Our team

After studying office management at Schoevers, Karin worked for two years as a secretary at a translation agency. Through contact with translators from various countries, Karin developed an affinity with language and culture and so it was only a small step to joining Language Partners. Karin has worked as an administrative assistant with us since 2002. In this role, she supports various colleagues and departments: from financial administration, where she is responsible for outgoing invoices and processing payroll mutations and declarations, to supporting Learning & Development colleagues and personnel and trainer management.

Maike grew up in Germany and moved to The Netherlands to study language and culture sciences. As member of the L&D team, Maike develops many of the training courses provided by Language Partners. Maike works on various things within the organisation, including the sister organisation Mazi-Inc. which focuses on inclusion and diversity. Maike’s speciality is national culture, which is again part of diversity. She finds it very interesting to discover the connection between intercultural competencies and the development of inclusive culture and the differences and similarities between the ‘groups’ (gender, age, sex, ethnicity, nationality, etc.). Maike’s motivation is to help people understand the other and build bridges.

Manon has been working at Language Partners since 2018. She studied Dutch in Leiden and attained a teaching qualification. In recent years, Manon has worked in various areas of education including as a teacher (in a secondary school and in adult education NT2), as well as in coordinating positions. Manon derives great satisfaction from working in an environment where knowledge transfer and innovation are central. At Language Partners, she works as a Trainer Manager and also carries out project coordination tasks. The opportunities to develop and great colleagues make for a dynamic working environment!

Virginia was born in London. She studied English Literature at college and went on to study Theatre and Dance at University. Subsequent to this, she travelled and worked extensively abroad. In 2005, she emigrated to the Netherlands, where she obtained a CELTA qualification. She has worked at Language Partners since 2009. During that time, she has had a variety of roles pertaining to English language learning, including coaching, coordinating programmes, and developing materials. As a trainer, Virginia always aims to create a safe learning environment where participants are able to reach their full potential.

Anna Nienke completed a master’s degree in Policy, Communication and Organization. She then joined Language Partners and has held various positions here. This has given her a broad perspective of the organization, which helps her in her role as operations manager. She enjoys the contact with clients and colleagues, and finds it important to be able to help everyone to the best of her ability.

As commercial director at Language Partners, Cintha’s focus is on business development. In particular, her latest study at Nyenrode has given her new insights that contribute to the development of people, organisations and thus ‘the business’. These insights are reflected in the mission ‘turn cultural differences into business advantage’.

Working at Language Partners never bores Cintha. The company is constantly evolving and it is great to work with a growing and driven international team that pays attention to creating an inclusive corporate culture. She takes this knowledge and experience with her when advising organisations dealing with similar development and training issues.

Harald is the general manager. In particular, he is ultimately responsible for our Finance, HR, and Trainers & Training departments. His drive for quality and expertise led to the foundation the first vocational training program for language trainers in the Netherlands. Beyond his dedicated background in language, intercultural communication and DEI, Harald has experience in both history and physical therapy. His professional capabilities have been enhanced through his experience in both fields. Through history he trained to view things from multiple angles. Through his experience in physical therapy helped establish a nuanced ability to creating and implementing plans. Together with colleagues from Trainers & Training, Marketing and Sales & Planning, he works on the innovation policy of Language Partners.

Amber is studying Facility Management and has a passion for planning and organisation. She recently joined Language Partners as a Training Coordinator, where she solves the logistical puzzle of matching students with the right trainer, ensuring that training can start as quickly as possible.

Ana grew up in Brazil. From a young age, she was closely introduced to the world of education through her family’s language school. All in all, she gained 25 years of experience; from teaching and coordinating to working directly with clients and designing courses. She took a side trip and successfully completed a degree in biology with a postgraduate degree in Biotechnology. However, her real passion still turned out to be the world of teaching and learning. In her position as Sales Development Manager at Language Partners, she combines her passion and experience with tremendous enthusiasm and dedication.

Karlijn studied Cultural Anthropology & Development Sociology and Orthopedagogy at the University of Amsterdam. She has gained a lot of experience in guiding refugees, status holders and migrant workers in learning the Dutch language as a volunteer and pathway supervisor. In August 2022, she joined Language Partners as a training coordinator. Karlijn herself has enjoyed taking various language training courses and finds it important that course participants have a similar experience when taking their own language training. She is happy to help you find the training that best suits you and your needs.

