Excellence in English teaching awards 2011

The British Council has made a worldwide call for applications to the ELTons 2011. Now in its ninth year, the awards ceremony, run by the British Council and sponsored by Cambridge ESOL, is a celebration of excellence in English language teaching (ELT) from around the world.

ELT professionals can apply in three categories: The UK Award for Innovation, The Cambridge ESOL International Award for Innovation and The Macmillan Education Award for Innovative Writing.

The Macmillan Education Award for Innovative Writing, now in its second year, is sponsored by Macmillan Education and gives previously unpublished writers the opportunity to win a £1,000 prize and have their work published. Through this award the British Council aims to discover and encourage up and coming ELT authors to take the next step in their writing careers.

The UK Award for Innovation and the Cambridge ESOL International Award for Innovation are now well established and thriving and reward published ELT products and services developed either in the UK or overseas.

This year sees the introduction of the British Council Lifetime Achievement Award, to be awarded to an ELT professional who has made a substantial contribution to the ELT profession throughout their career.

Michael Carrier, Head English Language Innovation at the British Council said: "The ELTons have grown to become an essential fixture in the ELT calendar. They are a wonderful opportunity to showcase innovative ELT products and creative ELT authors from around the world, and we are very proud to be able to bring the ELT community together to celebrate innovation in our profession.’

Any ELT professional can apply for consideration for one of the categories including authors, teachers, trainers and publishers. Application packs can be downloaded from www.britishcouncil.org/learning-eltons and the deadline for submissions is 30 September 2010.

Applications will be judged by a panel of ELT experts and the winners are announced at a prestigious ELTons awards ceremony, held in London on March 3, 2010. Each winning entry will receive a cash prize of £1,000 and will become part of a growing network of ELTons alumni around the world.

For more information please visit www.britishcouncil.org/learning-eltons.