Dr. Naomi Flynn (Associate Professor of Primary English Education at the University of Reading’s Institute of Education) chaired a Round Table discussion, entitled Bringing current research to practice for EAL: How can we make it work in schools? at this year’s annual conference of the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC) in Leeds on Saturday 17th November 2018.
NALDIC, a charity run by a mix of academics and expert practitioners, champions the cause of children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in England’s schools; Naomi serves on its national executive and she convenes a NALDIC local interest group for teachers in Berkshire and Hampshire.
In this Round Table discussion, academics from the University of Leeds and University of York shared the work that they have done to support research-into-practice partnerships that work for teachers of children with EAL. In introducing the session and in chairing the ensuing conversations, Naomi drew on her own research which has explored the ways in which relationships between researchers and teachers need to function to be successful; this includes the need for co-creation of research projects that attend to schools’ local needs. Active dialogue between the teacher audience and the practice-oriented researchers brought together themes from the conference that had been explored during the day’s busy programme, and this served to further strengthen bonds that can foster future impactful research-to-practice opportunities.