The British Council ELT Innovation Awards: who judges these things? It’s people like you.

Make your submission to become an ELTons judge by Tuesday 29 October, 23.59 (UK time).

The call has just come out for applications for the 19th annual British Council ELTons Awards. These are considered, in the EFL world, a mark of quality as well as originality, and the entrants are very diverse and include materials writers, teachers, test writers, schools, business users, academics and programmers as well as the publishing companies themselves. Applications, and winners, come from around the globe.

Recent winners have included, for example, the Hands Up Project Playwriting Competition organised through UNRWA in Gaza, the education-entertainment studio Wibbu in London, and Mavis Education’s talking pen designed in Nigeria.

For the judges, being part of the ELTons Awards process offers a unique access to the latest innovations across the diversity of the ELT industry, and is a recognition of the expertise, insight and experience they bring to the ELT world.

But, where do the judges come from?

The judges can come from almost anywhere in the world and can be as diverse as the applicants. They are school owners, writers, academics, consultants and teachers working in countries such as Argentina, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Jordan and Vietnam, as well as the UK. They can be working anywhere with sufficient internet and communications access to allow the judging process to work. The judges generally serve for three years, which allows the panel to evolve and include new talent, bringing fresh insight and reflecting the changing work of the EFL world.

There are no fixed qualifications needed to be a judge but judges typically have a wide range of experience in the EFL world; working in a range of roles and sometimes in a number of different places. They can be teachers, or school owners, or teacher trainers, or writers, for example. And judges typically show they have the expertise to fulfil these roles well and so judge the ELTons awards with insight and fairness.

The ELTons awards welcomes applications from those in the EFL industry who feel they have the qualities to be a good judge.

How do I express interest to become a judge?

Apply to become an ELTons judge by submitting the expression of interest and key information (download documents below) to by Tuesday 29 October, 23.59 (UK time).

ELTons - expression of interest
ELTons - key information