The Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA), as the peak body for Languages educators in Australia, is committed to recognising and encouraging outstanding contributions to the field of Languages education and so encourages state and territory Language Teachers’ Associations to nominate members for the following awards:

AFMLTA Medal for Outstanding Service to Language Teaching

This award is made in recognition of exceptional and outstanding contributions to language teaching in Australia over an extended period. An exceptional and outstanding contribution is to be regarded as one that has significantly influenced the pattern and/or quality of language teaching and learning in Australia in some beneficial way.

Previous Recipients of Medal for Outstanding Service to Language Teaching

AFMLTA Certificate of Merit

This award is made in recognition of dedicated and effective contribution to the work of the AFMLTA over an extended period. The recipient will be or will have been a member of an affiliated MLTA/LTA or have actively contributed to the work of the AFMLTA Inc over an extended period.

Previous Recipients of AFMLTA Certificate of Merit

Nathan Harvey Legacy Scholarship

Nathan Harvey was a member of the AFMLTA executive from 2017, holding various positions and becoming President for the 2 year period 2020-2022. At the time of his unexpected passing  in September 2023 Nathan was the association’s Immediate Past President.

Nathan was well known and highly respected both nationally and internationally for his significant contributions to Languages Education. He consistently advocated for and promoted the importance of language learning, and championed language learners and teachers across all levels of schooling. The ongoing Professional Learning of teachers at all career stages was a particular interest of Nathan’s.

In honour of Nathan’s memory and to recognise his legacy, the AFMLTA is inviting donations for the specific purpose of establishing a Scholarship fund to support teachers with professional learning.

Donations can be made under the following categories:

Bronze: $10 – $99 

Silver: $100 – $499 

Gold: $500 and above

Donations will NOT be tax deductible as AFMLTA is an incorporated, not-for-profit organisation.

Receipts will be provided through the online donation platform. 

Make a donation

Patji-Dawes Award

Image courtesy of The Notebooks of William Dawes, David Nathan, and the National Library of Australia.

2025 Patji-Dawes Award Nominations Open

The purpose of the Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award is to honour outstanding achievements in teaching languages by an accomplished practitioner or team of practitioners in Australia.

The teaching may take place in any setting – school, university, private language school, government department, Indigenous community, Community language centre. What matters is that the learner is led, by the teacher’s inspiration, to a moderate to high level of accomplishment in the chosen language.

We seek nominations from those who’ve achieved a moderate to high level of fluency in their chosen language. If you would like to honour your teacher or teachers, we ask that you tell us what it was about their practice that inspired and enabled you to unlock the rewards of learning another language despite all the difficulties involved.

The closing date for nominations has been extended to 30 April 2025.

Click here for a nomination form.

Background

The Patji-Dawes award was an initiative of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL), developed as part of the Outreach program, which included a commitment to improving levels of multilingualism and accomplishment of additional languages in Australia, through understanding and public debate on how we learn and teach languages effectively.

Throughout the years of CoEDL, the award was supported and sponsored by the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA) and the Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU). With CoEDL now concluded, the AFMLTA and LCNAU have proudly assumed responsibility for continuing the award, to recognise teachers of languages.

Purpose

The purpose of the Patji-Dawes Language Teaching Award is to honour outstanding achievements in teaching languages by an accomplished practitioner or team of practitioners in Australia. Accomplishing proficiency in additional languages is one of the great learning experiences in the human condition. Australia lags behind the world in ensuring plurilingual capability through provision of languages education. There is unfulfilled need for public recognition of those who provide outstanding teaching of languages to address plurilingual capability.

The teaching may take place in any setting – school, university, private language school, government department, Indigenous community, Community language centre. What matters is that the learner is led, by the teacher’s inspiration, to a moderate to high level of accomplishment in the chosen language.

About the name

The name of the award commemorates the teaching-learning partnership which underlay the earliest documented language learning in Australia’s history: that between a young Indigenous woman, Patyegarang (Patye or Patji, pronounced Pat-che), and Lieutenant William Dawes. Their close relationship resulted not only in an exceptional mastery of the Sydney language by Dawes and English by Patji, but in a relationship of cross-cultural understanding that has been all too rare in Australia’s history.

FIPLV International Award

The AFMLTA is able to nominate a representative for the FIPLV International Award. The FIPLV International Award, an initiative of the FIPLV Executive committee, is FIPLV’s highest distinction, in addition to the title of Honorary FIPLV Counsellor, which is reserved for (former) members of the FIPLV executive, The FIPLV International Award can be awarded to FIPLV members who distinguish or have distinguished themselves by being exceptionally active, innovative, valuable, talented, in one or more fields of language learning and language teaching (as detailed in the FIPLV documents).

The FIPLV International Award consists of a certificate of honour, a file containing FIPLV documentation and publication in the FIPLV World News of the candidate’s citation with a picture and with congratulations by the FIPLV Executive Committee.

Previous Australian Recipients of FIPLV International Award