And the winners of the ELTons 2021 Awards are...
The British Council ELTon Award for Innovation in Learner Resources
Fiction Express: Sven Huber, Cristina Puig, Jackie Hamley
Fiction Express (Boolino SL)
Fiction Express is an award-winning literacy resource designed to improve all areas of English language learning. Reading is an integral part of learning English as a second language. Our unique methodology improves poor reading habits by getting children excited about reading through the power of a deeply engaging experience of co-creation between students and authors.
Fiction Express redefines reading by creating a student-centred approach (focused on experience and learning outcomes) instead of a product-focused (= book) method. The original-English Fiction Express stories offer a unique learning opportunity for ELT students, combining an online glossary, audio version, author forum and other activities for reading, writing, spelling, punctuation & grammar and speaking & listening. Like the ‘flipped classroom’ approach, the Fiction Express methodology focuses on student engagement and active learning, giving teachers a better opportunity to deal with varying levels, student difficulties and differentiated learning preferences.
Find out more about Fiction Express
"An engaging learner-centred resource aimed at promoting interactive reading."
The British Council ELTon Award for Innovation in Teacher Resources
Teaching English to Pre-Primary Children: Sandie Mourão, Gail Ellis, Mike Burghall, Bettina Höffels, Nick Boisseau
DELTA Publishing
Teaching English to Pre-Primary Children is essential for adults involved in the pre-primary education of children who are not attending formal schooling and who may not yet know how to read and write. It ensures that the first early language learning experience is a positive one which paves the way for a life-long journey into language learning. Teaching English to Pre-Primary Children (TEPPC) blends theory, practice and professional development into one book, the key feature of the DELTA Teacher Development series.
Find out more about Teaching English to Pre-Primary Children
"At last, a serious discussion about the complexity of pre-primary and the need for highly skilled practitioners."
The British Council ELTon Award for Local Innovation
Facebook Live Team Teaching for the Palestinian English Curriculum: Nick Bilbrough, Raja’a Abu Jasser, Sara Wood
The Hands Up Project with UNRWA (Gaza)
This project was developed in response to Palestinian school closures during the first semester in 2020/21 to ensure continued quality English language learning under lockdown. We decided to offer daily team-taught classes delivered live and remotely via Zoom over Facebook Live. These Palestinian English Curriculum sessions (each accessed by many hundreds of Grade 1-9 learners and their families) were led jointly by a Palestinian English teacher and an English teacher in another country. They provided form-focused language clarification and scaffolding, exposure to natural spoken English, engaging and interactive practice activities, opportunities for intercultural learning, and rich affordances for teacher development.
Find out more about Facebook Live Team Teaching for the Palestinian English Curriculum
"The team-teaching aspect of this has taken this initiative to an innovative level."
The British Council ELTon Award for Excellence in Course Innovation
Our Languages: C Lopes, R Lara, V Maffei, F Moreira, P Gentile, C Anazawa, I Lacombe, B Andrade, J M Taylor, A Orion
StandFor / FTD Educação
Arts, social media, English as additional language, our own first language... these are only some of OUR LANGUAGES – the ones we use to communicate and act upon the world. 'Our Languages' is a 4-level series for teenagers organised into different ‘languages’ (arts, social media, news, intervention) that act as starting points for critical discussions that frame learning English in a contemporary, critical citizenship way.
Its unique design – created by renowned urban artist Alexandre Orion - invites students to ‘own’ their textbooks as they learn, in a process of redesigning their experience with learning English. It also accompanies exclusive digital features, such as an interactive cover, multimedia content and an interactive workbook. Come and discover your special voice with Our Languages!
Find out more about Our Languages
"Distinct look and feel, radical design and content, total inclusivity from a new perspective in publishing. Genuinely different."
The British Council ELTon Award for Digital Innovation
CIELL-Comics for Inclusive English Language Learning: Dr J-A Sime, Dr C Themelis, Prof J Kormos, A Despotopoulos, E Tsampra, Dr I Wunder, Dr S Honert, Dr S Joannidou, E Nikiforou
Lancaster University with AKTO Art & Design College, Innovation in Learning Institute, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Language Centre, University of Cyprus
Designed to support students with (and without) dyslexia, the CIELL App offers an inclusive, gamified approach to learning how to plan an essay at B2+/C1 level. Students love the colourful comics saying it’s ‘an interesting, exciting and easy way to learn how to write essays’, ‘it’s a fun app’ and ‘it’s like a game’. Sample essays based on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 ‘spread awareness’ and ‘raise serious social issues in a very interesting way’. Teachers love that the App can also be used in-class, or at home, for talking, reading and listening activities, e.g. listening to essays read-aloud by six authentic voices.
Download the free App (iOS/Android) and Teachers’ Guide from the CIELL website.
Find out more about CIELL - Comics for Inclusive English Language Learning
"I love the visuals. This would be such a boon for dyslexic students, or even students in main stream classes, who struggle with writing and ideas."
Other awards
The British Council ELTons Outstanding Achievement Award
Prof. N S Prabhu
The British Council ELTons Outstanding Achievement Award for an organisation or collective
The A S Hornby Educational Trust
A.S. Hornby (1898-1978) was a distinguished English language specialist who began his career as a teacher in Japan. He then worked for the British Council and helped found ELT Journal, and, later, IATEFL. While teaching in Japan, Hornby and colleagues compiled an innovative dictionary for learners of English, which became the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, one of OUP’s best-selling titles ever. Hornby donated a substantial part of his royalties to create the A.S. Hornby Educational Trust in 1961.
In partnership with the British Council, during the 60 years since then the Trust has supported over 470 ELT professionals from around the world via Hornby Scholarships, and thousands more via regional schools, an alumni network and Teacher Association project awards. The Trust also supports dictionary-related research and research into the history of ELT.
The ELTons Judges’ Commendation for Environmental Sustainability and Climate Action
Winner: Sensations English (UK) - Global news-based video and article lessons with subtitles, transcripts and interactive activities to extend the learning experience.
The ELTons Judges’ Commendation for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- Para Powerlifting English Competency Course (World Para Powerlifting; Germany with International Paralympic Committee)
- Sensations English (UK)
- Communicating Identities (Routledge; UK / New Zealand)
- Teaching in Challenging Circumstances (Cambridge University Press; UK)
- Booklet of basics grammar in ASL and pictures for deaf and hard hearing (General Directorate for special education and continuous education, Ministry of education in Sultanate of Oman with AI ROYAA NEWSPAPER; Sultanate of Oman)
- Facebook Live Team Teaching for the Palestinian English Curriculum (The Hands Up Project; UK and UNRWA; Gaza)
- Mosaik Dogme Toolkit (Mosaik Education with Scott Thornbury; UK)
- Our Languages (StandFor / FTD Educação; Brazil)
- CIELL-Comics for Inclusive English Language Learning (Lancaster University; UK, AKTO Art & Design College; Greece, Innovation in Learning Institute, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg; Germany and Language Centre, University of Cyprus; Cyprus)
- Vlogger Academy (Digital Learning Associated Limited with The Weirdos and Creatives Collective; UK)