ALL Fellowship
ALL Fellows
ALL fellowship is honorary and is awarded at the discretion of the Management Board (the Association’s Board of Trustees). Suggestions are considered annually at the spring meeting of the Board, in advance of Language World Conference, but awards are not necessarily made each year.
The fellowship recognises ALL Individual Members who have made a long-standing contribution to language learning in the UK, beyond the call of their professional role and who have supported the work of the Association significantly over time; their contribution might be on the national or local scale.
ALL Fellowship Awards 2024
Eva Lamb
Eva Lamb came to the UK as a Foreign Language Assistant and returned, after finishing her degree and teacher training in Austria, to work as a Lektorin at UCL. She soon realised that her real love was teaching teenagers and, after the birth of her daughter Martha, trained to teach German at King’s College London.
Eva has now been a classroom practitioner for 30+ years. Throughout her career she has demonstrated leadership and creativity, e.g. by developing a model of cross-department collaboration and the creation of a vocational language course assessed through NVQ Language Units, being an MFL Lead Practitioner and Director of a Language College She was an instrumental force in the creation of the HOLA / COLA projects supporting the accreditation of students in their home or community languages across Sheffield and beyond.
She has always been convinced of the importance and benefits of residential visits abroad to learners and has organised numerous such study visits, exchanges, international work experience placements and project meetings.
Eva has also given many hours to ALL, most visibly as Chair of the vibrant ALL Yorkshire Branch for over 30 years. In this role, she has organised countless CPD opportunities for teachers, and language events for learners. Her approach to running a branch makes members feel ALL is “their home”, which has been an inspiration for many. As an active volunteer she has also generously shared her expertise across the country.
For her tireless commitment to language education and her volunteer role in the Association for well over 30 years, she was bestowed with the ALL Fellowship in 2024.
Richard Fairbairn
Richard’s love for languages, and in particular the French language and culture, coupled with his late wife’s personal and professional passion for languages has made him an advocate for languages and language learning for much of his adult life.
In 1987, he joined the educational charity Alliance Française de Londres as a trustee. More recently he has been involved in setting up the Collège Français de Londres , which opened in 2011in Kentish Town London. He was further involved in the setting up of the Lycée International de Londres Winston Churchill a fully bilingual international school which opened in 2015 in Wembley.
In 2004 Richard agreed not only to take a Trustee role with ALL but also to act as Chair of its Management board, which he did from 2004 until 2016. Since then, he has continued to support the association as an invited Trustee and a member of the Board.
The French Government has also recognised his services to languages and culture with two separate honours over the years.
ALL Fellows
The following long-standing and long-serving members of ALL have all been awarded an ALL Fellowship.
ALL Fellow 2023 - Gina Hall
Gina (Georgina) Hall , Honorary Secretary of ALL Manchester Branch was awarded ALL Fellowship at Language World 2023.
Gina goes back a long way with Language Associations, to 1974, when she won the Eric Hawkins Prize awarded then by the Audio-Visual Language Association (AVLA).By the end of 1977, AVLA had changed its name to British Association for Language Teaching and she joined the committee of the Manchester Branch. Then various Language Associations joined forces to become ALL in 1990 and she has served on the ALL Committee of the Manchester Branch ever since.
With Joint Honours in French and German, Subsids. in Astronomy, Psychology & Education / Concurrent Education to gain my teaching certificate + a ‘dabble’ in every subject under the sun, Gina loved her time at University, not to mention long holidays with friends in either France or Austria, or both, and time abroad teaching in Austria.
For most of her career Gina taught French and German to GCSE, A Level and beyond, along with adults, evening classes, business people, and undergraduate /post-graduate scientists, plus, of course, taking all the groups on trips abroad. For the last 8+ years, she has taught voluntarily in a primary school.
Gina says: We linguists are so fortunate! (Luck and happiness go together; the words heureux and glücklich prove that!) And especially fortunate to have our Association for Language Learning which embraces and supports all language teachers, all over the country, be they FLAs, Trainees, ECTs or well-established Language Teachers, and at any point in their career.
ALL Fellow 2023 - Jane Harvey
Jane Harvey is a strong advocate for CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and for supporting teachers of languages in Wales. She spent most of her career teaching languages to A level and Vocational Learners in Further Education, including French to Hairdressers and Health and Social Care students, and Italian to A level art students and Caterers.
