Past Recipients
The MLTAWA Hilde Dixon Award reflects the values exemplified by Hilde during her teaching career and was first presented to Fulvia Valvasori (Italian) in 2006. Consecutively this prestigious award has been bestowed on Lesley MacPherson (French) in 2007, Angela Signorile (Italian) 2008, Noburo Hagiwara (Japanese) 2009, Claire Leong (French) 2010, Susette Rose (Japanese) 2011, Anita Chong (Chinese) 2012, Kate Reitzenstein (Indonesian) 2013, Esther Blood (Italian) 2014. In 2015 the award was presented jointly to Bianca Petale (Italian) and Jieqi Zhang (Chinese) and in 2016 to Helen Kuehs (German). Nathan Harvey (Japanese) received the award in 2017 and Sue Cooper and Sandra Jackson, both teachers of Indonesian, were joint recipients in 2018. In 2019 the Hilde Dixon Award went to Bonnie Woo (Chinese). In 2020, Margot Whittle (Japanese) won the award, followed by Tanja Colgan (German) in 2021. In 2022 the Hilde Dixon award was won by Colleen Barclay (Italian) and Francesca Castleden (Italian).
2019 Nominees and Recipient
Tanja Colgan
A dynamic and enthusiastic teacher of German. Tanya has been teaching in Australia since 2000 and currently works at Bullcreek Primary School, Shelley Primary School and Newman Primary School through Rossmoyne SHS’s Lead Language School online program. Her expertise has been widely recognised by her colleagues and the Department of Education. She was a Key Language Leader, a mentor for the LEAP program, and active in resource development to support the implementation of the Western Australian Curriculum for Languages. She has initiated and coordinated a variety of teaching and learning events which have become major events on the German teachers’ calendar. And she has served for many years in many roles on the TAGWA committee and is the current president.
Erin Pavy, Bonnie Woo (seated), Tanya Colgan
Erin Pavy
Erin is a passionate Languages teacher who started teaching languages 15 years ago. She has taught Italian and Indonesian to lower and senior secondary students at Canning Vale College. As a highly skilled language teacher, she has a large repertoire of teaching strategies that promote cooperative learning and are motivating and engaging for the students. She has also organised many curriculum-based excursions to enrich students’ learning experiences. Throughout her career she has mentored many pre service teachers and provided ongoing support for graduate teachers. She has been a member of WAATI, WILTA and MLTAWA.
Bonnie Woo – Hilde Dixon 2019 Recipient
Bonnie is an exemplary and creative teacher of Chinese who works at the Methodist ladies’ College. She was one of the pioneer primary Chinese language teachers in WA and has worked extensively with the Department of Education for almost 20 years to develop resources and curriculum materials. She always seeks new ways to motivate students and is a strong advocate of intercultural language learning. Her contribution to the teaching and learning of Chinese has benefitted teachers all over Australia. She has been a mentor to many teachers of Chinese.
Nadia Civa (MLTAWA 2019 President), Bonnie Woo (Hilde Dixon Award 2019), Jieqi Zhang (CLTAWA 2019 President)
She is a long serving member of the Chinese language teachers association and has served in a variety of positions, including president and vice president, on the association committee. Her exemplary organisation, management, communication skills, and persevering approach to challenges is a motivating force to her association.
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