Herr Beck
Program DIRECTOR
Jan Hendrik Beck is from the beautiful Black Forest area in southwestern Germany and has lived in Oregon since 2005. He holds advanced degrees in Applied Linguistics and in Adult Education & Human Resource Studies.
Jan has served as GLPOP’s Program Director since 2020 and was a GLPOP teacher for several years prior to that. He brings to the position over a decade of experience in language teaching, language assessment and program administration. His teaching philosophy is all about communicative competence - being able to apply the skills learned in the classroom in the real world and “getting things done” in the target language.
Jan lives in Northeast Portland with his wife Errin, their two kids Lukas and Leah, and his American pitbull mix, Rumo. He lives close enough to walk to school on Saturdays but usually doesn’t because he is in a hurry to get to the copier. When he is not in his office or in a classroom, Jan can often be found fishing, watching college football, or working on his aquariums.
Frau Kern
LEVEL 1 - CHILDREN, 5-8 year olds
Katrin Kern is from the region of Waldeck-Frankenberg which is located between Marburg and Kassel. She has lived in Portland since 2010.
Katrin has a degree in social pedagogics and has several years of experience in working with children both in Germany and in the US. Katrin has worked in German Immersion preschool and after school German language programs for elementary school students.
She is passionate about teaching children German and introducing them to German culture and believes that learning a language should be a fun and enjoyable experience.
Frau St. clair
LEVEL 1 - CHILDREN, 5-8 year olds, Teaching Assistant
Katrin St. Clair grew up in near Dortmund in North Rhine-Westphalia. She came to the U.S. about 18 years ago. Katrin has 2 children who are students at the German Saturday School. She has been a part of the school as a parent volunteer since 2007 and has been a teaching assistant for .
During the week Katrin works for the Centennial School District in Dining Services. In her spare time she loves to make greeting cards, decorate t-shirts, shopping bags and grow her own vegetables in her garden. She enjoys paddle boarding.
Frau Mueller
Level 1 - Children, 7-9 year olds
Jocelyn Mueller has a degree in German and biology. She has been teaching German and science for over 10 years. She started teaching at the German Language Program of Portland in 2011 in the 3 yr. old class room and this year in the 7-9 yr. old class. Outside of the GLPOP she teaches science and sustainability at Portland State University.
Frau Khantadze
Level 1 - children ages 9-17
Teaching German Language is my hobby. I am fluent in German, Russian and English. I love working with students of all ages and levels.
I am program management professional and independent consultant with 10+ years of experience in designing, launching, managing, and expanding highly successful programs in Georgia aimed at strengthening human rights protection, rule of law and legal and civic education. I have successfully designed, managed and supervised number of mid-size programs with overall budget of 300 000 USD in Georgia funded by the US Government (USAID). RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY WORK.
FRAU NORWOOD
LEVEL 1 - CHILDREN, 9-15 YEARS OLD
Diane is originally from Chester, England. Her interest in the German Language and culture began while participating in a high school exchange with Reutlingen in Baden. She moved with her family to Portland, Oregon where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in German and a Master of Arts in teaching from Lewis and Clark College.
Diane taught German at the high school level for 6 years before she moved to Germany where she lived for nearly 30 years. As a business professional and English language instructor she gained far-reaching multi-lingual and cultural experience in Darmstadt and Hamburg. She is a true believer in learning a second language to gain a solid understanding of todays global concept and enrichment to life.
She now lives with her husband in Lake Oswego, where they enjoy exploring Oregon, especially the coast. They can also be found on a golf course or volunteering at the Oregon Maritime Museum.
Herr Appel
LEVEL 2 - CHILDREN, 10-16 year olds
Simon-Martin Appel is originally from Schleswig-Holstein. He lived in the Hamburg area for much of his life, but he loves to travel and has been to many places in Europe, including France and Spain. He studied languages and worked in child education as a tutor, kindergarten and Youth-Church Councilor as part of his University education in Theology. Herr Appel moved to the US in 2016 and currently makes his home in Oregon City with his wife. He has taught in the German Saturday Language Program since 2017. In his free time he enjoys studying world history as well as current events and politics, photography, backyard astronomy, and practicing music.
frau beck
LEVEL 3 - CHILDREN, 10-17 year olds
Errin Beck’s 30-year adventure with German language, literature and culture has included a total of six years in Germany, a B.A. in German from Boston University, a Großes Deutsches Sprachdiplom from the Goethe Institute, and even a German husband!
