Hilde Dixon Award
Outstanding Contribution to Languages Education in WA
The Hilde Dixon Award is the highest honour for language teachers in Western Australia. The award recognises and congratulates excellence in the teaching of languages and the commitment to language education in the classroom AND through involvement in language professional associations in Western Australia. Presented annually, the Hilde Dixon Award consists of a trophy, a certificate and $500.
2024 Hilde Dixon Award = Julia Mueller
With many years of
dedicated teaching, Julia has significantly impacted the field of Languages
Education. Since the beginning of her Languages teaching career in Australia,
she has actively contributed to the Teachers' Association of German WA (TAGWA)
and the Modern Language Teachers' Association of Western Australia (MLTAWA).
Julia’s innovative
and inclusive teaching practices challenge and engage students across year
levels. She fosters a supportive learning environment and shares her expertise
through mentorship, professional development and conference presentations at
both state and national levels. Her leadership as Vice-President of TAGWA and
her commitment to German language education have been instrumental in promoting
language learning, along with her contributions to the MLTAWA in various
committee roles over the years.
Julia's dedication to
student inclusion, differentiation and experiential learning are evident in her
work and this has resulted in her recently attaining Level 3 Classroom teacher
status which was well deserved. Her passion and commitment to excellence make
her a truly deserving recipient of the Hilde Dixon Award for 2024.
Hilde Dixon was a wonderfully talented and compassionate teacher who had a passion for languages education and a commitment to social justice. Hilde was a gifted linguist, and spoke Flemish (her mother tongue), French, German, Italian and Russian, as well as English, which we often forget was a foreign language for her. Hilde also studied Latin, Greek and Serbo-Croatian.
As a teacher, Hilde always ensured there was a strong focus on pastoral care, sharing her intelligence, knowledge and ironic sense of humour with her students. Hilde was committed to making a positive difference in everything she did. Hilde’s personal warmth and concern for every student in her care always shone.
Hilde was an outstanding leader of languages education. She worked as a curriculum writer at the Schools of Isolated and Distance Education where she developed courses in French for students in Years 10-12. She was appointed as the chief examiner for French and spent the last years of her work in education at Applecross SHS teaching languages. Hilde served as a member of the MLTAWA executive for many years both as secretary and as a general committee member.
The LTWA Hilde Dixon Award reflects the values exemplified by Hilde during her teaching career and, since inception in 2006, has been awarded to the following outstanding educators:
2023 Stephanie Wignell (Chinese) | 2022 Colleen Barclay (Italian) and Francesca Candate (Italian) | 2021 Tanya Colgan (German) |
2020 Margot Whittle (Japanese) | 2019 Bonnie Woo (Chinese) and Sandra Jackson (Indonesian) | 2018 Sue Cooper (Indonesian) |
Read more about past recipients of the Hilde Dixon Award via this link: PAST RECIPIENTS
Process
Nomination
Principals, teachers, colleagues, community members and professional associations may nominate a suitable person.
- The nomination must address all selection criteria (listed below)
- The nominee must have completed a minimum of 3 years continuous membership of LTWA at the time of the application.
- At least one of the two nominators must be a current financial member of the LTWA.
- The nomination must be endorsed by the nominee’s employer / Principal – either as Nominator, Seconder or Referee.
- More than one nomination can be made from any Single Language Association
Selection Criteria (the criteria align with the AITSL Standards)
(To be completed by those nominating)
The recipient of the Hilde Dixon Award will:
- Demonstrates exemplary and innovative teaching practices that challenge and engage students [AITSL Standards 2 (2.1) & 3 (3.1)]
- Demonstrates a commitment to the educational needs and inclusion of all students [AITSL Standards 1 (1.5)]
- Demonstrates a nurturing nature and significant contribution to other language teachers in the profession (i.e. teacher development, mentorship, professional association involvement and service to, a Single Language Association and/or MLTAWA; district or regional networks, involvement in other organisations with a language interest). [AITSL Standards 7 (7.4)]
Click here to submit a nomination for the Hilde Dixon Award 2025 (can we add a photo submission here of the nominee)
Members must be logged-in to access the nomination page.
Nominations close 19 September 2025
Selection
- Any information provided in this nomination form may be used by the LTWA executive for purposes of promotion and in order to celebrate the award e.g. the LTWA website, newsletters, and promotional materials.
- The LTWA Hilde Dixon Award selection panel meets and selects the finalists from whom a winner will be decided. The selection panel is comprised of three LTWA committee members, one of whom is the President, who will appraise each application against the selection criteria.
- The decision of the selection panel will be final.
Presentation:
The President will invite the WINNER to be a guest of LTWA, at the Annual General Meeting, where the winner will be announced.
Please consider nominating someone for this award to recognise their contribution to languages education in Western Australia and also to honour the memory of Hilde Dixon.
Languages Teachers Western Australia
