English Day 2018

Seated on chair, from right: Sivashankar, Yogesvary, Melissa, Dr Tneh with Dr Swagata (standing in the middle with black shirt), lecturers and participants

A classic yet fun “English Day 2018” was held by the Faculty of Creative Industries’ (FCI) Department of Modern Languages on 6 July 2018 at Sungai Long Campus. The two and a half hour event was a school-days-memory-prompter as it lined up talent shows, competition and pop quizzes.

Present at the event were Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Founder and Managing Director of First Ray Sdn Bhd Sivashankar Krishnapillai, FCI Dean Dr David Tneh Cheng Eng, Head of Student Affairs Department (Sungai Long Campus) Loh Nyuk Leung, Centre for Foundation Studies Director (Sungai Long Campus) Melissa Stefanie Netto, Head of Modern Languages Department Yogesvary Alahakone, English Day 2018 Chairperson Dr Swagata Sinha Roy, staff and students.

Prof Ewe said, “The event aimed to foster the use of English among UTAR students. It also meant to encourage the students to not only speak in English but use it as creatively as possible.” He also recalled his first encounter with a native speaker where he had to repeat himself a few times despite being able to speak in English, “Sometimes it can be nerve-wracking but you have to overcome this fear. Don’t be afraid of incorrect pronunciation. Just continuously practice using English. The more you try, the more interesting it becomes.” He also suggested some fun ways of learning English, such as avoiding dubbed movies and participating in the talent shows and quizzes.

“We are going to celebrate English. We organised this event to show that learning, knowing and using English can be fun,” said Yogesvary in her welcome speech. She also thanked the lecturers from the Department of Modern Languages who had tirelessly prepared for the event and student helpers for their time and energy.

The event witnessed 10 participants competing for the cash prizes worth RM700 by showcasing their talents through poem recitals, singing, jokes, storytelling and drama. The competition was fierce with laughter and applaud taking turns as the competitors did their best in impressing the fellow judges and the audience.

Ramerswaran reciting a poem titled “LOVE LIE DEAD”

Yuva Dharshini Muraleekaran delivering her powerful speech titled “Life As It Is”

Lee Fook Leng plucking strings while singing a song

A poem titled “Hidden Friends” was recited by Mahfaz Ahwas

“Jubilant Crescendo” drama was about the sacrifice made for love

May Lee showcasing her talent in poetry

“The Psychopath” stand-up comedy by Ti-Teng Hui brought laughter to the audience

Nicol Phuan Hui Yi delivering a poem titled “The Worst Enemy”

A musical drama that reminded the audience to follow their dreams

Alvinder Singh reciting his original poem titled “Demons”

Hui won the first place and took home RM300 for his stand-up comedy titled “The Psychopath”. He tickled the audiences’ funny bones by recalling his experience with his ex-girlfriend whom he labelled as a psychopath. A drama titled “Jubilant Crescendo” by Jeremy Leong Zhung Zen, Nandakumara Vegean, Ramerswaren Narayanan and their team won the first runner-up and took home cash prize worth RM200. Following in the third place with RM100 cash prize was Alvinder with his poem that exposed the dark side of himself. Besides the main prizes, Hui also won RM100 for the audience choice award.

The event then proceeded with an even more anticipated event of the evening, pop quiz. The quiz saw a full participation and concentration from the groups as they put their English language and general knowledge to test, while planning a strategy to accumulate the most points to win some prizes. 

Participants sitting in groups to discuss their best answer for the quiz

Students cheering after getting the right answer

A participant answering the quiz using a wireless keyboard

The quiz session provided a unique experience for the participants. The use of wireless keyboard system made the quiz even more interactive while allowing a large crowd to participate. It was handled by the man who developed the interactive quiz system, Sivashankar. He founded his company, First Ray Sdn Bhd, in the year 1996 after coming up with the idea of creating a multimedia-based game show to make gathering session more fun and impactful.

During the break session, Sivashankar also conducted an online mobile phone quiz that allowed everyone in the hall to participate via their smartphone.

English Day 2018 wrapped up with a prize-giving ceremony to the winners of the evening.

A student participating in the online mobile phone quiz

Sivashankar conducting the quiz

Dr Tneh presenting cash prizes to the Hui (top, left), “Jubilant Crescendo” drama team (top, right) and Alvinder (bottom) 

Sivashankar (white shirt) presenting prizes to the teams for first place (top, left), second place (top, right), third place (bottom, left) and online mobile phone quiz (bottom, right)