Frances Murray - Director and Consultant
English-Additional-Language/Dialect (EAL/D) Teaching and Learning, including BILINGUAL-BILITERATE instruction.
"When Australia embraces multilingualism and multiculturalism it will grow into the global nature of the 21st century"
Frances' extensive career in education has focussed on EAL/D teaching and learning, Bilingual Education and Teacher Training in these fields. In the area of curriculum writing and development, she has made a significant impact in the Northern Territory in all areas of her work from Early Childhood teacher, to Teacher-Linguist in a bilingual school, Curriculum Writer, Teacher Education lecturer, Program Designer and Manager of EAL/D learning at System and Territory levels.
She has engaged in on-going Education Consultancy work with schools in the NT and Queensland. She has made a significant contribution to literacy development in both first language and in the field of English-additional-language/dialect learning (EAL/D) for Indigenous and other EAL/D learners across the NT.
Frances was the recipient of a National Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Achievement of Literacy or Numeracy in 2005.
Fran is an expert in the field of EAL/D education, especially in relation to Indigenous learners from oral cultures. She is passionate about the benefits of bilingual teaching for these students. She has also led developments in the teaching of EAL/D students in mainstream contexts through her work with teachers of EAL/D students, and her study in the field. Fran holds a Master of Education degree (Charles Darwin University) with a focus on Curriculum Development for Indigenous students through First Language and in English-Additional-Language programs, and a Bachelor of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), (La Trobe University), in addition to her qualifications as a Primary Teacher (Armidale College of Advanced Education).
Frances undertook a course (Corpus and Status Language Planning) with Professor Joshua Fishman at New York University in 2006.
Her publications include articles on aspects of EAL/D teaching and learning, curriculum frameworks for Indigenous languages’ teaching, and methodologies for ESL teaching. She has been a key-note speaker on teaching English and the benefits of bilingual-biliterate teaching at Education Conferences in Queensland, and the NT; and presented at the Language, Education and Diversity conference in New Zealand in 2008, and in workshops at the ACTA conferences in SA, WA and QLD. 2010 - 2023.
Frances was a member of the Advisory Panel for the development of the Australian English Curriculum. She is on the Executive of the Association for Teaching Speakers of Other Languages (ATESOLNT) and a Councillor for the NT on the Australian Council of TESOL Associations (ACTA). In these roles, Frances has been actively involved in the recent development of the (AITSL) elaboration of the Australian Teacher Standards for English-Additional-Language Teachers. Currently, Fran is continuing to provide Professional Learning for teachers in the areas of English-Additional-Language/Dialect (EAL/D) teaching and Intercultural, Cross-cultural Teaching and Learning. Videos of some of these sessions are available on this site as well as on the ATESOLNT site.
Walking Talking Texts, the pedagogy Fran developed, designed and wrote, is an English-Additional-Language / Dialect (EAL/D) methodology for EAL/D students. Originally designed and written for Indigenous EAL/D students, its implementation has extended across the Top End of Australia, many schools in North Queensland and the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Schools in 'Southern' Australian States have used the methodology in classes in mainstream schools. It has also recently 'travelled' to the Philippines.
The Walking Talking Texts pedagogy is also used in the form of the GOANNA PLANNER to teach in and through the students' first language, the Indigenous language of the community in Bilingual-Biliterate-Bicultural schools.
A feature of Fran's work in Indigenous education has been her work with Indigenous staff in schools, and at system level as professional coach, mentor and trainer. Her focus being with the professional development of Indigenous Assistant Teachers as they moved into qualified roles as class teachers and continued on to leadership positions in their remote NT schools.
Through her passion and her far sightedness combined with a pragmatic approach to working with and supporting all learners, Fran has inspired many children and teachers to succeed in diverse teaching environments.
Frances has established Walk-the-Talk Teaching as a private consultancy business to support and work with teachers in the NT as well as those in other jurisdictions.