In early June, the ELTons award ceremony was generously put on by British Council and I was lucky enough to be there.
(If you haven’t heard of the ELTons before, it’s an annual event that celebrates authors and material writers in a variety of areas. The categories for awards are Excellence in Course Innovation, Innovation in Learner Resources, Innovation in Teacher Resources, Digital Innovation, Local Innovation, and New Talent in Writing. Four to six projects are nominated for each category and after a very secretive-yet-fair judging process known as the Delphi technique, a winner is determined.)
My friend, Rob Howard had been nominated for Innovation in Teacher Resources for his massive webinar-based professional development project, EFL Talks, and since I am who he knows in London, I was able to go. The ELTons have to be the industry’s fanciest event. This was my first time, so I don’t know if it is like this every year, but it was held in a posh location in central London. There was more than one tux. Even Rob was in a suit. That’s how fancy we’re talking.
I had some great photos of the inside of the venue that I wanted to show you, but my husband accidentally formatted my SD memory card… Thankfully the live broadcast is safe.
I found out about so many really great projects at the 2016 ELTons.
Everyone and every project who made the shortlist for the ELTons is worthy of mention. I wanted to make sure it is easy for you to find out more about each one because I’m sure there is at least one gem that is relevant for you.
In the list below, the winner of each category has two brackets >>
Excellence in Course Innovation
Complete courses in any, or a variety of, media (books, websites, CD-ROMS, audio, teachers’ book)
- Eyes Open – Cambridge University Press
- >> Keynote – National Geographic Learning and Cengage Learning
- Subject Projects 2: English – Ikaselkar Publishing, The Basque Country
- U Dare 9 – Areal Editores
Innovation in Learner Resources
Any product or service aimed at learners
- Academic Presenting & Presentations – Peter Levrai & Averil Bolster
- Explore Our World CLIL READERS – Express Publishing
- Grammar Checker – Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)
- Guess What! – Cambridge University Press
- >> Literacy for Active Citizenship – Learning Unlimited Ltd
- Richmond Business Theories – Richmond ELT
- The Thinking Train – Helbling Languages
Innovation in Teacher Resources
Any product or service aimed at teachers, including training, education or development
- EFLtalks – talks for teachers – Rob Howard
- >> Digital Video – A manual for language teachers – Nik Peachey
- Language Learning with Digital Video – Cambridge University Press
- Teachers Research! – IATEFL Research Special Interest Group
- TEFL Preparation Course – ELTCampus
- The TEFL Commute – Lindsay Clandfield, Shaun Wilden & James Taylor
Digital Innovation
A digital product or service that enhances learning through the innovative use of technology
- Connections E-textbook – Jesse Balanyk, Jay Bidal & Ruth Radwan, Academic Bridge Program, Zayed University, UAE
- EssayJack – EssayJack Inc.
- Luke’s English Podcast – Learn British English with Luke Thompson
- >> Movies: Enjoy Languages – Archimedes Inspiration a.s.
- The Listening Post – Paul Driver
- Wibbu English: The Game – Wibbu
Local Innovation
Learner or teacher solutions developed at a local, national or regional level to meet a specific local need and within a specific local context
- Creative English Family Learning: 12 Sessions for Families with Pre-school Children – FaithAction
- Read On! – Mobile Class Library Project for Italy – Oxford University Press
- Teacher Trainer Academy – DOS-ELTea
- >> Teaching English in Africa – East African Educational Publishers Ltd.
- The Little English Library – The Little English Library in the Netherlands
- The Macmillan Early Learning Path – Macmillan Education
The Macmillan Education Award for New Talent in Writing
Sponsored by Macmillan Education, this award is open to authors who have not yet published with a commercial publisher. It recognizes new talent in writing in any media. The winner receives £1,000 and the opportunity to publish their work.
- >> Academic English for the 21st Century Learner – Aylin Graves
- Advanced Phrases and Expressions – James Warwick
- CLIL in my classroom – Jelena Petrovic and Marijana Nikolic
- My Friend TED: Academic Listening with TED Talks – Naheen Madarbakus-Ring
- Study Skills for Academic Reading – Ian Pemberton
Lifetime Achievement in ELT Award
Did I miss a link, or should we link to a different URL? Leave a comment below and I’ll update the post asap!