Her project “Cucina d’Inferno” to teach Italian through cooking to Yr 8 learners won both an European Language Label and the Mary Glasgow prize for Curriculum Innovation in 2011. She finished her career in Further Education as Head of Learning at Gloucestershire College.
Jane was President of ALL from 2018 - 2020. As an ALL trustee from 2017, she worked on the Erasmus+ project ELAPSE (Embedding Languages across Primary and Secondary Education) which produced a range of free CLIL resources (Visit the CLIL Zone) . She then became ALL's Lead Trustee on a KA1 project which allowed 70 ALL members, from 29 partner schools, to attend either an immersion course in Montpellier or Malaga to develop a CLIL approach, or a course in Lisbon or Milan to develop international partnerships for their schools.
ALL Fellow 2023 - Jim Anderson
Dr Jim Anderson is Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Educational Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. Before this he worked as a Languages teacher, teacher educator and researcher advocating an interdisciplinary and inclusive approach to language education and developing pedagogies for creative and critical learning.
From 2002-2014 he coordinated the innovative Flexible PGCE in Community Languages (Arabic, Bengali, Mandarin, Panjabi, Urdu) at Goldsmiths. He has published extensively on intercultural and arts-based language learning with a particular focus on community/heritage languages and activist citizenship.
Jim is co-director with Prof Vicky Macleroy of the Critical Connections: Multilingual Digital Storytelling Project launched in 2012.
He is also a member of the (UK) Home, Heritage, Community Languages Advisory Group and of the Heritage Languages Global Think Tank.
ALL Fellow 2022 - David Binns
David Binns, Director of UK Operations for Sanako, was awarded ALL Fellowship at Language World 2022.
David writes: I joined Sanako UK Ltd. (then known as Tandberg Educational) in October 1979, at its UK headquarters in the city of Leeds, as an apprentice technician. My role involved repairing and maintaining professional Hi-Fi systems, TV & video systems along with languages recording technology. It was the languages element which ultimately led me to my current position, and which also developed my passion for both languages and the Association for Language Learning (ALL).
When ALL was formed in 1990 I immediately recognised the potential of the Association. I took it upon myself to support ALL as much as possible, financially through various sponsorships, and through activities, a role I still fill today. I suspect that I may be the only person in the country who has attended every single Language World event since its inception.
When speaking to students in recent years I discovered that many of them simply don’t see the importance of language skills in their future careers, unless of course they wish to be a Language teacher or interpreter. Of course this is simply not the case, language skills are useful in any career path from mechanic to banker. I have therefore taken it upon myself more recently to visit schools and talk to pupils directly on behalf of the corporate sector, as I am a typical potential employer. I talk about how languages have helped me in my career, and more importantly I can show them the advantages of having a second or third language at the job interview stage of their lives.
I now (2022) have over 150 of these talks either completed or scheduled. Judging from the social media posts from pupils, teachers and parents, it is having a positive impact on the take- up of languages in key stage 4. Yes, it is very expensive for my company to do this, but I feel it is worth it.
ALL Fellow 2022 - David Blow
David Blow, Executive Head of South-East Surrey Schools Education Trust, was awarded ALL Fellowship at Language World 2022 .
He was Headteacher of The Ashcombe School from 2004 to 2019, and has continued as Executive Head of South-East Surrey Schools Education Trust.
He was Deputy Head when the school became a Language College in 1998 contributing expertise to the (at the time, revolutionary!) idea of having sound and video and interactive programmes on a PC, facilitating the learning of languages, and putting fun into the hard graft. He and Helen Myers ran many free workshops showing how to set up and use full class multimedia rooms.
Since 2004, he and Helen have been highlighting the issue of severe grading in Languages at GCSE and A-Level, whereby as a historical legacy, students on average gain lower grades than in other academic subjects. After much effort and working with colleagues from a wide range of organisations, changes were made at A-Level in 2015, and in GCSE in 2020.
Most recently, he and Helen have worked to highlight the impact of proposals and publications from DfE and Ofsted, and to contribute to a very widely supported set of statements.
