My niece, Mithraa and nephew, Rohan visit me every school holiday. Yes, they do love me that much. We’ve been to USS, River Safari, Legoland and Legoland… well, you get the gist.
So being the good aunt that I clearly am, I thought they should do something educational instead and enrolled them into Public Speaking Holiday Camp at Speech Academy Asia.
When they first heard about it, they both didn’t share any of my enthusiasm. You see, Mithraa is very shy. Rohan, on the other hand is extremely fearless but his idea of a holiday is to sleep in and play. After some persuasion on my sister part, they finally gave in and agreed to attend the camp
I truly believe being able to speak eloquently is more important than academic excellence. Good speech and linguistics skills help in all aspects of life, from professional life to social life. Have you noticed that most successful people in the world are also brilliant communicators? How are you going to communicate your great ideas and lead others if you are shy and uncomfortable speaking in front of others?
How does it work
Conducted over 2 days, we (my sis and I) dropped the kids off at Speech Academy Asia office in the morning, went shopping and picked them up at 4pm. It gives us much needed adults-only time to catch up. The program is perfect for parents who wants to get rid of their kids aged 5 to 16 over the school holidays.
As for the kids, I was told by my niece and nephew, they had an introduction session, followed by a get to know your camp mates game. There were team building war games, and other confidence building and speaking exercises as well. By the way, lunch is provided too.
But what amazed me is that both Mithraa and Rohan can’t wait to go back the next day. My shy niece even made a few friends. To put into context, she has only 1 friend after being in her new school for a whole year.
At the end of 2nd day, there is a graduation ceremony where parents get to watch before and after speech video of each of the participant. The trainer shares each child’s strengths and weaknesses in the session too. I was present and I must say I was very impressed with the improvement shown by kids.
To watch a ‘before’ and ‘after’ video, click here.
Kids’s verdict
Me: So kids, did you have fun? What do you think of the camp? Would you like to attend again?
Mithraa (9 years old): Hmm.. ok.
Me: What did you learn?
Mithraa: Teacher said I must speak louder. Look into the camera and be aware of my hand movement when I speak.
Rohan (7 years old): Yes! Yes! Yes! (He told his mom he wants to study in Singapore. He thought schools in Singapore are conducted like the camp and in his own words – “It is awesome!”)
Parent’s (my sister’s) verdict
Mithraa’s and Rohan’s ‘after’ speeches are definitely clearer and shown much improvement. Whether they will remember the techniques and pointers, I supposed it is up to the individual child and their parents to continue working on their strengths and weaknesses.
What do you think? Would you send your kids to such programme?
What a burst of confidence for young people!
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/04/bluebird-breakfast.html
What a burst of confidence for young people!
Thanks for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2015/04/bluebird-breakfast.html
I love this. What a great program to offer to young children because so many of them have a fear of public speaking. This is a great way to give them confidence. Wish we had something like this in the U.S..
I wish they had this when I was a kid too. I remember taking part in story telling and singing contest really helped me to get comfortable on stage too.
I wish they had this when I was a kid too. I remember taking part in story telling and singing contest really helped me to get comfortable on stage too.
I wish they had this when I was a kid too. I remember taking part in story telling and singing contest really helped me to get comfortable on stage too.
Ammm….. I want to send AJ there too!!! 🙂
I need this because I have problem speaking in front of a crowd.
They have programmes for adults too. Check out their website for info. I have no problem doing public speaking but it would be good to have professionals critique my body language, voice projection etc. We go together? 🙂
Great move for adults and kids! It really speaks a lot for them to come every hols to your place! Thanks for sharing.
I agree that being able to speak eloquently is an important skill! I think it’s worth sending the girl to such a holiday camp (when she is older, i.e.) 😉
I laughed so hard when your nephew thought that school in Singapore is like this holiday camp! Aiyoh, if only our schools allowed our kids such interactive, ‘noisy’ learning – there is such a dichotomy now where kids have to be quiet in class but still have to demonstrate good presentation and public speaking skills.
Haha…i wish all schools like this holiday camp! Fun and interactive ;p
Is a really good program to train kids to speak and how to present themselves. Will check it out!