On 13 January 2020, Ms Zeena (Head, Intensive English Programme) under the Centre for Foundation and General Studies (CFGS) organised the Intensive English Programme (IEP) and English Preparatory Course (EPC) Debate Championship 2020. Held at Block 11 from 9.00am to 2.00pm, the event began with the welcoming speech and briefing on the debate rules delivered by Ms Zeena. Director of CFGS, Ms Nalinah A/P Poongavanam, the IEP and EPC students as well as lecturers attended this event.
Two groups of IEP students (Levels 2 and 3) and EPC students (Levels 1 and 2) competed against each other in two rounds. Prior to the first round, Ms Nalinah gave a motivational speech to the debaters. The debaters were trained by Ms Zeena as part of the Speaking subject and they had spent countless hours practicing before the competition. All debaters were challenged to think critically about a range of topics, from health to technology.
In the first round of the competition, the IEP Level 3 team, represented by Cui Shangbin, Wang Xieling and Zhang Hezhou opposed the motion ‘Television does more harm than good to children’ against the IEP Level 2’s team Aljaberi Ahmed Saeed Salem, Al Zahli Talal Abdullah Mohammed and Suo Qiang. The IEP Level 2 team defeated the IEP Level 3 team and hence was qualified to compete in the final round.
As for the EPC teams, the EPC Level 2 was selected to participate in the final round after defeating the EPC Level 1 team in the second round on the topic ‘Cigarettes should be banned from the society’. The EPC Level 2 team consisted of Al Abry Mudathir Issa Nassor, Akbar Fadhlani Nursandi and Abrar Abdalla Tawfig Salih while Ali S M Emon, Liu Mingjun and Elmegdad Mohmed Elsheikh Elboshra represented the EPC Level 1 team.
The main objectives of this event were to inspire students to think out of the box, develop persuasive skills and innovative reasoning while harnessing their creative potential. This event also provided the students the opportunity to develop their ability to present their ideas while exposing them to new challenges.
The competition was judged by Ms Nalinah and Ms Zeena. Both the IEP Level 2 and EPC Level 2 team perceived the final round as the toughest; however, they kept challenging each other in order to win the champion award.
In the final round of the competition on the topic ‘Social media has improved human communication’, the IEP Level 2 team defeated the EPC Level 2 team and hence emerged as the champion. They took home a trophy and medal awarded by Ms Nalinah. Al Abry Mudathir Issa Nassor from the EPC Level 2 team won the ‘Best speaker’ award.
The debaters were passionate, smart, dedicated, hard working and showed an outstanding performance throughout the championship. CFGS is extremely proud of the accomplishments of all the debaters. The event ended with a closing speech by Ms. Nalinah, followed by a photo session at 1.45pm. The event was an enlightening experience for all the students!