Meet
the staff.
VIEW PROFILES
A global team...|
Tineka Twigley
Director
BA (Waikato), PGDipTeach (Massey), CELTA (Cambridge)
Born and raised in Taranaki, Tineka is the proud owner of Lingua. After taking some time out from teaching to care for her family, she was extremely excited to join the team at Lingua in 2020 and carry on the legacy that had been created.
Tineka comes with a wealth of experience in language teaching and also has a strong business background having worked for two international companies abroad prior to moving back to NZ in 2006. She is extremely passionate about the value of learning another language and its culture, including Te Reo Māori, which she has studied together with her husband in recent times.
She welcomes new enrolments at Lingua and is very happy to take any inquiries from those in the community that are interested in learning another language for personal or business related reasons.
Karoline Zuliani
Portuguese Instructor
BPhty (Potiguar)
Coming from the tropical portion of the world, Karoline was born in Brazil and has lived in many different parts of the country. Her travels have brought her into contact with many different dialects and cultures from across Brazil.
With a background in physiotherapy, Karoline has a lot of experience working with people from different backgrounds and age groups. She enjoys the interaction with people and is passionate about sharing with them her knowledge of Portuguese.
Karoline is patient, calm, creative and always happy to help. At Lingua, she is responsible for the Portuguese programme.
Margaret Street
Italian, Latin & English Instructor
DipLang (Massey), BA (Victoria)
Margaret was born and brought up in New Plymouth. After completing her studies at the University of Victoria in Wellington, she went abroad and spent the last thirty years in Italy. Her husband is Italian and her two daughters were both born there.
They have all travelled widely in Europe and the UK, but still find that the country they love is Italy: the wealth of history, art, literature, cultural activities, music, colour and cuisine that Italy offers.
Margaret has always worked as a teacher and has a postgraduate diploma in second-language teaching. She has worked with students of all ages, both at school and in a business setting.
At Lingua, Margaret is responsible for the Italian and Latin programmes.
Fanfei Zhang
Mandarin Instructor
BSc (Fujian), DipBus (WITT), Chinese (IPA)
Originally from Fujian Province in China, Fanfei started her career as a university lecturer before relocating to New Plymouth in the late 1990s to continue her studies at WITT.
In 2005, Fanfei returned to China, where she worked in the marketing sector in Shanghai for a number of years, a job that allowed her to travel the world and get to know different cultures.
Through her interest in literature, Fanfei discovered her passion for sharing the Chinese language and culture with others. This prompted her to obtain her International Teaching Certificate as a Senior Chinese Language Teacher.
After a few years of teaching Mandarin in China, Fanfei now runs the Mandarin programme at Lingua.
Monica Schael-Isenor
French Instructor
BJ (Kings)
A self-described Canadian Air Force brat, Monica has travelled extensively around the world and has lived in Canada, Germany, Scotland, and Malaysia.
With a Bachelor in Journalism and significant experience in communications and translation, Monica is passionate about both the written and spoken word. She speaks fluent French and English and has a passion for all things French including its language.
At Lingua, Monica teaches French classes for children and adults.
Romina Gómez Cordero
Spanish Instructor
ELE (Rey Juan Carlos)
Originally from Uruguay in South America, Romina has a background in dairy farming, which brought her to New Zealand in 2013.
While here, Romina was given the opportunity to teach Spanish at school and subsequently gained her certification as a teacher of Spanish as a foreign language.
At Lingua, Romina thoroughly enjoys sharing her love for the Spanish language as well as the diverse cultures of South America with her students.
Wolfgang Junk
German Instructor
Wolfgang is proud of his heritage and upbringing
in Trier, Germany. Trier is the oldest city in Germany and situated in a very beautiful part of the country, famous for its river, the Mosel and it’s wine.
Wolfgang is a passionate teacher with many years of experience working with children and adults. He has taught in schools in Germany, Denmark and New Zealand. He has both German and New Zealand teaching diplomas. As Wolfgang has worked teaching German as a foreign language to all ages, he has a great understanding of the learning process and can adapt many teaching methods to best meet the needs of his students.
Wolfgang has lived with his family both in New Zealand and Germany. Although the last 30 years were spent in Germany he recently returned to New Zealand with his wife and is now enjoying life in Taranaki.
Celine Jan
French Instructor
Celine was born in France and grew up in a small country town in Brittany. Passionate about "words", Celine studied French literature and learned 4 different languages before pursuing a career working alongside people with disabilities.
After leaving France 13 years ago and travelling to various places in the world, Celine decided to settle in Taranaki where the beauty of the place and the lifestyle ticked all the boxes.
Alongside her career in the Health and Disability industry, Celine decided to become a French tutor 8 years ago. This was a way to remain connected to her roots and to share the beautiful language that she is proud to be a native speaker of.
In addition to teaching the language, Celine loves to talk about French culture and the lifestyle. At Lingua, Celine teaches French to children, teens and adults of all levels.
Our
Team
Tineka Twigley
Karoline Zuliani
Fanfei
Zhang
Wolfgang Junk
Margaret Street
Monica
Schael-Isenor
Romina
Gómez Cordero
