NALDIC Regional Groups have developed in response to requests from members who want to raise the profile of EAL and bilingualism in their local areas, provide networking opportunities and support for teachers and other professionals with an interest in EAL and promote the work of NALDIC. We are always grateful for offers of help with organising regional groups, so if you are interested in joining a local group or you are interested in helping to organise a group, please email us.
As well as co-ordinating Regional Groups in North London, South and Central London, East London, Yorkshire and Humberside, the West Midlands, the East Midlands, and Northern Ireland, NALDIC works collaboratively with many other organisations including our sister organisations EALAW, EEMEMA, NASSEA and SATEAL
EALAW - English as an Additional Language Association of Wales
The English as an Additional Language Association of Wales (EALAW) is a not-for-profit national organisation committed to the advancement of language and curriculum development for pupils learning EAL.The general aims of the organisation are to promote good practice in the support of additional language learners and to represent the professional interests of those working with additional language learners in Wales. The association produces a bi-annual newsletter, organises national conferences and engages with policymakers and others to further development of the profession.
For further details contact: enquiries@ealaw.org.uk or by post EALAW c/o GEMS, 25-27 Stow Hill, Newport, NP20 1JH
EEMEMA - East and East Midlands Ethnic Minority Achievement
MERGE has been reborn as EEMEMA to sustain and develop a wider regional partnership which will focus on Ethnic Minority Achievement across all phases and educational settings. The group also comprises what was the East and East Midlands EAL hub and they wish to continue to offer the regional EMA CPD opportunities that the hub provided. Founder members are: Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Norfolk, Peterborough and Suffolk . For further information contact Peta Ullman petaull@hotmail.com
NASSEA - Northern Association of Support Services for Educational Achievement
NASSEA is a professional organisation, established in 1989, to represent northern services and teams originally funded under Section 11, EMTAG and now EMAG. The association has members from 30 LEA services and teams stretching from Newcastle to Cheshire. For further information contact Annette Nelson, Ethnic Minority Achievement Service annette.nelson@trafford.gov.uk
SATEAL Scottish Association for the Teaching of English as an Additional Language
SATEAL is an organisation interested in fostering and developing the teaching of English as an additional language whose membership is open to individuals and groups involved with children, young people or adults whose first language is other than English, concerned for Scotland as a multilingual and antiracist society and interested in teaching English as an additional language.
NALDIC Reading Group
For more details on the London NALDIC Reading group
Special Interest Groups
Important information about Regional Groups
NALDIC Regional Groups are set up and organised by NALDIC members who wish to become more involved in the work of the association with the aim of promoting NALDIC’s aims. As volunteers, the role of the NALDIC Regional Group coordinators is to make links with other members in their region and to set up regular network meetings for them to come together to share and exchange information about EAL and teaching and learning practice.
The NALDIC Executive Committee is very grateful to the individual NALDIC members who, out of goodwill, have set up and maintain the regional groups. As a membership organisation, NALDIC does not pass on members’ email addresses or other contact details. Once a new NALDIC Regional Group is agreed, the regional coordinator needs to make arrangements to locate members in their region to keep in touch. To do this they may use NALDIC mailings, e-bulletins and NALDIC Quarterly as well as eal-bilingual Google network group to publicise regional meetings. A NALDIC Regional Group needs to be self-financing with costs kept to a minimum and coordinators may make a small charge to those who attend to cover costs of room hire and refreshments.
NALDIC Regional Groups run independently of local authority, school, higher education and other organisations. Meetings are not restricted to NALDIC members, though we do ask regional coordinators to encourage non-members who wish to attend meetings to join NALDIC.