 and attended the German School Johannes Gutenberg in Sydney, until moving to Brisbane in 2013. After High School I studied video games development at the Queensland University of Technology, graduating with a double bachelor of design and business. I spent a year teaching English in Japan before returning to Australia to study creative writing.  More recently I’ve been working in the games industry developing video games and furthering my education in artificial intelligence and machine learning at the University of Queensland. I have a passion for learning and teaching, and I am looking forward to sharing some of my expertise with the students of BGLS. 

Ruth

I grew up in the Franconia region of Bavaria and studied English and French, linguistics and literature at the University of Würzburg. I taught English and French at several secondary academic schools in Germany before my passion for travelling and teaching languages brought me to Sydney in 1995 as an exchange teacher. 

I have been a member of the Brisbane German Language School for almost 20 years, first as the mother of twins attending the youth classes and then from 2007 as a teacher and for many years as adult classes coordinator.  For a few years now I have been learning Italian, my fifth language, and I enjoy being a student again. It also makes me more appreciative of all the time and effort our courageous students here at BGLS put into learning a foreign language.

Sabrina

Hello everyone! I had been living in Aachen, Germany for 25 years when I came to Brisbane in 2018 for my studies and decided to stay for the sunshine and the people! I have been teaching German since 2015 when I was giving German classes to refugees as a volunteer back home and do private and group classes at BGLS.

During the week, I work and study in the medical engineering sector and I like to paint and play video games in my free time.

Sarah

I am a native German speaker and grew up in Germany in a beautiful little town near Frankfurt. While backpacking in 2004, I fell in love with Australia and came back to study a primary school teaching degree in Bundaberg in 2006. Once finished, I worked as a teacher in Germany and Vietnam before permanently returning to Australia in 2012.

I love teaching languages to students – especially getting students to the point where they proudly recognise the progress they have made. I will do my best at BGLS to improve their ability to understand, communicate and grow more confident in the use of the German language and culture. I like spending quality time with my family in my spare time as well as baking, hiking, running, reading and looking after our chickens.

Zack

I was born in England— and I speak fluent German!

My Aunty “Silke” lives in Bremen (in north Germany) and she speaks “Plattdeutsch” to me. I lived in Cologne from 2006 – 2016, so I can understand the Kölsch dialect quite well. During my childhood I spent every summer in Austria. You can imagine, I’m used to all sorts of German dialect!

I’ve been teaching all my adult life, and I really love it. My arrival in Brisbane in December 2016, felt like a stark contrast to Germany! No more Glühwein for me at Christmas-time. Much more appropriate is an ice-cold soda! All the same, I do miss the German drink “Apfelschorle”— Have you tried it?

In my spare time I enjoy writing poetry, pop-music and japes in German and in English. My subject matter is mostly “die Umwelt (the environment)”. Next time you see me in person, ask me to sing you my German song about solar-power!