Top tips for writing a winning English Teacher Awards 2024 nomination

Thomas Gardner
A woman/teacher teaching her students in the classroom.
Reading time: 3 minutes

We are celebrating teaching excellence around the world through the Pearson English Teacher Awards 2024. 

Open to all types of English language educator, the 15 lucky global winners will take home thousands of pounds of prizes, from trips to conferences to the latest language learning software for their school. 

Nominating an educator for the Pearson English Teacher Awards is simple. All applications are made via the awards entry page, and you have 600-1000 words to tell us how your nominee builds learners’ confidence to be themselves in English. 

Here are our top tips to make the most of every word and ensure your entry is top of the class. 

Application tips

1. Make it category specific 

One of the core judging criteria is how well an application matches the category description. 

Educators can be nominated in one of five different categories: 

  1. Teaching Young Minds English
  2. Empowering Teen Confidence in English
  3. Cultivating Lifelong Learners in English 
  4. Innovation in English Language Teaching 
  5. Rising Stars of English Language Teaching 

Tailoring your answer to the category description will make sure our judges understand exactly why your nominee is the perfect winner. 

For a detailed description of each of the categories, take a look at our recent blog post.

2. Focus on confidence

Learning a language isn’t just about knowing the vocabulary or understanding the grammar; it’s about having the confidence to go out there and use your newfound skills to unlock a world of opportunities. 

But feeling confident in something you’re still learning is hard. Anyone that’s learnt a language has experienced those dips in motivation and confidence when you come across a topic that doesn’t come naturally to you. 

That’s where a great teacher can make all the difference. The right support and encouragement combined with innovative teaching techniques can help learners protect and even build their confidence in challenging moments. 

That confidence is what transforms language learning from just communicating to feeling able to really be yourself in English. And when you’re able to do that, great opportunities come your way. 

Our judges are looking for nominations that understand the connection between confidence and self-expression and the impact that can have on learners’ lives. 

3. Demonstrate your impact

Including relevant data and examples in your application will help judges understand the impact your nominee has had. 

This might include data such as internal or external test results, as well as how those results have changed during that teacher’s tenure. 

Evidence doesn’t have to mean numbers. Judges also welcome anecdotes and examples that describe the impact an educator has had on learners’ confidence. 

The judging process

Nominations can be submitted between 15th August and midnight (CST) on 1st November. 

After that date, all entries will be reviewed and a shortlist submitted to our expert judges. 

There are two to three judges for each category who will independently review and shortlist nominees before collectively awarding a Gold, Silver, and Bronze winner in their category. 

Shortlisted entries will be contacted by our team and announced at the Pearson Teacher Awards ceremony on November 21st 2024. 

Meet the judges

From Argentina to Algeria, Italy to Germany, Pearson English Teacher Award 2024 judges come from all over the world. 

Many have years of ELT teaching experience, as well as expertise from academia and business. 

Here are just three of our expert judges: 

  • Belgin Elmas: Head of the English Language Teaching Department at TED University in Ankara, Belgin is a professor with more than 34 years of teaching experience. 
  • Dr Silvia Minardi: President of Lingua e Nuova Didattica and Vice President of Aermigo. Dr Minardi has extensive experience in CLIL training, collaborating with the ECML and the Council of Europe.
  • Dr Renata Condi: An experienced teacher, development professional, and course book author, Dr Condi holds a PhD and MA in Applied Linguistics and an MBA in School Management. 

The prizes

With a Gold, Silver, and Bronze winner in each of the five categories, there are 15 chances for educators and their schools to win. 

Gold winners will receive a trip to a regional professional conference, including flight and hotel, as well as up to £500 in credit for professional development. 

Their school will win annual licenses to top language learning app, Mondly by Pearson as well as a course, assessment, and certification bundle valued at £1000 

Silver and Bronze winners will take home top prizes too, with £250 in credit towards their professional development and up to 500 Mondly by Pearson licenses for their school to continue their good work building learners’ confidence in English. 

Ready to make your nomination? Visit this page and tell us about the amazing work your nominee’s been doing. 

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    Measuring language popularity is a complex task that involves various factors, including the number of native speakers, global influence, and use as a second or foreign language. The criteria for measuring language popularity include:

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    • Global influence: This measures the extent to which a language is used in international communication, business, science and diplomacy. Languages with a broad global influence are often used as lingua francas in various regions.

    • Use as a second or foreign language: This considers the number of people who speak a language as a second language or foreign language. Languages that are widely taught and learned around the world tend to have a larger speaking population.

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    Top 10 most spoken languages in the world

    Here’s a closer look at the ten most spoken languages by number of speakers:

    When evaluating these languages, it's important to consider not just the number of native speakers but also the total number of language speakers, including those who speak it as a second language.

    1. English

    Speakers: Approximately 1.5 billion

    Native speakers: Around 360 million

    Regions: Widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

    Highlights: English is the most widely spoken language worldwide when combining native and non-native speakers. It's the primary language in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. English is the dominant language in international business, science and technology.

    2. Mandarin Chinese

    Speakers: Over 1.1 billion

    Native speakers: About 920 million

    Regions: Mainly in China, Taiwan and Singapore

    Highlights: Mandarin is the language with the largest number of native speakers. It's one of the six official languages of the United Nations and has a significant cultural and historical importance.

    3. Hindi

    Speakers: Around 600 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 341 million

    Regions: Predominantly in India and Nepal

    Highlights: Hindi is predominantly spoken in India and Nepal, with approximately 341 million native speakers. It is one of the official languages of India and is spoken by a large portion of the Indian population. It has numerous dialects and is written in the Devanagari script.

    4. Spanish

    Speakers: Approximately 560 million

    Native speakers: About 460 million

    Regions: Spain, Latin America and parts of the United States

    Highlights: Spanish is the official language in 21 countries and is widely spoken in the Americas. In many of these countries, Spanish serves as the national language, playing a crucial role in government, education and media. It’s known for its rich literature and cultural heritage.

    5. French

    Speakers: Around 280 million

    Native speakers: About 77 million

    Regions: France, parts of Africa, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland

    Highlights: French is another of the six official languages of the United Nations. It's widely used in international diplomacy and has a significant number of speakers in Africa due to France's colonial history.

    6. Arabic

    Speakers: Approximately 270 million

    Native speakers: Around 310 million

    Regions: Middle East and North Africa

    Highlights: Arabic is a central Semitic language that is the liturgical language of Islam. It has many dialects, with Modern Standard Arabic being used in formal settings and media. Arabic has numerous spoken forms, with significant variations in dialects across different regions.

    7. Bengali

    Speakers: Around 265 million

    Native speakers: About 230 million

    Regions: Bangladesh and parts of India

    Highlights: Bengali is the official language of Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India. Alongside other languages like Hindi and Urdu, Bengali plays a crucial role in the cultural and linguistic landscape of the region. It’s known for its rich literary tradition.

    8. Portuguese

    Speakers: Approximately 220 million

    Native speakers: Around 220 million

    Regions: Brazil, Portugal and parts of Africa

    Highlights: Portuguese is mainly spoken in Brazil, which is the largest Portuguese-speaking country. It has a growing number of speakers in Africa.

    9. Russian

    Speakers: Around 258 million

    Native speakers: Approximately 154 million

    Regions: Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia

    Highlights: Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations and is widely spoken in the former Soviet Union countries.

    10. Japanese

    Speakers: Approximately 128 million

    Native speakers: Around 128 million

    Regions: Japan

    Highlights: Japanese is predominantly spoken in Japan and is known for its three writing systems—Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. It has a rich cultural history and is influential in technology and entertainment.

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