After earning an M.A TESOL from Portland State University in 2008, she has worked as a full-time instructor of English as a Second Language at PSU. Her primary areas of interest are language assessment, curriculum design, vocabulary acquisition, and academic writing. She continues her connection with the German language by speaking it at home and with her children, traveling annually to Germany, and participating in German conversation groups in Portland.
Frau Sprecher
Level 1 - adult, beginner
Catherine Sprecher grew up in Zurich, Switzerland. She has a Lic. Phil.I from the University of Zurich and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She has studied German and English Literature and Linguistics. She also works as a private tutor, a freelance translator, and is a Professor at a Liberal Arts College here in Portland. In her free time, she likes to knit, hike, read, and write.
Frau Rose
LEVEL 2 - ADULT, INTERMEDIATE
Margaret Rose is a native German speaker who was born in Chicago and raised in Hamburg, Germany. After studying the violin from an early age and earning a degree in violin making, she relocated to Chicago and worked in a violin shop, repairing, restoring and building string instruments. Since 2006, she has been teaching German as a foreign language to students of all ages and levels at German Culture Centers and language schools. Prior to moving to Portland she taught at the Chicago DaVinci and Four Winds Waldorf Schools. She has attended foreign language seminars for Waldorf teachers and conferences for the German Central Agency of Foreign Schools Abroad and the Goethe Institut. She enjoys celebrating German culture through German Club, theater camps, and Christkindlmarket caroling. In addition to being a professional violin maker and teaching, she offers violin lessons to children and adults and enjoys performing chamber music, playing in an orchestra and traveling.
Frau Glühr
lEVEL 3 - ADULT, INTERMEDIATE
Katja Glühr is a native German speaker, having “migrated” regularly to both Hamburg, Germany & Tokyo, Japan throughout her childhood, in order to be with her parents’ and grandparents’ cultures. After studying International Business & Languages at Universities (in Lyon, France; Berlin, Germany & Eugene, Oregon), she began contributing to education, providing opportunities for those seeking to expand their knowledge of languages and international cultures.
In 2001, she had her first opportunity to work with French students, teaching them in Nice,France.From 2002 until 2006, she was residing in Kassel, Germany as a freelance language consultant, sharing her linguistic expertise with clients in the oil & gas, energy, pharmaceutical, and mineral industries.
Just after enjoying Germany host the 2006 World Cup, Katja came to Portland, Oregon, in order to teach at the Portland English Language Academy, where she thoroughly enjoyed interacting with students of diverse ages and international backgrounds.
From 2013 until 2016, Katja lived and taught in Stuttgart, Germany, offering communication workshops and advanced language classes to students primarily in the automotive industry and finance sector.
In addition to teaching the Adults’ Class here at The German American Society, Katja is very passionate about sharing German with her “number 1 pupil”: her son, whom she’s been raising in fluent German since his birth in Madrid, Spain.
In her free time, she very much enjoys practicing yoga, hiking and even racing (half-marathons) outdoors.
Frau Luppertz
lEVEL 4 - ADULT, ADVANCED - Online class
Ute Luppertz is from Köln and has an M. A. in special education and German. Ute moved to Oregon in 1994. She taught German as a second language for Turkish teenagers in Köln and later moved to München, where she was a language instructor at the Goethe Institute for many years. In Portland she taught at Portland State University, mainly at the Deutsche Sommerschule am Pazifik. Currently she is also teaching German at a Portland area Waldorf School. When she does not teach, Ute does healing work with animals. Ute is passionate about foreign languages and excited to be a staff member at the GSSOP.
Herr Mantel
All Levels - Substitute Teacher, all ages
A native German speaker with more than 10 years of experience in K-12 public schools as a paraeducator.
Herr Smith
All Levels - Substitute Teacher, all ages
Thaddaeus Smith was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Being inspired by his grandfather who was learning German at the time, Thaddaeus began teaching himself German at the age of 8. His fascination with the language and culture led him to obtain a degree in German and International Business. As part of his studies, Thaddaeus lived and worked in Munich for almost a year. Due to his love of language and learning, he decided to pursue a career teaching German. Thaddaeus taught German for 12 years in Georgia to students between the ages of 11 and 18 and taught some summer courses to university level students as well. In 2010, he obtained his Master's degree in Applied Linguistics and moved to Portland a year later. Thaddaeus worked as an English Language Development teacher for ten years and then as the Grade School Director at the German International School of Portland for almost two years. Currently, Thaddaeus is pursuing a career as an Instructional Designer.