S.E.A. Aquarium and The Maritime Experiential Musuem were the official sponsors of Babble & Speak 2018. Organised by Nanyang Girls’ High School, Babble & Speak is an annual national speech competition that aims to promote the use of good English. The competition is open to students aged 10 – 12 and currently enrolled in primary schools in Singapore. Since its inception in 2016, Babble & Speak has steadily gained popularity, attracting participants from around 45 primary schools annually, with about 350 students and teachers attending the finals each year.
To participate, each student had to submit a one to two-minute video recording of themselves delivering a speech that begins with “A day in the life of… (a person or an animal or an object)”. The students were judged based on their delivery, content and X Factor.
This year, the theme was Under the Sea.
Inspirational tours and workshops
On 26 June, participants were taken on a guided tour through The Maritime Experiential Museum to provide them with inspiration for their speeches. This was followed by a series of workshops where participants picked up important skills and pointers such as vocal warm-up, how to think on their feet, ways to create a persuasive script, and tips on delivering an engaging speech.
An additional workshop was conducted for Primary 3 students who have been identified by their teachers as potential future contestants to develop skills crucial for competing.
An exciting finals
The finals were held on 6 July at Nanyang Girls’ High School Siew May Auditorium. Speak Good English Movement officers and representatives from MOE and NHB were invited to witness the event.
Just outside the auditorium, S.E.A. Aquarium’s Education Team set up a booth to engage students on marine life and conservation through topics such as sharks, corals and plastic pollution. They also gave away maritime craft sheets, which students can use to build their own Chinese Junk.
The finals comprised two segments – an Individual Category and a Team Challenge Category. For the Individual Category, all finalists were required to deliver a two to three-minute speech on one of these three topics:
- A journey with…
- Treasures
- If oceans could speak, it would say…
Participants were given 90 minutes to prepare their speeches and were judged based on their delivery, content and language use.
For the Team Challenge Category, finalists were grouped into teams of three on the spot. Each team was required to create a story based on the prompt they picked from a bag, all of which were related to an item found along the Maritime Silk Route (e.g. Silk). Each team member then had to speak for 30 seconds to a minute, and the team’s story must not exceed three minutes.
Here are the full list of winners. Congratulations to all finalists!
To pique students’ interest in the marine environment, S.E.A. Aquarium and The Maritime Experiential Museum are open to collaborative projects with schools. To indicate your interest, please write in to education@RWSentosa.com.
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