René studied English language and literature, theater studies, educational studies and professional didactics at the universities of Leiden and Southampton (UK). Since 1985 he has been active in the language training industry. Initially as language trainer (NT2 and English), but later also as culture trainer, account manager, international consultant and team leader. René has been active in various roles at Language Partners since 2004. In recent years, he has mainly been involved in project coordination, sales, materials development and expertise promotion.

Vladlena is originally from Russia and knows from her own experience the importance of learning a language and understanding the influence of culture on language use. She has also completed studies in the field of Management. In the position of Sales & Planning Officer at Language Partners, she now combines two things she is really passionate about and it is a success!

Virginia is geboren in Londen en verhuisde in 2005 naar Nederland. Sinds 2010 geeft ze trainingen Engels. Ze deed ervaring op bij verschillende onderwijsorganisaties en bedrijven en heeft kennis van diverse branches. Naast haar werk als trainer werkt Virginia als Learning & Development medewerker voor Language Partners.

Find out more about Robyn on LinkedIn.

Raquel is trainer (Braziliaans) Portugees. Ze begon met lesgeven in São Paulo in 1996. Sinds 2007 is ze in Nederland trainer Portugees als tweede taal. Woorden die Raquel kenmerken zijn: verantwoordelijk, betrouwbaar, flexibel, accuraat, vriendelijk en professioneel.

Ralf verzorgt sinds 2013 zakelijke trainingen Engels voor Language Partners. Hij geeft les aan cursisten die werken in verschillende sectoren: financieel, energie, waterbeheer, accountancy, juridisch, bouw en de overheid. Ralf is erg geduldig en geeft iedereen de aandacht die nodig is. Door zijn eigen ervaringen begrijpt hij namelijk als geen ander hoe moeilijk het kan zijn om als volwassene een nieuwe taal te moeten leren!

Hij stimuleert zijn cursisten om zo veel mogelijk Engels te praten (zowel tijdens de les als daarbuiten). Autonoom zijn is voor Ralf een essentieel onderdeel van het aanleren van een nieuwe taal.

Since 2015, Rachel has been delivering business English training and coaching in communication and personal development. She works with learners from various industries and understands better than anyone how challenging it can be to learn a new language as an adult while continuing to develop professionally.

With a strong background in psychology, communication, training, and coaching, she helps both individuals and teams enhance their language skills and soft skills. Rachel is a patient and dedicated trainer who carefully tailors her lessons to the specific needs of her learners, creating effective and practical learning experiences.

Mira is trainer zakelijk Duits bij Language Partners. Mira: “Ik probeer altijd met cursisten mee te denken: wat heeft iemand nodig? En waar komt hij of zij zelf mee? Niet alleen woordenschat en grammatica komen in mijn trainingen aan de orde (ik kan naamvallen uitleggen in 5 minuten), maar ook cultuur. Ik ben niet voor niets afgestudeerd op verschillen in normen en waarden tussen Nederlanders en Duitsers en heb daarna onderzoek gedaan naar de ervaringen van Duitsers in Nederland.”

Michelle is taaltrainer Business English bij Language Partners. Ze komt oorspronkelijk uit Austin, Texas.

Margo werkt als trainer Duits voor Language Partners. Ze heeft een passie voor taal en literatuur en voor Duitsland. Hiervan maakt ze haar cursisten graag deelgenoot.

Madeleine is trainer Zweeds. Ze komt uit Amsterdam, maar tijdens haar studie woonde ze ruim een jaar in Zweden – en daar verblijft ze nog regelmatig. Ze behaalde haar doctoraal Zweedse letterkunde en een diploma van Folkhögskolan in Mora. Sinds 1992 geeft ze met veel plezier Zweedse taaltrainingen. Daarnaast is ze ook actief als tolk en vertaler.

Liz is geboren in het Verenigd Koninkrijk en startte haar carrière als advocaat gespecialiseerd in familierecht. In 2004 verhuisde ze naar Nederland en ging ze aan de slag als taaltrainer en vertaler.

