About Us
Welcome to the National Association of Language Advisers, a dynamic hub for language professionals across the United Kingdom. As a long-established association, we are committed to providing expert advice, support, training, and inspection in the languages field. Our independence is our strength, allowing us to collaborate closely with a variety of specialist agencies and organisations.
Meet The Team
Elected posts run from the July AGM and are updated accordingly.
President (2024 - 2027)
Yvonne Kennedy
Yvonne works as a Teaching and Learning Adviser for Languages and has worked with more than 50 secondary school language departments, predominantly across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, but also in London, Luton, Essex, Bristol, Reading and Brighton and Hove. With almost thirty years’ experience of teaching (including primary, secondary, and adult education), she was an Advanced Skills Teacher and Specialist Leader in Education for MFL. Yvonne has co-authored KS3 French courses published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) and written language resources for the OUP and for Pearson. She is a Chartered Linguist (CL) and qualified translator (PG Dip Trans TST).
Chair (2023-2025)
Beverley Whiteside
Bev started her teaching career in Sandwell in 1996 teaching both French and German. Having been a subject lead for German and subsequently Head of Department, she joined the Youth Sport Trust in January 2007. Her roles as Development Coordinator and Development Manager enabled her to work with colleagues from the vast network of Sports Colleges to develop resources and ideas using sport to engage and motivate students in languages. Bev currently works as Faculty Leader in a Middle School in Worcestershire where she continues to teach languages and leads Forest School.
Secretary (2023-2025)
Mike Rauh
Mike has been an MFL teacher since 1984, working in 4 secondary schools in Sandwell, including 8 years as Head of Languages and then 10 years as an AST. He was one of 40 National Trainers for Primary Languages and presented at regional and national Primary Languages meetings and conferences. Mike was also a member of the DCSF Steering Group behind the three year “Language Learning at Key Stage 2 - Longitudinal Study”, published in 2010. He joined NALA in 2014 and was co-opted onto the Executive in 2015 to join the Conference Team. He has been Secretary since 2019.
Treasurer (2023-2025)
Alison Taylor
Alison worked as an ML teacher and Head of Department in Bristol and Cambridgeshire before becoming an Advisory Teacher for Wiltshire in 1991. She later set up the UK-wide ‘Free Spirit’ poetry and song competition, which ran for fifteen years with support from the National Agencies. She then became a teacher educator at the University of the West of England, working with secondary and primary teachers. More recently, she co-authored ‘The Really Useful Primary Languages Book’ (2017) and “Teaching Literature in the A level Modern Languages Classroom’ (2020). A longstanding NALA member, she joined the Conference team in 2015 and has been Treasurer since 2023.
Communications Officer (2024 - 2025)
Marie O’Sullivan
Marie began her career in education as a language teacher, before moving to her local education authority as Key Stage 3 Foundation Subjects Consultant. She has also been Director of Language College (remember those?!) and MFL network facilitator and trainer. She has been a NALA member since 2002.
Co-opted Committee Member
Alice Harrison
Alice works as the Subject Lead for Languages at Oak National Academy. She has over 30 years of experience in languages education and has taught and led in a range of secondary schools but also has experience in primary schools as both a class teacher and specialist languages teacher. She has taught in initial teacher education and higher education and was an Advanced Skills Teacher and Specialist Leader in Education for MFL. She worked on the specialist schools programme as National Coordinator for languages at the SSAT and on the languages support programme at CfBT. Alice is a former chair of NALA and a member for many years.
