Introduction of English Tutorial Programme, English Public Speaking Competition and Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition
In line with the spirit of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) – Nurturing the Seeds of Wisdom, Sunway Group is a strong advocate of education and works hand in hand with JCF, the largest social enterprise for education in Malaysia, to support and raise the overall academic standards in Malaysia.As Education is also one of Sunway’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) key pillars to provide sustainable and quality education, Sunway Group initiated the Sunway English Language Development Programme with the commencement of the English Tutorial Programme in 2013 for the students of SMK Bandar Sunway - the first school to be adopted by Sunway Group in 1995. Partnering with Jeffrey Cheah Foundation and Sunway University, the English Tutorial Programme is designed to improve English language speaking proficiency and address the challenges of learning English in the national school curriculum.
Since 2014, SMK Bandar Sunway students are also encouraged to participate in the annual English Public Speaking Competition organised by Sunway to instill confidence among students to improve their English proficiency, communication and public speaking skills.
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| Sunway English Public Speaking Competition 2014, a culmination of a 10-week English Tutorial Programme |
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| One of the public speaking workshops with the lecturers of Sunway University CELS, student volunteers and SMK Bandar Sunway English teachers |
“English is the second language for these students, hence they have to keep practising, exploring and reading more for pleasure. We all need to improve our vocabulary and keep on building our general knowledge, if we are to be empowered with English as an International Language. We also believe learning should be positive and fun and these students had a positive attitude which helped them excel in the public speaking competition.”
Professor Stephen Hall, Head, Sunway University Centre for English Language Studies
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| From left: SMK Bandar Sunway students Roshan Firrdaus b. Mikail Yahya, Nor Safwani bt. Ibrahim and Preity A/P Moorthy |
“By joining the workshops and the competition, I have not only learnt skills that can carry me throughout my life and possibly a public speaker in the near future, but I also feel more confident now.”Through this competition, Sunway also discovered the potential of young talented students and nurturing them to become future high calibre speakers. These include SMK Bandar Sunway students Siah Ren Jun and Arvinratnam A/L Navaratnam, who were the champion and consolation winners of the Sunway English Public Speaking Competition 2014 respectively. They have progressed to participate in the national-level 2015 Oxford & Cambridge Society Malaysia/Sunway University Public Speaking Competition. Arvinratnam was successfully shortlisted as the finalist of the competition while Siah Ren Jun was selected to participate in the Petaling Perdana District Level Public Speaking Competition.
Preity A/P Moorthy, First Prize Winner of Sunway English Public Speaking Competition 2015
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| From left: SMK Bandar Sunway students Arvinratnam A/L Navaratnam and Siah Ren Jun, who were also the emcee and guest speakers at the English Public Speaking Competition 2015 |
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| The success of Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition 2014 with the top 26 winners, witnessed by Deputy Minister of Education YB P. Kamalanathan |
“This competition made me realise that having a strong command of the English language is a huge advantage which will open many doors, and English proficiency is no longer an entitlement but a necessity.”
Leong Whye Ye, First Prize Winner of Sunway-Oxbridge Essay Competition 2014 (Category B)
About Sunway Group
Established in 1974, Sunway Group is one of Malaysia’s leading public listed property-construction corporations with 12 businesses across 50 locations worldwide and a 13,000 strong employee base.Community builder, Entrepreneurial, and Enriching Lives remain Sunway’s principal tenets as the group continues to transform lives through its core businesses of Property, Construction, and synergistic businesses of Hospitality, Retail, Leisure, Commercial, Trading & Manufacturing, Building Materials, Quarrying, Healthcare, Education and Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).
Underscoring its deep commitment to sustain the communities it builds, Sunway Group supports its communities with its social responsibility endeavours of far-reaching impact championed by Education, Healthcare and Community Aid, Reach-out and Enrichment (C.A.R.E.) programmes.
For more information on Sunway Group, please visit www.sunway.com.my.
About Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF)
Jeffrey Cheah Foundation is the first-of-its-kind in Malaysia within the field of private higher education, modeled along the lines of one of the oldest and most eminent universities in the world, Harvard University. The ownership and equity rights of the Sunway Education Group’s learning institutions, namely, Sunway University, Monash University Malaysia, Jeffrey School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sunway Colleges, Sunway TES Centre for Accountancy Excellence, Sunway International School and others have officially and legally been transferred to the Foundation, valued at more than RM720 million.Governed by a distinguished board of nine trustees, the Foundation aims to safeguard the institutions in perpetuity by ensuring that the assets and operating surpluses are used to perpetuate the cause of providing and sustaining quality education for present and future generations of students. It continues the mandate of the Sunway Education Trust established in March 1997, and both entities have disbursed in excess of RM165 million in scholarships to more than 20,000 students to-date.
Jeffrey Cheah Foundation was launched on 18 March 2010 by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, in the presence of its Royal Patron, H.R.H. The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj.