First day at conference - just after grabbing credential and (overpriced) coffee! One week on from attending this year's IATEFL Conference in Edinburgh, I'm still processing the various conversations I engaged in and insights I picked up. It's both a massive conference (nearly 3,000 people this year) and a very intense few days. ESOL is just one of many English Language Teaching (ELT) contexts, and one of the (mini) frustrations at IATEFL is how frequently it becomes necessa

There's a nice, if slightly nervy/surreal, feeling about seeing your name in print. Not just online, in actual printed print. And in Ireland's only peer-reviewed journal dedicated entirely to adult and community education. In the midst of rushing to finish writing up my Masters thesis in the summer of 2023, I had a brief conversation with my supervisor about the potential to share my research findings with a wider audience. I'd been struck by the limited volume of ESOL-relat

A lot has happened in the last few months. I've become Co-Chair of NATECLA , joined the staff team at North West Migrants Forum (whilst its CEO is breaking new ground as the first Black Mayor in the north of Ireland); all whilst continuing to do bits of consultancy. Life's not as stable or as predictable as it was before I left City & Guilds, but it's mostly enjoyable and increasingly feels productive. Like many of us, I was caught out by Rishi Sunak's 'rain-dance' on 22 May