Oxford and Cambridge English Language Event 2010

The Oxford and Cambridge English Language Event 2010 finally came to an exciting conclusion at Sunway University College on June 26. This annual event which comprises the Public Speaking Competition and the Essay Writing Competition, is aimed at secondary school students to promote the usage of the English language as an effective communicational tool.

After the preliminary rounds in April, all six finalists of this year’s Public Speaking Competition were once again on stage to wield silver tongues to battle the ambiguous topic, “Face”. In a 4-minute prepared speech, each finalists displayed their personal panache and interpretation of that singular word. Some literally talked about the face and its many expressions while some spoke of the ubiquitous culture of saving face. Some speeches were heavily laden with humour, some simply tugged at the heartstrings.

The competition were judged by Oxbridge members Simon Marshall, Andrew Caie and Emma Davidson. Each speech was evaluated in terms of content, presentation manner, speech structure and relevance.

Concurrently, the Essay Writing Competition was held with the participation of 22 schools from Klang Valley and Ipoh. 61 participants were put in an examination setting and they answered one of the five questions given.

The essays were screened by judges from Sunway University College led by Dr. Stephen Hall, the director of the Language Unit, where the six best entries were shortlisted and reviewed once again by a panel of Oxbridge judges which included Datuk Dr Paddy Bowie, Simon Marshall, Andrew Barber, Shawn Tan and Balraj Singh Bannu.

During an interval packed with activities, students were first given a tour of the campus which included the Tun Hussein Onn Library and the training restaurant. They then attended special lectures on effective writing and oral communication skills by several Oxbridge members. Later, students were given a talk by Dato’ Richard Small on application procedures and entry requirements into pre-eminent universities Oxford and Cambridge.
When the results were finally out, Margaret Hall, chairperson of the event, once again took to the stage to announce the winners.

Ishen Perumal who wrote an essay on how race, gender and/or social class help determine the circumstances of a person’s life, was the champion of the writing competition. Perumal represented SMK Methodist (ACS) Ipoh.

The champion of the much anticipated public speaking contest went to Vishnu Arvindran from SMK Taman Jasmin 2 who gave a heart-rending speech on the inner and outer face.

Both winners walked away with cash prizes each amounting to RM600, individual trophies, certificates of commendation from the Oxford and Cambridge Society Malaysia, and full tuition fee waiver for any pre-university programme in Sunway University College.

Winners for the Oxford and Cambridge Writing Competition:
Champion
Ishen Perumal (SMK Methodist (ACS), Ipoh)

1st runner-up
Parkashkumar Rajesekaran (Victoria Institution, KL)

2nd runner-up
Gan Ja Qian (SMK USJ 12, Selangor)

Consolation Prizes
Chen Liang Yi (SMJK Sam Tet, Ipoh)
Christal Wong (SMK Taman SEA, Selangor)
Fan Ray Aun (SMJK Katholik, Petaling Jaya)

Winners for the Oxford and Cambridge Public Speaking Competition:

Champion
Vishnu Arvindran (SMK Taman Jasmin 2)

1st runner-up
Nicholas Lim (SMJK Katholik, Petaling Jaya)

2nd runner-up
Loo Han Rong (Chong Hwa Independent High School, KL)

Consolation Prizes
Joash Ong (SMK Sultan Abdul Samad, Petaling Jaya)
Kailash Kalairasu (SMK St. John’s)
Daniel Ong (SMK Damansara Jaya)

This event was jointly organised by Sunway University College, and the Oxford and Cambridge Society of Malaysia.