Putrajaya, 16 March 2023 – The ELS English Language Ambassador Award Essay Writing Competition is held to honour young Malaysian students’ writing accomplishments.
ELS Language Centres (ELS) is a leading English language provider. There were 19,154 Form 4 and Form 5 students from 247 schools around the country participating in the competition, which also includes an online English language writing programme that helps pupils prepare for their SPM English exam.
Sarina Salim, Deputy Director of the Curriculum Development Division, Ministry of Education, represented the Deputy Education Minister handing out the recognition to the top 10 winners in the presence of their families as well as representatives from the MOE, Australian High Commission, ELS and its strategic partners – the University of Adelaide, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Sunago Education and Just English.
According to Sarina, “The Ministry of Education has many initiatives to promote English language proficiency in our schools and it is also great to see that this is not just the responsibility of the Ministry but also that of private institutions like ELS Language Centres. We encourage such public-private and international partnerships as it brings about a healthy ecosystem for developing competent talent all across our national schools – and we look forward to the continuation of programmes like the ELS English Language Ambassador Award in years to come.”
The Australian High Commission commended the MOE, ELS, and its strategic partners on the competition’s success on behalf of the Counsellor of Education and Research, Fiona Morris.
Morris said, “We are very proud that the University of Adelaide is a sponsor of this award and that the winner will have the opportunity to spend 7 days in Adelaide, which this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of its sister city relationship with Penang. Australia and Malaysia have developed deep people-to-people links through education, with many Malaysians having studied in Australia and Australian students undertaking study and internship experiences in Malaysia. We congratulate all participants and winners of the competition and commend their pursuit of English language excellence.”
In order to assist the Government in “Driving English Language Excellence” among Malaysian Secondary School students, ELS launched the ELS English Language Ambassador Award Essay Writing Competition in 2022. Supported by the MOE, this yearly CSR programme aims to help Forms 4 and 5 students prepare for SPM English Writing by honing their academic and creative writing skills.
The competition received student registrations via DELIMa, the national digital learning platform. Students were then enrolled in ELS’s 8-week online interactive English Language writing programme to prepare for both the competition and SPM English Writing. Those who completed the programme received co-curriculum marks from the MOE. At the end of the competition, ELS selected the 10 best essay submissions for judging. Shortlisted candidates were interviewed to determine their rank.
Sean Chee, Director of Group Strategy and Alliances at ELS, explained, “The main objective of the programme is to promote English language excellence among Form 4 and 5 students. But we cannot achieve this by ourselves. This is why we invited our university partners UPM, UTM and the University of Adelaide to join us on this journey. They say, “it takes a village to raise a child,” and this is a clear illustration of the efforts required to elevate the English standards among our students.”
LIM ZI CHYE from SMK JENJAROM, SELANGOR won the Grand Prize and was awarded a one-week study tour to the University of Adelaide, Australia inclusive of return flight tickets and accommodation, a cash award of RM 2,000, a Trophy, a Certificate of Achievement, and a one-year Just English Magazine subscription. He will join the University’s Orientation Week in July and experience studying abroad through social events, cultural programmes and excursions around the city of Adelaide.
CLAIRRA ANAK FREDDY from SMK ST ANTHONY, SARAWAK was the first runner-up while ISABEL OOI YO YI from SMK SERI KEMBANGAN, SELANGOR was the second runner-up. They won cash awards of RM1,500 and RM750 respectively, as well as a Trophy, a Certificate of Achievement, and a one-year Just English Magazine subscription.
The remaining Top 10 finalists were:
- Third runner-up – SARAH BINTI BASIR AHAMAD – SMK (P) SRI AMAN, SELANGOR
- Fourth runner-up – TAN YIN JUNE – SMK KOTA KEMUNING, SELANGOR
- Finalist – NUR ARISAH AISHAH BINTI NOR AZMAN – SM SAINS BANTING, SELANGOR
- Finalist – MUHAMMAD FIKRI HAKIM BIN YUSOF – SMKA SULTAN MUHAMMAD, MELAKA
- Finalist – NUR IZZFATHI WIRDANI BINTI MOHD SOFFIAN – SMK SULTANAH ASMA, KEDAH
- Finalist – NAZ ASYRAF BIN MOHAMMAD NAZARUL – SMK MOHD KHALID, JOHOR
- Finalist – THAM ZHI JIAN – SMK PEI YUAN, PERAK
Each Finalist received a Trophy, a Certificate of Achievement, co-curriculum marks and Just English Magazine (one-year subscription). Prizes were also awarded to the Grand Champion’s school, as well as the Top 20 schools and students in the online writing programme. All participants who completed at least 70% of the online writing lessons received a certificate of participation and co-curriculum marks.
ELS is scheduled to kick-start the 2023 ELS English Language Ambassador programme in May.
ABOUT ELS LANGUAGE CENTRES MALAYSIA
ELS Language Centres (ELS) Malaysia, is a franchise of the U.S.-based ELS Language Centers. Established in 1990, ELS Malaysia has four strategically-located centres in Kuala Lumpur, Subang Jaya, UPM Serdang and UTM Skudai.
With over 30 years of teaching English and an international accreditation from the National ELT Accreditation Scheme (NEAS), ELS has a proven track record of success in offering specialised training catering to companies, university students, school children and foreign language speakers. ELS is also a proud recipient of the 2022 NEAS Online Delivery Award and the 2022 ST Star Award for Best Chain School.
Aside from an unbeatable combination of university-town and city-centre study locations, ELS is also a reliable and attractive study option thanks to its high academic standards and qualified, professionally-trained instructors. ELS centres offer online and face-to-face courses to suit many different needs; these include university or college preparation courses, career advancement courses, the fast-track Intensive English Programme and general proficiency courses.
FOLLOW ELS ON:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ELSmalaysia/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/elsmalaysia/
Website: www.els.edu.my
ELS STRATEGIC AND SUPPORTING PARTNERS
The University of Adelaide, Australia: www.adelaide.edu.au
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM): www.upm.edu.my
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia: www.utm.my
Sunago Education: www.sunagoeducation.com
Just English: www.justenglish.com
