2012 English Australia Conference & Awards Update

25 September 2012

Sydney provided three days of glorious spring weather (apart from a brief shower, for contrast) that set the scene for the almost 400 delegates attending the 2012 English Australia Conference.

Plenary speakers Mark McCrindle, Catherine Walter, Nicky Hockly, David Graddol and Kate Carnell provided a range of perspectives to help delegates to ‘re-shape our future’ in ELICOS.

Business managers, marketers, student support service staff and representatives of regulatory bodies and government departments joined teachers, teacher trainers, academic managers and academics in a program of concurrent sessions, workshops and networking opportunities.

PDFs of presentations and handouts together with photos from the program will be available shortly on the English Australia website, www.englishaustralia.com.au/past-conferences.

The English Australia Awards were presented at the gala dinner, held at the Four Points by Sheraton. Winners were:

John Gallagher Professional Bursary

     Usha Rao La Trobe Melbourne, VIC

Award for Contribution to Professional ELICOS Practice (Sponsored by Pearson)

     Barbara Craig & Sandra Pitronaci Macquarie University English Language Centre, NSW

Award for Innovation in ELICOS (Sponsored by ETS TOEFL)

     Griffith English Language Institute (GELI), QLD

Award for Academic Leadership (Sponsored by IELTS)

     Ruby Biscuit Ability English, NSW

Award for Action Research in ELICOS (Sponsored by Cambridge ESOL)

     Damien Herlihy & Zeke Pottage Swinburne College, VIC

     (ICTE-UQ's Megan Yucel & Vicki Bos’s project was highly commended)

Congratulations to all winners, who exemplify the outstanding work done by those working in ELICOS. Details will be available on the English Australia website shortly.

English Australia would like to acknowledge the strong support provided by ELICOS partners in sponsoring and exhibiting at the conference. Particular thanks go to Platinum sponsor IELTS, Silver sponsors Better Assessments, Cambridge English and ETS TOEFL® and Bronze sponsors Pearson.

A date for your diaries! Next year’s conference, with the theme of ‘It’s still about the students...’, will be held at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre on 26 & 27 September 2013, with pre-conference events also planned. Put these dates in your diaries now!