Amy Thompson - Chair
Amy has been involved in the field of EAL/ESL since 1983, having started her teaching career in MFL. She led the Ethnic Minority Achievement Team in Lambeth and the English Language Support Service in Surrey. She has also been an advisor and school improvement partner in Medway as well as a head of department in secondary schools. Her main research interest is in bilingual development, and in particular, the use of dual language approach in the mainstream classroom to support EAL learners. She is a member of the CILT Community Languages Advisory Group, a member of the Wider Languages Committee of ALL, and is a founding member of the UK Federation of Chinese Schools (www.ukfcs.info) and a long-serving member of its Education Committee. Amy was NALDIC's treasurer from 2007-2010 before becoming the chair of NALDIC.
Carrie Cable
Carrie was a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education and Language Studies at the Open University. She has experience of working with pupils and teachers in both primary and secondary schools, and of running training courses for teachers in both phases. As a long standing committee member, Carrie has contributed to the development of the Association's work as well as editing Naldic News for many years. She is a member of the Publications Committee, has contributed to a number of NALDIC publications. She was co-editor of the first NALDIC book English as an Additional Language: Changing Perspectives and is currently series editor for NALDIC Working Papers. Her research interests include teacher and teacher assistant training. Carrie is chair of the Research committee.
Nicola has worked in the EAL field for many years as a teacher, trainer, adviser, consultant and inspector. Her particular interest is in newly arrived EAL learners and newer technologies. She was co-opted to the committee in 1999 to manage the development of the NALDIC website. She is a frequent contributor to NALDIC publications and editor of the Association's website. She was deputy chair from 2001-2004 and chair from 2007-2010.
Dianne Excell
Dianne has worked in many of Bradford’s inner city schools with EAL students for 20 years and is currently EMA and Literacy Co-ordinator at Feversham College - the first Voluntary-Aided Muslim girls’ secondary school in the country. Through observation of students and analysis of their work, she has developed strategies to help individual students unlock more of their potential. She has also advised colleagues and those in other Bradford schools, on how to use literacy to raise attainment across the curriculum. She has been a member of NALDIC’s General Council for 3 years and represented the association at QCA. She has contributed articles to NALDIC Quarterly on baseline reading tests and formal assessments in KS3. Dianne was recently part of a NALDIC team producing guidance for publishers Pearson on supporting teachers and students in developing strategies for becoming increasingly proficient in English language and literacy, whilst simultaneously learning the subject content and academic language required to achieve their potential in GCSE examinations.
Charlotte Franson
Charlotte is currently Principal Lecturer in Language Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University College. She has wide experience in the field, having managed a language service in London, lectured in Bilingualism and Education at the University of Birmingham and worked as an LEA inspector for Equality and Diversity. Charlotte is a long standing member of NALDIC and has contributed to a number of the Association's publications. Her particular interest is in teacher education and she co-authored NALDIC's report 'The EAL Teacher:Descriptors of Good Practice'.
Richard Gifford
Richard has been a senior Language Support teacher in Kent and Medway since 1992 and worked for a short while as Oxfam's Education Adviser. As a member of a QCA/SCAA working party, he co-authored the 1996 guidance paper on language in science. He also authored a chapter on new arrivals in Maggie Gravelle's 2001 book Planning for Bilingual Learners and contributed to a series of articles on using video as a tool for language development for the TES. He is committed to building mainstream capacity for inclusive support for pupils with EAL and the promotion of diversity and race equality. He brings to committee not only insights from his practical classroom experience but also those from his experience of informal classroom research and professional development.
Sara Green - Deputy Chair
Sara has worked in the field of EAL since 1985, first as a peripatetic teacher in secondary schools in several ILEA authorities and then in a variety of advisory roles working cross-phase in London and Kent and in senior management posts within LEA central services. She is currently Head of the Language Development Service in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea having previously been Head of the Primary and Secondary EAL teams in Newham. Sara has been a NALDIC member since 1994 and was Treasurer from 2001- 2005. She continues to make a positive contribution to the work of NALDIC in the role of deputy chair.
Frank Monaghan - Deputy Chair
Frank is a long standing member of NALDIC and a deputy chair. Frank's involvement in EAL began in 1983 when he became a teacher at North Westminster Community School in London, where he worked until he joined the Open University in 2003 where he is currently a Staff Tutor in the London region and senior lecturer in the Centre for Language and Communication. He has been involved in facilitating numerous CPD sessions for teachers on the topics of language and mathematics, English as an additional language (EAL), and academic literacy. Frank's research interests are in mathematics in multilingual classrooms, educational dialogue, and Liverpool Football fan identity and creativity. Frank previously chaired the Publications committee and is the co-ordinating editor of NALDIC Quarterly
Peta Ullmann - Secretary
Peta is the manager of the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service in Essex, and has worked cross-phase in the field of EAL and race equality as a teacher and as an adviser for over 30 years in Leeds, Bradford, Greater Manchester and Essex. She has been a member of NALDIC since its inception. and was co-opted to the executive committee in January 2006. She was elected to the executive committee in 2007. As a member of the Publications Committee, Peta regularly contributes articles and reviews to the NALDIC Quarterly. She has supported communication between members of the Isolated Learners Special Interest Group and as membership secretary, Peta sought to encourage membership; support the development of regional groups; and to promote membership across the UK. She became the Association's honorary secretary in 2010.
