GROWING up with animated shows like “Barbie” and “Tangled”, teenager Khairunnisaa Afiqah Ahmad Khairi developed a penchant for the English language at a tender age.
The 13-year-old student’s habit of speaking English as well as her articulation had earned her the nickname of “British” among her school friends.
“With the encouragement of my teachers and parents, I started participating in various competitions such as those for public and choral speaking, and spelling since I was in Year Four.
“When I was in primary school, I won the Pontian district-level competition “Dare to Spell” for three consecutive years from Years Four to Six.
“Recently, I won first place in the Johor-level “Dare to Spell” challenge,” she said when interviewed by StarMetro.
Khairunnisaa, who goes to SMK Dato’ Ali Haji Ahmad in Pontian, Johor, said it was her primary school teacher Siti Munirah Ismail who first discovered her potential and kickstarted her journey.
Being a bookworm had also helped Khairunnisaa, whose parents introduced her to book series such as “Geronimo Stilton” and “Diary of A Wimpy Kid” when she was four.
“In school, I practise the habit of always carrying along a book to read whenever I have free time like during recess or while waiting for a teacher to arrive.
“I also love reading John Grisham’s legal thrillers.
“His courtroom novels make me challenge myself to achieve beyond the standard baseline of English proficiency.
“These inspire me to work towards becoming a prosecutor one day,” she said.
The Form One student said her parents’ support – whether in giving her guidance and advice, or taking time off from work to drive her to competitions – had been crucial in enabling her to continue striving.
She hopes to see more English competitions being organised so that students like her will have more avenues to further improve in the language.
“With a better command of the language, a student can become more confident in public speaking and writing essays or reports, as they can convey their message more effectively.
“English is a strong medium of communication to connect with people from all around the world,” the teenager added.
Meanwhile, JCorp Foundation chief executive officer Zaidatul Zurita Abdul Rahman said the “Dare To Spell” challenge was part of the two-day Johor English Language Carnival.
The event was organised by the foundation in collaboration with the state education department.
The carnival featured six competitive events involving 242 students from 11 education districts where champions from primary and secondary schools took part in Scrabble and “Dare to Spell” competitions, poetry recitations, public speaking, storytelling and mini documentaries.
Zaidatul said the initiative was part of the foundation’s commitment to educational excellence and aimed to enhance English language proficiency among students across Johor.
“We hope that having healthy competition between schools can boost academic performance, produce confident communicators and encourage parental involvement in education,” she said.
Zaidatul said the foundation also held its second state-level choral speaking competition with a theme “Youth empowerment for sustainable development”.
“With competitions like these, we aim to harness the energy, creativity and innovation of young people.
“The participants also showcased their talents and ideas, emphasising the importance of youth involvement in addressing environmental, social, and economic challenges,” she added.
A total of 440 primary and secondary students participated in the choral speaking competition.
Since 2016, JCorp Foundation and the Johor Education Department had collaborated on various English programmes, including the development of English modules for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia students and primary school tuition projects in rural and urban areas.
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