A bit about me
I am an experienced English as an additional language (EAL) and ESOL teacher, science teacher, a teacher educator and adviser, an applied linguist, a researcher, a technophile and a photographer. Following a break to attain a Master's with Distinction in English Language Teaching from the University of Southampton (Centre for Linguistics, Language Education and Acquisition Research), I have returned to teaching EAL and ESOL. I also volunteer as a Trustee, Director and Secretary of NALDIC, the national association for English as an Additional Language in the UK.
I am available for consultancy, training and speaking about various issues surrounding EAL learners.
I currently have four professional roles:
Head of EAL
St Francis’ College, Letchworth Garden City
(an independent day and boarding school)
Trustee, Director & Company Secretary
NALDIC, the UK's subject association for EAL
(National Association for Language Development In the Curriculum)
Private Tutor | EAL ESOL Science
Education Consultant | EAL
Banner photo © Nandhaka Pieris - taken in Australia.
NALDIC profile photo © Nandhaka Pieris.
Twitter profile banner © Lee Allan - Taken at NALDIC 24th Annual Conference 2016, Sheffield Hallam University.
In this EAL Bites | Knowledge Bank series, we’re going to talk about time and tenses across languages and cultures. The inspiration for this series came from conversations I’ve had with various subject teachers about the difficulties EAL students may encounter when discussing, writing, or conceptualizing topics related to time in English during your lessons.
In this EAL Bites | Speedy Tip of this series, I’m going to briefly start talking about grading your language: what it is, why it’s important, and a couple of things to think about when you’re speaking to EAL learners.
Regular visitors to this site will have noticed that it has undergone a thorough spring clean and revamp over Half-Term, in part inspired by my work on the NALDIC website, as well as my upcoming EAL Bites Blogs and Videos…
In this post, I am going to talk about my experience of contemplating and completing a Master’s degree after many years of teaching, and will share my advice about what to look for when choosing your own CPD.
In this post, I am going to briefly round up the talks I attended during IP&SEN SIG Pre-Conference Event, which considered ELT or EAL when teaching learners who have SEN. I'll give a more personal depiction of the day in Pt.3.
Sessions in this post:
- Storytelling | Andrew Wright
- Self-Esteem | Rachael Harris
- The Language of Inclusive Education | Anne Margaret Smith
- Assessment for Learning | Phil Dexter
Just over a week ago, I arrived in Glasgow for my second 5-day IATEFL Conference...IATEFL, the International Association for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language, is one of the big international organisations which bring together ELT (English Language Teaching) related professionals from a variety of global contexts...Getting to Glasgow should have been a pretty simple and uneventful affair, and it certainly was in comparison to many colleagues' international journeys...
In the 2nd EAL Bites | Speedy Tip of this series, I’m going to briefly talk about Making Input Comprehensible with Paralinguistic Features: what they are, whether they’re universal, and whether you should use them when you’re speaking to EAL learners.