EF Spelling Bee 2023, A Forum For Referring To Children's Skills And Confidence In English Language Successfully Held

Photo: Doc. EF Kids & Teens Indonesia

JAKARTA - EF Kids & Teens Indonesia successfully held the 2023 Spelling Bee EF, a competition for testing participant skills in remembering and spelling words in English. This prestigious and largest event in Indonesia is intended for participants with an Elementary School (SD) and Junior High School (SMP) education range. The regional-level Spelling Bee EF has been held simultaneously on September 9 - October 22, 2023, and has succeeded in involving more than 16 thousand participants from 35 cities in Indonesia.

Regional competition cities include Jabodetabek, Bengkulu, Pekanbaru, Samarinda, Balikpapan, Purwokerto, Cilegon, Banjarmasin, Sukabumi, Cirebon, Malang, Gresik, Kediri, Jember, Surabaya, Sidoarjo, Bali, Lombok, Bandung, Palembang, Lampung, Pekalongan, Tegal, Yogyakarta, Solo, Semarang, Makassar, Manado, Medan, Padang, and Pontianak.

From the qualifying stage, more than 800 participants qualified for the national level. At the national level, participants had to go through pre-elimination before finally entering the grand final which was held in Jakarta on November 4. Those who entered the grand final were divided into four groups with classification: Group A (class 1-2SD); Group B (class 3-4 SD); Group C (Class 5-6 SD); and Group D (class 1-3 SMP).

Afan Suryadi, Country Director of EF English First Kids & Teens, said the competition was in line with EF's commitment to support human development through education and help children improve their English skills.

"We hope that EF Spelling Bee can continue to inspire, motivate Indonesian children to improve English skills and mastery, as one of the skills they need in welcoming the future. This 16th EF Schelling Bee is also a form of EF support for the Indonesia Gold 2045 program," he said, in a written statement, Tuesday, November 7.

It is known that the government is currently preparing Indonesia Gold 2045 with a long-term vision, namely realizing Indonesia as a developed country. Some of the main points in this vision cover various aspects of national development and progress.

One of these programs emphasizes the importance of improving the quality of Indonesian human resources through better education, training, and skills development. Thus this can affect the level of competitiveness of Indonesian human resources at the global level.

In the context of the development and development of the Indonesian people, several thoughts and ideas related to English skills include English mastery of contributing to cross-border communication and becoming a global skill, opening up opportunities including access to foreign education programs and transferring science to the country, introducing culture and promoting Indonesia's potential to the global sphere, and others.

On the other hand, Marketing Director of EF Kids & Teens Amalia Yaksa Parijata also said that the 2023 EF Schelling Bee Competition received great enthusiasm from potential participants in any area of the EF operating.

"Every year EF Spelling Bee Competition receives a great welcome from parents and prospective participants. Competition like this is good to be a forum for children and the younger generation to develop their potential through English. This year, for the first time we were able to re-organize competition events both at the regional and national levels on-site. As a result, we saw a significant increase in the number of participants which rose by more than 40% from the previous year," explained Amalia.

Since it was first held in 2003, EF Spelling Bee has become a forum to hone children's skills and build confidence in English in public. Through the EF Schelling Bee Competition, EF also invites parents to participate actively in the development of the Indonesian nation by providing the best education for children from an early age.

These are the winners of the 2023 Spelling Bee EF from each group. Group A; Kate Daniella Kurniawan (Juara 1), Humaira Rububiyah (Juara 2), Syafa Aldira Ritwany (Juara 3); Group B: Aisha Nabila Narestwari Nur, Tavisha Danurdara Wijanarko, Naura Almaira Azzahra; Group C: Moammar Emperor Padalas, Nathanael Ehud Wang, Noah Fidelo Orrick; Group D: Sean Matthew Anaya Napitupulu, Arwen Shafa, Aaron▁Walaupun Mulyadi.