This section provides details of the members of the Scottish Council of Deans of Education Languages Group who have been involved in the creation of the NFfL and the LENS and LEAP resources.
The rationale for this project can be accessed here: Rationale
Dr Colin Christie
Lecturer (scholarship) Modern Languages ITE
Before coming to the University of Aberdeen, Colin was subject leader for the PGCE Languages course at University College London Institute of Education. He has held a number of advisory positions and has produced teaching resources in a variety of media. He has also worked in schools and colleges in different roles, such as a Languages Development project co-ordinator in a Language College and a head of department. His academic interests include the topic of spontaneous learner target language talk in the languages classroom.
Carrie McLennan
Programme Director – MA Education
Carrie McLennan is a Senior Lecturer in Education. Carrie was formerly a Principal Teacher of Modern Languages before she joined the University of Dundee in 2008. She has taught modern languages pedagogy on secondary PGCE, primary PGCE, BEd and MA Education courses. Since 2014, Carrie has been Programme Director of the MA (Honours) Education programme in primary education. Her interests are in curriculum design, quality assurance and modern languages pedagogy.
Professor Do Coyle
Chair in Languages Education and Classroom Learning / Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange (RKE), Moray House School of Education. Her research interests focus on Languages Education as a subject area, Educational Linguistics, Content and Language Integrated Learning, Pluriliteracies and technology-enabled learning. Do has published extensively in the field. As a former language teacher and teacher educator she believes that using more than one language as the medium of learning is enriching and a fundamental part for all young people in being pluriliterate global citizens.
Dr Yvonne Foley
Head of Institute for Education, Teaching and Leadership (IETL), Moray House School of Education
Dr Yvonne Foley is a Senior Lecturer in Language Education. She is a Co-Director of the Centre for Education and Racial Equality in Scotland, and previous Chair, and current executive committee member, of the only national association for English as an additional language (NALDIC) in the UK. She has worked as a teacher and teacher educator in the field of English as a second/additional language (EAL) in Taiwan and across the UK. Her portfolio of research includes an ongoing focus in the development of literacies for learners from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds; this has a particular interest in foregrounding learner voices to gain insights into their experiences of learning within an English medium school environment. This work links to the role of teacher education in promoting social, cultural and linguistic inclusion.
Dr Michael Lynch
Senior Lecturer in Language Studies, Moray House School of Education
Michael is a senior lecturer in languages and modern languages teacher educator at the University of Edinburgh. His research interests include second language acquisition, language learning and teaching, teacher cognition and bilingualism. His PhD explored “Target language use in Modern Language classrooms: Perception and change among newly qualified teachers in Scotland”. Michael is currently an editor of “Pädagogische Horizonte”, the academic journal of the Pädagogische Hochschule der Diözese in Linz, Austria
Dr Fiona O’Hanlon
Fiona is a Senior Lecturer in Languages Education at Moray House School of Education, the University of Edinburgh. Her teaching and research mainly relate to Gaelic language education in schools – for example, why parents choose Gaelic-medium education for their children, Gaelic-medium pupils’ pedagogical and extra-curricular linguistic experiences and their school attainment. She has been fortunate to have been able to support the development of two initial teacher education programmes for Gaelic-medium primary teachers at the University of Edinburgh – a 4-year programme for fluent speakers of Gaelic, and a 5-year programme for learners of the language (MA Primary Education with Gaelic), and to have been a Board member of Bòrd na Gàidhlig between 2014 and 2017. She is currently on the Advisory Group for SCILT (Scotland’s National Centre for Languages) and on the Scottish Government Academic Reference Group for Education, contributing expertise on language education. She co-supervised Maggie Mroczkowski in her PhD study:
Dr Francisco Valdera-Gil
Senior Lecturer in Modern Languages Education, School of Education and co-chair of the SCDE Languages Group
Francisco joined The School of Education in 2016 after spending twelve years in a comprehensive secondary school in the outskirts of Edinburgh where he taught Spanish and French at all levels. He is a qualified Chartered Teacher in Scotland (GTCS), and has been Principal Teacher Modern Languages and Depute Head teacher Pupil Support.
Francisco’s research interests are based around modern languages learning and teaching, including interaction and the use of the target language in the modern language classroom, the links between theory and practice within the communicative approach, processes of teacher change, and how assessment can enhance learning.
