English Research Showcase

Reported by ELC

       The English research showcase is back with more interesting topics this year and the Junior class students also got to present their mini research at the Presentation Hall of the Science and Technology Tower! The Senior Two and Senior Three English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes successfully showcased their research on two consequent days on 3rd and 4th July, followed by Junior Two and Three classes on the 5th and 6th July, 2017.

       Mdm Ng Swee Geok, the principal and Mdm Boo, the vice-principal and head of ELC, launched the EAP Showcase themed ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’ on the 3rd July at 9.05 am. This event was witnessed by the EAP participants, students and ELC teachers. 

       Soon after the launch, teachers and students visited the booths which had interesting topics ranging from school matters and right up to students’ personalities. All participants not only presented with confidence, but they also displayed very informative information in their posters. Some had even come up with photo booth ideas related to their topic of presentation. At the Presentation Hall, creative posters with various designs, colours and sizes were put up to display their content.

       Meanwhile, it was the first time for ELC to organise Junior Research Showcase. The research project was first introduced to Junior One students in 2015. Junior One students were exposed to some basic research skills, academic writing and setting of

questionnaires . In 2016, both Junior One and Two students had an opportunity to carry out with their research assignments with more structured guidelines. This year all students of Junior level have involved themselves in research writing and conducting surveys under the guidance of ELC teachers. Different requirements are set for different levels so as to raise standards in all students. It is commendable that all research papers are done in Google Drive using Google apps like Docs, Sheet, Slide and Form where collaboration is enhanced. This helps to promote ICT literacy among all students of Hin Hua High School.

       Many teachers and students turned up to support the presenters during these four days. The Research Showcase for both the Junior and Senior levels has given opportunity to participants to develop their fluency and confidence further in speaking English outside the classroom.

       The objectives of carrying out research in both the Junior and Senior levels are to teach learners to practise research skills in order to promote inquiry based learning and to use academic language and style appropriately. It also helps to promote collaboration skills among our students. By the end of the course, these students are able to produce a comprehensive research paper. Learning activities mainly focus on writing, reading, grammar and vocabulary development, oral presentation skills, research skills and web literacy as well as ethical considerations when carrying out research. In EAP research papers, students are also taught referencing system and paraphrasing skills. This also gives opportunity on the development of critical thinking skills. By engaging in such activities, students will have gained increased understanding in using English to communicate in academic contexts by the time they step into the tertiary level.

       This time, we also managed to collect feedback from both the Senior and Junior presenters on the overall showcase. From the feedback gathered, presenters were satisfied with the response and comments they received from both the teachers and students. They also suggested promoting this event through the social media and having it at the Ren Ai Square to draw more crowds. According to one of the presenters, the showcase is a good way to communicate ideas among teachers, students and visitors. This is also a good way to elevate self-confidence among the students when presenting in English.

Kimberly Yee Xin Wei (J2 Melbourne)

       The showcase was a new experience for me. We did a research on students' sleeping hours and how it affects their subject grades as well as concentration in class. I would like to share a little information from our findings. From our findings, students replied that they don't get enough sleep because they are under stress.  This could be because they don't manage their time well and too much school work is given by teachers. This made me realise that I as a student, need to have my own schedule so that I can manage my time properly. This research showcase is definitely an eye opener for me as well as for the other participants.

Ng Yu Jing (J2 Melbourne)

       Well, from the research showcase, I have learned many things and most importantly I got a chance to improve my communication skills. I realised that we (my group members & I) need to improve a lot when it comes to communicating with teachers spontaneously. From the questions teachers posed to us during the showcase, I understood that giving answers spontaneously based on our understanding is more effective than memorising something and regurgitating it. I was able to communicate with the teachers and students openly and without any restrictions as I knew what I was doing. Adding on to that, the teachers gave us some suggestions on how we could improve our research. Hence, I would like to thank everyone for giving us this opportunity.

Leng Yu Cheng (S2 Washington)

       Along with my team members, I express gratitude towards the opportunity given to present our research in the EAP Showcase . It was a great experience sharing something we feel deep about towards the crowd. Throughout the showcase our initial prospect was to spread social awareness about the subject, “ostracism”, which means students being socially rejected by their peers. This showcase has broadened our exposure, from the aspect of speaking to the crowd to reporting the research confidently. Finally, I would like to thank my teammates for their cooperation to make this research a huge success and our teacher, Ms Prem, for her support along the way .