ELTons 2009 International Category Criteria - Learning


	Criteria for selection of international applicants

The ELTons will be judged by the ELTons Management Committee. The Committee's decision will be final.

ELTons 2009 Management Committee

Entries will be judged on the basis of the following criteria:

1. ELT research – completed projects reported on through, for example, articles in journals, newsletters or magazines, dissertations and theses, and book-length studies or edited collections

			Innovative Research entries will be innovative in terms of what is being studied (the topic or issue) and/or in terms of how the study is conducted (the research methods being used). To a lesser extent, innovation may also be seen in work which studies established topics using common methods but in a novel context.
			Practical Practicality in research can be seen in terms of the extent to which it has impacted or has the potential to impact on the work of ELT practitioners. Practicality can also be seen in the extent to which the research is accessible to a general readership of ELT professionals. Practicality refers, too, to the extent to which the research design used might feasibly be implemented by practitioners in their own contexts.
			Effective The effectiveness of research can be considered in terms of the soundness and appropriateness of its design and conduct, the credibility of the findings, and the quality of the reporting.

2. ELT materials: e.g. coursebooks, supplementary materials; resource books for teachers.

			Innovative Offers new and more effective ways of learning English, and/or improves, creates, makes, provides learners' access to EL learning resources; and/or create new markets or extend current markets for UK English language teaching; and/or make effective use of use new resources and/or technology and/or provide new solutions to acknowledged problems.
			Effective Enables learners to make progress in learning English or has clear potential to enable such progress
			Practical Is reasonably accessible to teachers and/or learners and makes appropriate use of resources, is easy to implement, and logically organised.

3. ELT products and services: e.g. English language courses, examinations.

			Innovative Awards can be made for original approaches to course design and delivery, to innovative use of resources and media, to fresh procedures in setting and communicating course objectives and in certification. Applications should describe the nature of the innovation and give a rationale for the new approach and an account of how it was piloted and put into practice, together with the results of the innovation and the added value in comparison with previous practice.
			Practical Innovations in this area should show that they can be carried out within the normal activities of the institution, that they are not just “one-offs” but could be reproduced with other groups ofs learners. Applications should describe how the new approaches are implemented – the resources used, the training of teachers, the involvement of learners, the evaluation of learning results etc.
			Effective Applications should show clearly that the innovation has had measurable and beneficial results in improving learning, motivation of learners, efficient use of resources. The evaluation procedures should be described and can include the results of tests, examinations, self-assessment and learner and teacher reactions.