09-01-21

Simon Greenall Award

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Winner of the first Simon Greenall Award 2021

1. Winner: Dau Dau: Creating English language learning experience through integrated arts 

2. Runner up: Ozgu Ozturk: English brings together - helping students with learning disabilities in Turkey,

3. Runner up: Victor Carreão: World Englishes and memories podcast project

Why we chose the Dau Dau project 

The Dau Dau project was chosen from amongst 31 entries. Its goal is to help students become writers, performers and artists using short stories, flash fictions, poems, comics, and songs relating to the indigenous cultures in Sabah, Malaysia. It uses the medium of English and incorporates ethnic cultures, languages, and contemporary issues. The project brings people together through learning English - a key criterion for the award, and is inclusive of learning abilities and modes, for example staging a sign language poetry performance by students with hearing impairment. 

We look forward to helping them to grow their project and its impact.

Dau Dau’s 2-minute SGA application video

Dau Dau animated tales

Dau Dau sign language poetry (delivered by special needs students)

The Dau Dau project coordinators 

Sirhajwan Idek is the head of the Dau Dau project. He oversees the implementation of the project in the classroom and extra-curricular activities. Sirhajwan writes stories and poems, and mentors the students in their writing. 

Nurazilah Othman is a performing artist, appointed by the state education department as officer in charge of folklore dance.

The mentors

The Simon Greenall Award committee is delighted that Jill and Charles Hadfield have agreed to act as the mentors to Dau Dau

Jill Hadfield has worked as teacher and teacher trainer in many countries. She is the author of over 40 ELT books, translated into 17 languages.

Charles Hadfield has worked on many projects in Asia and Africa, and taught most recently at the universities of Exeter and  Auckland. and Waikato, where he was involved in helping high school teachers from Chile to integrate their own indigenous culture and language into the school English language curriculum. This also involved NZ teachers of te reo Māori.

Mentorship  The Dau Dau project will use the experience of the mentors to help focus on indigenous cultures and language, to make English language learning more relevant to students and to help open the project to the wider world. This is likely to include assistance with: writing materials for teachers to use in schools; creating performances and videos; preparing for conferences; creating webinars; making international contacts and linking with other projects.

The runners up

Ozgu Ozturk is revising her project English brings together - helping students with learning disabilities in Turkey, to produce a new proposal with an international format

Victor Carreão is receiving coaching from Lindsay Clandfield for his World Englishes and memories podcast project.

Globe has offered the runners up a one-year membership of its online platform which hosts a unique collection of Professional Learning Communities.  This is a member-driven, and consultant-mentored digital meeting place that supports the development of ELT projects from conceptual beginnings through to concrete products. https://transformelt.com/welcome-to-the-globe-blog/

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