Josée is een gedreven en enthousiaste trainer Frans en NT2, die sinds 1997 voor Language Partners werkt. Ze heeft veel kennis van trainingsdidactiek, waardoor zij op structurele en creatieve wijze cursisten motiveert en stimuleert. Naast haar werk als taaltrainer werkt Josée ook als tutor voor de Universiteit Leiden.

Jo heeft in verschillende landen in Europa gewerkt en woont sinds 2010 in Nederland, waar ze training Engels en communicatievaardigheden geeft. Haar lessen past ze aan aan de behoeften van de studenten, door zich te richten op de disciplines die ze het hardst nodig hebben.

Feykje studied Language and Communication and completed a master’s in Dutch as a Second Language at the University of Amsterdam. During her studies, she started working as an NT2 teacher. She also loves learning new languages herself and firmly believes that it never has to be boring. That’s exactly what she aims to show her students: learning Dutch in a fun and safe environment, where they gain the confidence to actually use the language in daily life.

Feykje studeerde Taal en Communicatie en deed de master Nederlands als tweede taal aan de UvA. Al tijdens haar studie begon ze te werken als NT2-docente. Ze leert ook zelf graag nieuwe talen en is ervan overtuigd dat dit nooit saai hoeft te zijn. Dat probeert ze dan ook zo over te brengen op haar cursisten: op een gezellige en veilige manier de Nederlandse taal leren, waarbij cursisten meer vertrouwen krijgen om de taal ook daadwerkelijk in te zetten in het dagelijks leven.

Evelien is trainer Frans en NT2. Een gedeelte van haar studie Franse Taal- en Letterkunde volbracht ze in Caen, Normandië. Daarna volgde ze de postdoctorale Lerarenopleiding. Inmiddels geeft Evelien al 10 jaar zakelijke taaltrainingen. In 2009 volgde ze een opleiding NT2-didactiek. Sindsdien is ze ook actief als trainer Nederlands als Tweede Taal.

Els studied French Language and Literature at Leiden University, followed by a postgraduate teacher training programme—and she hasn’t stopped teaching since. After gaining experience as a translator, tutor, and substitute teacher, she joined Language Partners in 1997. There, she expanded her teaching portfolio to include both French and Dutch as a second language (NT2).

Languages and cultures are her passion. Her main goal is to share knowledge in an engaging and accessible way. A language course doesn’t have to be boring, and making mistakes is all part of the learning process!

Daniel is een Brits-Nederlands Engels trainer. In 2010 behaalde hij zijn CELTA-certificaat (Cambridge English Language Teaching for Adults). Sindsdien heeft hij ook de Cambridge DELTA Module 1 met succes afgerond en heeft hij meer dan 5000 uur Engelse training op zijn naam staan. Daniels manier van lesgeven kenmerkt zich door een persoonlijke benadering, levendige grammaticale uitleg en creatieve output, waaronder ook het ontwerpen van materiaal en het afstemmen van cursussen. Naast trainer zakelijk Engels is Daniel ook Cambridge examinator en docent-trainer voor de Language Partners Academy. Tot nu toe heeft hij onderwerpen behandeld als presentatievaardigheden, creativiteit en gesprekstijd voor docenten. Hij heeft ook vier EFL-boeken (English as a Foreign Language) op zijn naam staan, waaronder: ‘The EFL Teacher’s Handbook’ en ‘The EFL Teacher’s Companion’. Bovendien heeft hij talloze blogs geschreven en interviews afgenomen met legendarische taalkundigen en experts uit de industrie over alle aspecten van lesgeven.

Dana is trainer Nederlands (NT2) bij Language Partners. Dana geeft training aan groepen of individuele cursisten op alle niveaus, maar focust voornamelijk op taalniveau B1 en hoger. Ze gebruikt in haar lessen een grote variatie aan samenwerkende leervormen en gebruikt daarbij input als muziek, speeches, video en online quizzen.

Shara is an experienced, well rounded language training professional with over ten years of teaching experience. Interacting dynamically with corporate groups and individuals alike. Communicating professionally in diverse sectors including retail and banking. Investing in and supporting others to build language confidence has resulted in excellent client-trainer relations, positive learning results and job satisfaction.

Specialties: Delivering Business and general English language training to large or small multi-cultural and multi-lingual groups.

Shara focusses on the success of our students, building both confidence and ability to reach your work and life goals through English.