Sports School Promotes Good English Speaking Through SSPodcast

Light-hearted banter between “Kaya” and “Toast” greeted Singapore Sports School student-athletes over the public address (PA) system on the morning of 22 April 2021 during the launch of SSPodcast.

During the 5 minute-long recording, Kaya and Toast talked about two popular local dishes in Singapore, namely Nasi Lemak and Chicken Rice, explaining their origins and several famous shops and restaurants that serve the dishes. This first episode which delved into the topic of food was presented shooter Maxx Lee Yu Wei (“Toast”) and track and field student-athlete Ng Jing Ni (“Kaya”), both International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) Year 6 student-athletes.

The SSPodcast aims to enhance the speaking skills of student-athletes and encourage them to be more expressive and articulate in voicing their views and thoughts. Student-athletes will pair up to research on a topic of their choice before scripting and recording the podcast. Topics can range from food, fashion, and celebrity culture to mental health, and sports and competitions. The podcasters will engage in lively banter and conversations about issues that they feel strongly about. Student-athletes are encouraged to use a wide range of vocabulary and idioms in conveying their thoughts.

“Since it was the first time I was tasked to present a ‘speech’ to the whole school, I was quite nervous. However, I found the experience enjoyable as this allowed me to experience different things, also allowing me to ameliorate both my writing skills and speaking skills,” said Maxx.

“I found working together with my partner the most enjoyable. We do not have many classes in common, so the process of planning and recording of the podcast presented us with opportunities to interact. This was an essential part of the podcast because being able to communicate well with my teammate would allow us to be more fluent and natural, thus making the podcast more enjoyable to listen to and definitely more enjoyable to create.”

On top of the academic benefit, the initiative also drew some lessons in life skills. Maxx shared that embarking on the project taught him better time management as it meant an additional load beyond his sport and academic commitments, requiring him to better prioritise his daily tasks.

A second episode that touched on mental health and preparing for examinations was aired on 30 April, ahead of the mid-year examinations that begin on 4 May.