Francisco’s research interests are based around modern languages learning and teaching, including interaction and the use of the target language in the modern language classroom, the links between theory and practice within the communicative approach, processes of teacher change, and how assessment can enhance learning.
Dr Lorele Mackie
Lecturer in Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences
Lorele is a Lecturer in Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences. She is Programme Co-ordinator for the BA (Hons) Professional Education Primary (with specialism in Modern Languages) and works across all Initial Teacher Education programmes. She is Senior Advisor of Studies and Placement Co-ordinator for the ITE programme, and is the external examiner for the MA (Hons) Primary Education degree programme, University of Dundee. As a Primary Education teacher, she taught all stages and has experience of both mainstream and ASN. Prior to commencing her post at the University of Stirling, she was a Teaching Fellow at Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, where she developed and ran a range of courses on both the PGDE (Primary) and B.Ed (Primary) programmes. Her research interests are in mentoring beginner teachers, and learning and teaching in second and subsequent languages.
Dr Alan Huang
Senior Teaching Fellow, School of Education
Alan joined the University of Strathclyde as a Lecturer in Language Education in 2016 following the completion of his PhD from the University of Edinburgh. His research interests centre on issues relating to language learning and teaching, teacher professional learning and digital learning in education. Currently, he teaches on a range of courses including the iPGCE, PGDE Secondary Education, MSc Education Studies and PhD supervision. Prior to joining Strathclyde, Alan worked as a Modern Languages teacher in secondary education in Edinburgh.
Dr Ingeborg Birnie
Senior Lecturer in Gaelic, School of Education and Co-Chair of the SCDE Languages Group
Ingeborg joined the University of Strathclyde as a lecturer in Gaelic in 2017 where she currently teaches on both the PGDE and BA Primary Education courses. Prior to joining Strathclyde Ingeborg worked as a teacher and head of department in a number of different educational settings including Gaelic-medium early years and secondary education. Ingeborg is currently a member of the expert group on Early Language Learning at the ECML (Inspiring Language Learning in the Early Years and PALINGUI – Making Language learning pathways visible) which both focus on supporting teachers in supporting language learning and intercultural awareness in the pre-primary and primary school stages. Her research interests focus on minority languages in education and she is the Rapporteur for the UNESCO Ad Hoc Group 1 on the provision of Education and domains for Indigenous Languages for the International Decade for Indigenous Languages. She serves as the member for the Netherlands on the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
Lorna Anderson
Lecturer, School of Education
Lorna joined Queen Margaret University in August 2020 where she teaches on the BA Education Studies (Primary) programme. She began her career as a primary school teacher and latterly as a peripatetic English as an Additional Language (EAL) teacher across schools in Glasgow. Lorna’s research interests are based around young language learning and teaching, including in the context of Scotland’s 1+2 policy, and multilingual and multicultural children and families’ funds of knowledge. Her doctoral research is on engaging bilingual parents in the teaching and learning of second additional languages in primary schools.
Argyro Kanaki
Lecturer in Education
Argyro Kanaki is Lecturer in Education at the University of Dundee, and an experienced language teacher. Competent in five modern European languages, and qualified as a teacher in four of them, her current teaching focuses on the pedagogy of modern foreign languages, issues around culture, and debates in International Education. Argyro researches the field of language awareness, and multilingualism, and their appropriate pedagogical approaches. She has also published, and addressed conferences, on language policies, school practices, and their implications
Christine Hadfield
Lecturer in Modern Languages Education, School of Education
Christine is a Lecturer in Modern Languages Teacher Education at the University of Glasgow and has been there since 2016. She teaches on a wide range of courses across the School of Education including undergraduate and postgraduate modern foreign languages as well as health and wellbeing. Christine was a secondary MFL teacher for 12 years taking on various roles including Advanced Skills Teacher (England). During this time she developed a skills-based approach to teaching MFL and coordinated a number of local and regional forums for the continuous professional development of teachers. Research interests include learning and teaching in initial teacher education including the use of technology, the development of self-reflection and ‘flipped’ learning. Other research areas include teacher confidence in dealing with pupils’ mental health and the place of attachment theory in teacher training.