English Teacher Awards 2024: Understanding the categories

Thomas Gardner
A smiley woman and one of her friends/students working in a cafe.
Reading time: 4 minutes

Teachers shape every aspect of our learning experience, especially when it comes to language learning. Great teachers give learners not only the skills but the confidence to go out in the world, start speaking up and discovering new opportunities.

We’re celebrating those exceptional educators with the app English Teacher Awards 2024.

With five different categories and a Gold, Silver and Bronze winner in each, there are 15 chances to take home thousands of pounds worth of top prizes for the winning teachers and their schools.

Find out more about who can enter and the different categories in this article.

Teacher Awards 2024
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The 5 award categories

The app English Teacher Awards celebrate educators across five different categories, and closely tailoring your application to the category description is a great way to stand out to the judges.

Teachers can only be nominated for one category, so take a look at the five categories below to find out which is the best fit for your nominee.

1. Teaching Young Minds English

Those very first experiences of learning English can shape a love of language that lasts a lifetime.

This category is for primary educators who’ve set young learners up for long-term success in English through their nurturing, engaging approach.

From fun-filled lessons to creative ways to give young learners opportunities to use their new skills, we want to hear about the educators that have filled children with the confidence to get their language learning journey off to a great start.

2. Empowering Teen Confidence in English

Filled with exams, competing priorities and big decisions, the teenage years can be a make-or-break moment for language learning and the future paths it unlocks.

Making progress with a language rests on feeling confident enough to put skills into practice, which can be difficult for all learners and especially for teenagers.

This category recognizes dedicated teachers who’ve helped teen learners maintain their engagement and commitment to learning English. We’re looking for teachers who have helped teenagers build the confidence they need to speak up and start to discover the joy of being themselves in English.

3. Cultivating Lifelong Learners in English

Learning English as an adult comes with its own unique set of motivations and challenges. Learners are often balancing a whole range of competing responsibilities, with high-stakes opportunities, like studying or employment, that rely on language proficiency.

This category celebrates educators who enable and inspire adult learners with their empathetic, innovative approach, giving them the confidence to learn, perform at their best and unlock new opportunities by learning English.

4. Innovation in English Language Teaching

Teaching is a dynamic discipline that changes with every year, every class and every learner.

Sometimes, it means finding a completely new way to help learners understand and connect with a subject.

This category celebrates those who are always striving to bring the best new technology and techniques to teaching English. We’re looking for educators who have challenged traditional practices, implemented innovative teaching methods and inspired change in the way English is taught.

5. Rising Stars of English Language Teaching

Teaching is a journey, just like learning English. This category recognizes those with less than three years of experience at the very start of their English language teaching career.

We’re looking for educators who’ve arrived in the classroom with a whole host of creative ideas and techniques for building learners' confidence.

Winners in this category will already be leading the way at their school when it comes to shaping the way English is taught and giving learners that “I can do it” confidence.

How to enter

Once you’ve decided on the right category, it’s time to start your nomination.

All applications are online via the English Teacher Awards entry pageand there’s just one question to answer:

How do you/your teacher/your colleague build learners’ confidence to be themselves in English?

The deadline for nominations is midnight (CST) on 1st November.

Your nominee will receive an automated email letting them know they’ve been nominated. Our team will contact them again if they’re shortlisted as a winner ahead of the online awards ceremony in November 2024.

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    Writing your own English language materials with the GSE

    By Billie Jago

    Being an English language teacher means you’re also probably (definitely) a materials writer. You likely tailor or create language materials for your students that are suited to their needs and interests, either as supplements to your course materials or for communicative lessons. Alternatively, you might be a teacher who creates paid, published materials available for students worldwide to enjoy.

    With this in mind, think of the materials you’ve developed and ask yourself the following:

    • How do you level your grammar or vocabulary for the content you write?
    • How do you find topic-related vocabulary to extend your students’ knowledge of language?
    • How do you contextualize new grammar or vocabulary?

    You can use many different resources, from online dictionaries to course workbooks to a Google search. Still, the Global Scale of English is a reference that provides everything you need to write great learning materials, all in one place. It can help save you valuable time as a teacher and materials writer.

    For me, the GSE was a game changer as an English teacher, and it continues to be as I write materials. The GSE is not just a tool; it’s a companion in the complex journey of material development, offering clarity and direction at every step. It can guide you in creating effective, engaging learning resources.

    How to use the GSE toolkit to create your own materials

    1. Establishing clear Learning Objectives

    helps you start with a clear roadmap. It provides detailed descriptors for language proficiency at every level, ensuring your materials align with specific learning objectives. For instance, if you’re creating a beginner-level reading comprehension activity, the GSE descriptors will guide you on the appropriate complexity of vocabulary and sentence structures.

    Take a look at the Learning Objectives tab in the GSE Toolkit to learn more.

    2. Designing level-appropriate content

    Once objectives are set, the GSE assists in tailoring the content difficulty to the targeted proficiency level. Its numerical scale, ranging from 10 to 90, allows you to pinpoint the exact level of language skills required and design your materials accordingly. This precision ensures that learners are neither overwhelmed nor under-challenged.

    You can set the level you are looking for by sliding the bar along the scale, so it corresponds to the appropriate CEFR level or GSE range.