We are a team of language and technology enthusiasts building the best language course search site.

Our aim is to take the agony out of planning your language immersion experience. We designed our site to help you easily compare thousands of courses at once. If you want to spend hours searching every language school site yourself, that’s one option. If you prefer an easier way to find a good deal, we can help. Our site presents course results in a way that allows you to choose the best course for you at one glance.

At Language International, we want to make your experience better and put the fun back into planning your language course.


Meet our founders

Karen Ong
Karen Ong

Founder and co-CEO

Her passion for languages and different cultures led her to start Language International. Karen is a language and travel enthusiast, speaks 6 languages (and currently learning German, her seventh), and has traveled to over 100 cities in 6 continents.

Language International is a continuation of her interest in facilitating language and cultural exchange. Before starting Language International, she founded MyHappyPlanet.com, a peer-to-peer language exchange site. Karen holds an MBA from Harvard Business School where she received the Robert F. Jasse Award.

Michael Reich
Michael Reich

Co-CEO and CFO

Michael speaks English, German, and French fluently, and is now learning Chinese. He was born in Germany and studied in France, Germany, and the United States. He now oversees our operations, marketing, and finance functions at Language International.

Before Language International, he founded UpDown.com, a virtual investing site, and was an owner of Spirit Link GmbH, an IT consulting firm. Michael holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Reutlingen in Germany and the Reims Management School in France.


Our student advisors

Michele Bianchini
Michele Bianchini email Michele »

Trainer and senior student advisor (Italian, French, Danish, English)

Michele trains our student advisor team. He also advises our Italian-, French- and Danish-speaking students. He grew up in Sardinia, studied in Dijon, went to university in Pisa, worked in Copenhagen and Malta, and now lives in Berlin. In addition to Italian, he speaks French and Danish.

He holds master's degrees in European Literary Cultures from University of Bologna, University of Thessaloniki and University of Haute Alsace. He also holds a bachelor's degree in European literatures and modern languages from University of Pisa.

Iliana Pistoli
Iliana Pistoli email Iliana »

Student advisor (French, Greek, Turkish, English)

Iliana advises our English-, French-, Greek-, and Turkish-speaking students. She grew up in Athens and is a native Greek speaker. She studied International Relations and Turkish in Athens, Istanbul and Paris.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Turkish from the Kapodistrian University of Athens and Mimar Sinan University of Istanbul and a Master's degree in International Relations and Turkish from Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales-Langues O’ in Paris. She previously worked for Migreurop, Greek Council for Refugees, and Amnesty International.

Matthew Niebes
Matthew Niebes email Matthew »

Student advisor (English)

Matthew advises our English-speaking students from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. He grew up in Peach Tree, Georgia, in the United States and completed his master's degree in Germany.

He holds a master's degree in American studies from Universität Heidelberg and a bachelor's degree in history and English (with a minor in German) from Emory University in Atlanta.

Yaroslav Akimov
Yaroslav Akimov email Yaroslav »

Student advisor (Chinese, Russian, German, English)

Yaroslav advises our Chinese-, Russian-, and English-speaking students. He grew up in Russia and speaks Chinese and German fluently. In his free time, he teaches Chinese to intermediate and advanced students.

He is a PhD candidate in Chinese linguistics at the University of Trier in Germany. He holds a master's degree (with honors) in East Asian studies from Freie Universität Berlin and a bachelor's degree (with honors) in Chinese philology from Moscow State University. He received scholarships from the Catholic Academic Exchange Service (KAAD) in 2013 and Peking University in 2010.

Milda Mal
Milda Malcyte email Milda »

Student advisor (French, Italian, Lithuanian, English)

Milda advises our French-, Italian-, Lithuanian-, and English-speaking students. She grew up in Vilnius, Lithuania, but lived and studied in Brussels and in Italy.

She studied philisophy in Vilnius University for a while and holds bachelor's degree in directing and audio visual arts from Lietuvos Muzikos ir Teatro akademija in Vilnius. She also studied directing at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, Italy. Before joining Language International, she worked on film sets as director, AD, production assistant and video editor. In her spare time, she still directs and produces documentary and fiction films as well as music videos and other promotional content for businesses and private clients.

Nicole Arevalo
Nicole Arevalo email Nicole »

Student advisor (Spanish, German, English)

Nicole advises our Spanish-, German-, and English-speaking students. She grew up in Chile but has studied and lived in Germany for years.

She is a professional translator and interpreter from Universidad de Concepción in Chile. She also received the ISAP-DAAD Scholarship for an academic exchange in Leipzig, Germany. She is currently doing her Master's degree in Linguistics in Foreign Languages at the Universität Potsdam. Before joining Language International, she worked for 6 years in the International Relationships Office at her University. She also worked in sales in Alcorp S.A., a property company in Chile.

Kristele Auer
Kristele Auer email Kristele »

Student advisor (English and Spanish)

Kristele advises our English- and Spanish-speaking students. She was born in USA, grew up in El Salvador, studied in the Netherlands, worked in France and Bali, and now lives in Berlin. In addition to English and Spanish, she also speaks some French and is learning German.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in Tourism from Saxion University, the Netherlands. Before joining Language International, she worked in Bali at a Destination Management Company.

Sem Hoogstrate
Sem Hoogstrate email Sem »

Student advisor (French, English, Dutch)

Sem advises our French- English- and Dutch-speaking students. He was born in Utrecht in the Netherlands, but grew up in the south west of France. In addition to French and Dutch he also understands and speaks some German.

He holds a master's degree (with honours) in English studies from Limoges University, France, and also studied at Coventry University, UK. Before moving to Berlin and joining Language International, he was an English teacher in France and had had various jobs in the fields of culture, translation and tourism.

Tatiana Dubyanskaya
Tatiana Dubyanskaya email Tatiana »

Student advisor (Russian, Polish, English)

Tatiana advises our Russian-, Polish- and English-speaking students. Born in Moscow, Tatiana calls herself a traveler between cultures. She has taught Indian languages and literatures and has done research in the field of modern Indian culture in Moscow State University in Russia, Jagiellonian University in Poland and Jawaharlal Nehru University in India.

She is an experienced translator and a passionate teacher of Hindi and English. She also speaks some Urdu and Bangla, publishes research papers and blog-posts in English and Russian, and is hoping to become more fluent in German and Polish.


Our marketing team

Matthew Niebes
Matthew Niebes

School relationship manager

Matthew manages relationships with our network of language schools around the world. He grew up in Peach Tree, Georgia, in the United States and completed his master's degree in Germany.

He holds a master's degree in American studies from Universität Heidelberg and a bachelor's degree in history and English (with a minor in German) from Emory University in Atlanta.


Our finance and accounting team

Michael Reich
Michael Reich

Co-CEO and CFO

Michael speaks English, German, and French fluently, and is now learning Chinese. He was born in Germany and studied in France, Germany, and the United States. He now oversees our sales and finance functions at Language International.

Before Language International, he founded UpDown.com, a virtual investing site, and was an owner of Spirit Link GmbH, an IT consulting firm. Michael holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Reutlingen in Germany and the Reims Management School in France.


You?

Want to see your face here?

We're a fast-growing start-up and we're eager to connect with exceptional individuals who might be interested in joining our team.

If you are energized by our mission of changing the way people find and discover life-changing immersion programs, we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a line at [email protected].


Our office

Berlin



Schönhauser Allee 6/7, 10119, Berlin, Germany