David has long supported the activities of ALL, and in particular the ALL London branch, enjoying and valuing the contributions at their regular events.
ALL Fellow 2020 - Karl Pfeiffer
Karl Pfeiffer has lived and worked in the United Kingdom continuously since 1986. He first came to Folkestone, Kent, as a German Language Assistant in 1977. From 1986 he taught German at Goldsmiths’ College and from 1989 at the Goethe-Institut London. There, for 30 years, he closely co-operated with all educational institutions and schools that support the teaching of German in the UK. He became a member of ALL in 2007 when he joined the Executive Council. He was President of ALL from 2010 until 2011. From 2015 until 2018 he ensured that ALL was actively involved in the highly successful Erasmus + project “The Language Magician”. He retired from the Goethe-Institut in 2019 and continues to support ALL and its members.
ALL Fellow 2020 - Christine Wilding
Christine Wilding is indebted to her parents for waving her off as a teenager on exchange visits to France and Italy to experience new languages and cultures. The excitement she felt then has fuelled a life-long passion to extend that experience to others.
In 2020 ALL Management awarded her the ALL Fellowship for her contribution to ALL at the time of its founding, including the creative and entrepreneurial approaches at that time to initiatives that still exist 30 years later and provide essential income streams for the association.
Christine was the first director of ALL leading up to its launch in January 1990. She played a key role in reconciling the interests of teachers of specific languages, launching the newssheet and new journals, organising in-service teacher training days in UK, and longer periods in France and Italy. She led consultation with members to formulate and present policy advice to government on the national curriculum and new examinations, as well as continuing to organise the Language World conference, the Festival of Languages and Young Linguists Award (last held in 1992) and seminars for business and teachers at the newly launched London Language Show.
In January 1998 Christine left the UK to become director of The British Institute of Florence in Italy, retiring in 2004. She currently lives in France.
ALL Fellow 2020 - Elspeth Brody
Elspeth was fascinated as a child by the BBC’s language programmes, an early sign of her interest in self-directed language learning. She studied French and Linguistics at Sussex University and then trained to teach EFL and French in adult education. She taught first at Sussex University, then at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and finally at the University of Brighton, where she coordinated the MA programme for language teachers and was Head of the School of Languages from 2003-2008. She has published a range of course materials for learning French, including for the BBC and the Open University. She was an animator for Council of Europe language teaching workshops from 1992 to 1998, and worked with colleagues from Hungary and Romania on various EU projects. Between 2008 and 2010, she volunteered with Brighton’s Primary Languages initiative. She has been a member of ALL since its inception, and joined the editorial team of The Language Learning Journal in 2009.
ALL Fellow 2020 - Norbert Pachler
Prof. Norbert Pachler (Mag.phil. Dr.phil.) is Pro-director: Teaching, Quality and Learning Innovation at the UCL Institute of Education as well as Pro-Vice-Provost: Digital Education at University College London. Originally a teacher and co-ordinator of foreign languages, he moved into foreign language teacher education before taking on various senior leadership roles in higher education. Norbert was Co-Director of the IOE’s Centre for Excellence in Work-based Learning for Education Professionals and founder of the international interdisciplinary London Mobile Learning Group. In addition to foreign language pedagogy, Norbert’s research interests include the application of new technologies in teaching and learning and teacher education and development. He has published widely in these fields, including Learning to Teach Foreign Language in the Secondary School (Routledge) and he has been editor of ALL’s The Language Learning Journal since 1999.
ALL Fellow 2018 - Catherine Cheater
At Language World 2018, ALL awarded an ALL Fellowship to Catherine Cheater
Catherine has been recognised for her lifelong dedication to language teaching, particularly in the primary phase. She has played a key role in research and development in primary languages at national level, serving as Senior Language Teaching Advisor for Primary at CILT and a Links into Languages trainer, as well as working with Local Authorities, Specialist Language Colleges, Higher Education Institutions and individual schools.
