Business English UK's award to celebrate the work of Business English trainers has gone for the second time to the London School of English.

The judging panel noted the exceptionally high quality of the nominations before awarding the EBET to Jon Dyson, who has worked in business communications since 1983.

Maurice Cassidy, chair of Business English UK, who presented the award, spoke of the huge effort nominees had put into their submissions, and said: "All our teachers make a positive impact on clients' learning and this is our way of saying thank you to the amazing teachers here in our industry. Thank you to all the wonderful teachers who have put in all the hours and wonderful lessons for your clients... and please consider nominating one of your staff for the award next year, now that it is established."

Jon joked: " After such a long time in the business, I could find it easy to succumb to complacency and old age, but I need to keep on my toes to avoid becoming a dinosaur and to keep me from being bored!"

He said the process of completing his entry for the award was useful and challenging professional development. "The process of sitting down and documenting exactly how the profile of the group looked and how exactly why I wanted to do the recorded class, what outcomes were expected and in what way I was going to achieve those outcomes was a very interesting one – surprisingly challenging, in fact.

"What we do becomes almost instinctive and second nature, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, to have to write down that knowledge and information in a coherent format was refreshing. I have come away from the experience with some useful questions to ask myself about the methods I use and the assumptions which could creep into my practice after many years practicing within the industry."

He thinks the EBET is helping raise the profile of Business English training and teaching "and rightly so".

"There are many, many men and women out there with a great deal of expertise in this field and it is important to recognise how much they are contributing to the economy by getting non-native business people into the country to benefit from that expertise in various areas: enhancement of language use, utilisation of technology, development of key competences in international business communication, and so on," said Jon.

He added: "It is also energising to have an award to aim for in order to strive both to improve oneself and to stay on the cutting edge of methodology and good practices. "The world of business is undergoing fundamental changes in the channels of communication with which it operates and I feel the Business English industry is reflecting that in the new and innovative ways it is responding to the emerging (and often urgent) needs of our learners and participants. This award helps to encourage and recognise that renewal and innovation." 

*The finalists for the EBET 2014 Award were Emma Whitehouse and Jon Dyson from The London School of English, Ben Lee from Experience English, and Antony Frobisher from Kingsway English Centre.