Continuing our roundup of IELTS news from 2024, we now look back on the achievements and impact of some of 2024's award winners:
Andrea Scott International Graduate Scholarship award
Every year we celebrate student successes around the world. In the USA, the Andrea Scott Scholarship provides up to US$15,000 to international students with academic and professional experience in eight impact areas who are pursuing graduate degrees in the United States.
In 2024, the very worthy winners of the scholarship were Nadia Issah and Ainur Khaliollayeva.
Nadia has shown a profound commitment to social justice, focusing on refugees and marginalized communities through the Ghana Girl Guides Association. She also worked within the legal department of the Air Force Directorate of the Ghana Armed Forces supporting peacekeeping officers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Southern Sudan.
Ainur has “developed free digital literacy video courses for school students utilizing YouTube and WhatsApp, reaching over 300 participants across 10 regions”. Her use of digital media as an educational tool is inspired by her desire to solve problems for communities that “lack basic digital literacy skills”
IELTS Morgan Terry Memorial IATEFL Scholarship
Rory Reyes-Cobar, a Senior Teacher at Langports in Surfers Paradise, Australia, was awarded the IELTS Morgan Terry Memorial IATEFL Scholarship 2024 for her pioneering use of virtual reality (VR) in IELTS test preparation.
Her innovative approach included creating immersive virtual environments, such as 3D mazes, to enhance student engagement and improve skills such as spatial language and listening comprehension.
Reyes-Cobar’s research demonstrated significant improvements in students’ IELTS performance, particularly in listening and writing tasks, through the use of VR. Her work highlights the potential of VR to transform language learning and showcases the value of integrating cutting-edge technology into educational practices, exemplifying the spirit of innovation celebrated by the IELTS scholarship.
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