ALL Fellow 2017 - Kathy Wickstead
Kathy is pictured here accepting the ALL Fellowship award from ALL President, Dr Anna Lise Gordon (2016-2018) at the Association’s Language World Conference Dinner in March 2017. Kathy has been recognised for her long-standing contribution to ALL and for being an ambassador for language teaching and learning. As a volunteer for ALL, she has served on the ALL Council and special interest groups and has been a President (2004-2007) along with being a member of the board of trustees. Kathy led, as a consultant on two government funded projects ‘Subject Specific Support for the New Secondary Curriculum (2007-2010) and the LinkedUp Scheme (2009-2011; part of Links into Languages). This involved leading and training a team of Regional Subject Advisors. Kathy has worked at national and international level on languages education and has been a Language College Advisor and Head of Programme at SSAT for seven years, where she supported schools and teachers across the country. Anna-Lise Gordon says of Kathy, ‘Kathy has been a superb ambassador for language teaching and learning and colleagues comment warmly on her thoughtful, rigorous, pragmatic, creative and innovative approaches to language teaching. Many teachers across the country – including me - have been challenged, supported and inspired by Kathy.’ Congratulations to Kathy from everyone at ALL.
ALL Fellow 2016 - Dr Geoff Brammall
At Language World 2016, ALL awarded an ALL Fellowship to Dr Geoff Brammall. Geoff is pictured here accepting his award from ALL's Chair of Trustees, René Koglbauer. Geoff was a long-standing member of ALL working both at national and local level. As chair of the former German Committee, he supported teachers of German through his expertise at local, national and international conferences. He worked closely with both the Goethe-Institut and the Austrian Cultural Forum to ensure that teachers have benefited from high quality training and cultural information through organising training days with these partners. Geoff also worked tirelessly for ALL's Manchester Branch and supported it offering his expertise and experience as a teacher, examiner and an author tirelessly. In the 1990s, Geoff was also the UK representative to Internationale Deutschlehrerinnen und Deutschlehrer Verband (IDV). Geoff sadly passed away on 14th August 2021.
ALL Fellow 2014 - Linda Parker
At Language World 2014, Linda Parker was awarded an ALL Fellowship in recognition of her contribution to languages education and for her long service to ALL as an organisation. Linda joined ALL as Director in 2000 and steered ALL through a period of huge change in the profession. After 14 years at the helm, she retired at the end of April 2014.
ALL Fellow 2013 - Steven Fawkes
At Language World 2013, ALL awarded a Fellowship to Steven Fawkes, in recognition of his lifetime contribution to languages education as a teacher, an adviser at BBC Languages, as a trainer, a truly motivational speaker, and in recognition of his long service to ALL. Steven has been a member of ALL since its inception in 1990, and has been actively involved ever since. He is the only person who has been President of ALL twice and currently serves as Honorary Membership Officer and an ALL Trustee. Steven is also Chair of ALL’s World Languages Special Interest Group, and has been a prime mover in setting up our Primary Special Interest Group, and is at the heart of ALL’s North East Branch.
ALL Fellow 2012 - Lid King
At Language World 2012, Lid King was awarded an ALL Fellowship. Lid has had a long career in UK languages education: as a languages teacher in secondary, higher and adult education, advanced level examiner and materials writer. Lid was Director of CILT from 1992 to 2003, and National Director for Languages from 2003 to 2011, taking forward the implementation of the National Languages Strategy for England. He co-authored with Lord Ron Dearing, The Languages Review, and has represented the UK on languages at both the European Union and The Council of Europe.
ALL Fellow 2012 - John Trim
At Language World 2012, ALL awarded an ALL Fellowship to John Trim. John was an expert in the field of phonetics, linguistics, language didactics and policy. He was director of the Council of Europe’s Modern Languages Projects from 1971-1997. He set up the Department of Linguistics at Cambridge University. He has also been Director of CILT, President of the British Association for Applied Linguistics and Vice-President of the International Association of Applied Linguistics. John sadly passed away in 2013.
ALL Fellow 2011 - William Musk
At Language World 2011, William Musk was awarded the very first ALL Fellowship in recognition of his lifetime contribution to languages education in the UK. Bill started his career as a classroom teacher, then went on to work in senior roles at Bedfordshire County Council, the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges and the British Council. He retired in 2005 and in the same year won a German Embassy Award for his contribution to the fostering of educational links between Germany and the UK. Bill was a trustee of ALL from 1994 until 2011. He was President (2002-2005) and then Honorary Finance Officer and has played a vital role in the development of the Association over a significant number of years.