Organization of ELLRA

ELLRA is a non-profit association with four governing bodies:

1. The General Assembly of Members 

It is composed of all the members of the Association in good standing.

2. The Executive Committee

It is made up of three members elect: the Chair, the Treasurer, and the Events Coordinator. Together, they oversee the running of the Association with five co-opted members who have specific functions. They are the Vice-Chair, the Membership Officer, the Communications Director, the Secretary and the Community Outreach Coordinator.

3. The Finance Committee

It is the regulatory body of the Association and provides oversight of ELLRA’s accounts and finances. This Committee works closely with the Treasurer and a certified accountant.

4. The Committee of the General Assembly

It presides over the General Assembly and is composed of a Chair and two Committee members. It is also responsible for coordinating the electoral process every three years.

The following illustration represents the Association’s structure, and shows how the committees nest within the membership and their interdependency.

ELLRA Governing Committees
(2023 - 2026)

The Executive Committee

Executive Committee Elect

CHAIR

Sandie Mourão

Sandie Mourão (PhD) is a senior researcher at CETAPS, Nova University Lisbon, Portugal. Her research interests include foreign languages in early childhood education and care, intercultural learning, picturebooks in language education and classroom-based assessment.

Treasurer

Nayr Ibrahim

Nayr Ibrahim (PhD) is Associate Professor of English Subject Pedagogy at Nord University in Norway. Her research interests include early language learning, learning to learn, bi/multilingualism, multiple literacies, language and identity, children’s literature, children’s language rights.

Events coordinator

Caroyln Leslie

Carolyn Leslie (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in Foreign Language Didactics at the Modern Languages, Cultures and Literatures Department, Nova University, Lisbon, Portugal. Her research interests include spoken interaction in early foreign language learning, language assessment and teacher education.

Co-Opted Members

Vice-Chair

Joanna Rokita Jaśkow

Joanna Rokita-Jaśkow (PhD) is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics at the Institute of English Studies, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland. Her research interests include early foreign language learning, language teacher education and development, multilingualism at school environment.

Membership Officer

Melanie Ellis

Melanie Ellis (PhD, postdoctoral habilitation) is associate professor of Applied Linguistics at the Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland. Her research interests include early reading in foreign language English, education of teachers of primary EFL learners and design of materials for teacher learning. 

Communications Director

David Valente

David Valente is currently a PhD research fellow with Nord University in Norway. His research explores the intersection of early language learning, children's literature and interculturality within the context of transnational primary teacher education. 
 
Community Outreach Coordinator

María-Jesús Inostroza

María-Jesús Inostroza A. (PhD) is an early career researcher at the Faculty of Education, University of Concepción, Chile. Her research interests include foreign languages in primary state-run education, language rights, children's voices and storytelling in language education. 

SECRETARY

Eva Jakupčević

Eva Jakupčević (PhD) is a Senior Teaching and Research Assistant at the Teacher Education Department, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split, Croatia. Her research interests include pragmatics, classroom discourse, and textbooks for young language learners. 
 

The Committee of the General Assembly

Chairperson

Sue Garton

Sue Garton is Professor of Applied Linguistics (TESOL) at Aston University, UK. Her research interests include teaching young learners, language teacher education, primary language policy and classroom discourse. 

Committee Member

Danijela Prošić-Santovac

Danijela Prošić-Santovac (PhD) is an Associate Professor and the Head of the Centre for Languages at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia. Her research interests include teaching English as a foreign language at pre-school and early primary school and using children's literature in teaching, with a focus on fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Committee Member

Serdar Tekin

Serdar Tekin (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics (TESOL) at the Department of Foreign Language Teaching, Nevsehir Haci Bektas Veli University, Türkiye. His research interests include teaching English to young learners, translanguaging, technology-enhanced language learning, and teacher education.

The Finance Committee

Chairperson

Nils Jaekel

Dr. Nils Jaekel is Associate Professor in English Foreign Language Acquisition and Language Pedagogy at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. His main research interests include early foreign language learning, Content and Language Integrated Learning, multilingualism, and individual differences.

Committee Member

Karen Glaser

Karen Glaser (PhD) is associate professor of Teaching English in Primary School at Leipzig University, Germany. Her research interests include early language learning in institutional contexts, L2 pragmatics, classroom interaction research, and teacher professionalization.

Committee Member

María del Pilar García Mayo

María del Pilar García Mayo is Full Professor of English Language and Linguistics at the University of the Basque Country, Spain. Her interests include the study of English morphosyntax (generative perspective) and the role of interaction and attention to form in L2 learning (cognitive-interactionist approach).