For Outstanding Contribution to Languages Education in Western Australia

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 and it was her personal warmth and concern for every student in her care which shone through.

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 Award

The MLTAWA 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 (	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)
2017 Nathan Harvey (Japanese)	2016 Helen Kuehs (German)	2015 Bianca Petale (Italian) and Jieqi Zhang (Chinese)
2014 Esther Blood (Italian)	2013 Kate Reitzenstein (Indonesian)	2012 Anita Chong (Chinese)
2011 Susette Rose (Japanese)	2010 Claire Leong (French)	2009 Noburo Hagiwara (Japanese)
2008 Angela Signorile (Italian)	2007 Lesley MacPherson (French)	2006 Fulvia Valvasori (Italian)

This award is the highest honour for language teachers in WA. At a national level there is the AFMLTA Medal. The Hilde Dixon 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. It is also designed to increase the status of the language teaching profession. The award, presented annually, consists of a trophy, a certificate and $500.

Read more about past recipients of the Hilde Dixon Award via this link: PAST RECIPIENTS

Process

Nomination

NOMINATE HERE

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 MLTAWA at the time of the application.
• At least one of the two nominators must be a current financial member of the MLTAWA.
• 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 2024

Members must be logged-in to access the nomination page.

Nominations close 30 October 2024

Selection: Stage 1

• Nominees are contacted by the President and invited to submit a Professional Background Information Form – which will give further insight to the career of the nominee.
• When submitting the Professional Background Information Form, the nominee will also provide a photo which they are willing to have published by the MLTAWA
• Any information provided in this form may be used by the MLTAWA executive for purposes of promotion and in order to celebrate the award e.g. the MLTAWA website, email digests, and promotional materials.

Selection: Stage 2

• The MLTAWA Hilde Dixon Award selection panel meets and selects the finalists from whom a winner will be decided. The selection panel is comprised of three MLTAWA 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 ALL finalists to be a guest of MLTAWA, 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.