Brunei English Language Teachers' Association

Looking back on 2006

2006-12-11T10:39:00.001+08:00

Hello members,

Hope all of you are in the best of health and enjoying your well-deserved holidays!

It's been a fantastic start to a new term, as the new executive committee (2006-2008) presided by Ckg Hjh Aishah binti Hj Muhd Husain took on two projects proposed by the exiting committee, namely, the 2nd BELTA Spelling Competition and the 1st BELTA Drama Festival.

The 2^nd BELTA Spelling Competition was open to all the primary schools in the Brunei Muara District. 69 schools, each represented by two pupils, took part in the preliminary rounds which were simultaneously held in 5 different zones across the district. The finalists from the preliminary rounds then proceeded to the Grand Finals which was held at the Multi-Purpose Hall at Universiti Brunei Darussalam on the 8th November 2006, to compete to be the best speller in the district.

BELTA also held its first Drama Festival for primary school children in the Tutong district soon after the Spelling Competition. 110 schoolchildren from 5 primary schools in the district wowed the audience with their delightful and unforgettable performances. The event was sponsored and supported by Malai Covus Sdn Bhd, CfBT Education Services Sdn Bhd and the Brunei Amateur Dramatic Society (BADS).

The association ended the year on a merry note, as we celebrated the efforts and hard work of members at the first ever BELTA Annual Dinner at The Holiday Lodge, Jerudong. Members were treated to performances by Hj Zaidie, a teacher as well as member, Mariah, a student from STPRI, dances by students from SMPDSM, as well as musical performances by Cikgu Abdoh from JPKK and his band. There were also lucky draws which saw members walking away with great prizes generously sponsored by The Holiday Lodge, Kasco, Syarikat Perusahaan Asnika, Solitude at The Mall, Ahan Thai Restaurant, JL Jewellery, Studio Scene, Shahdon Style Icon, Booklane Enterprise, Chang Ein Hong Watch Dealers, Hj Awg Damit bin Hj Osman (Tang Sun Lee Sdn Bhd) and BELTA members.

On behalf of BELTA, I’d like to thank all the members as well as individuals who had worked tirelessly to see these events through, and without whom things would not have gone so smoothly.

See you in the new year!

Joanna Kwan

2nd BELTA Spelling Competition Grand Finals 2006

2006-12-11T10:33:00.000+08:00

E-N-D-E-A-V-O-U-R.

That was one of the words to be spelt in the 2nd BELTA Spelling Competition Grand Finals at the Multipurpose Hall of Universiti Brunei Darussalam on 8th November 2006. And endeavoured the five finalists did to spell the challenging words posed to them.

This year, the competition was open to all primary schools in the Brunei-Muara district, with each participating schools sending two representatives to compete at zone levels. A total number of 138 pupils took part. Five schools played host for the zone rounds of the event on 18th October 2006: SR Mabohai (Brunei 1), SR Dato Marsal (Brunei 2), SR Kiarong (Brunei 3), SR Junjongan (Brunei 4), Chung Hwa Middle School (Private Schools). The winner of each zone then proceeded to compete in the Grand Finals. Patricia Chong from St Andrew’s School spelt her way to the top and emerged as champion with a perfect score in the Grand Finals that was held

Prior to the first spelling competition, there were very few areas relating to English Language learning for primary school children to compete in. With this event, and the 1st BELTA Drama Festival that was held in Tutong the same month, BELTA endeavours to fill part of this void and provide the pupils with fun and enjoyable English Language learning events.

It is hoped that primary schools are now encouraged to organize their own spelling competitions and do even more to promote the learning of the English language enjoyably and successfully.

The new Executive Committee

2006-12-11T08:55:00.000+08:00

BELTA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2006-2008

President
Dyg Hajah Aishah binti Haji Muhammad Husain

Vice-President
Dyg Hajah Ardinah binti OKMB Haji Othman

Hononary Secretary
Joanna Kwan Pei Yun

Assistant Secretary
Dyg Hajah Lena binti Mohd Hassan

Treasurer
Dyg Hajah Hazlina binti Haji Mohammad

Assistant Treasurer
Dyg Rasimah binti Haji Abang

Ordinary Members
Dyg Hajah Siti Salawati binti Haji Abu Hanifah
Dyg Siti Rafeah binti Mohamed Ismail
Awg Ilham bin Abdul Hamid
Dyg Hajah Sorianasalwa binti Haji Mornie
Dyg Fatin Nurhaipa binti Abdullah Payong

2006-10-28T09:42:00.000+08:00

Wishing all our Muslim members

Selamat Hari Raya

Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Hello!

2006-10-27T22:28:00.000+08:00

Yup, the Brunei English Language Teachers' Association (BELTA) has finally joined the blogosphere!

BELTA, a voluntary, non-profit, non-government organization, started off as Brunei Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (BATEFL) in April 1973, with the aims of promoting teaching of English Language as a foreign language in schools in Brunei, and promoting and fostering friendly goodwill and mutual understanding among teachers of English in Brunei.

Among the many events that BATEFL organized were competitions such as for Road Safety, Spelling Bee, Scrabble, Song & Rhyme, workshops and talks for professional development, annual book exhibitions, and annual conferences on various themes and with guest speakers from RELC, Singapore and British Council, Kuala Lumpur.

It was active for three years until 1976 when it became inactive. It was not until the late 1990s that efforts were made to revive BATEFL. BATEFL finally resumed its operations in December 2003 and assumed the new name BELTA in April 2004. In its first 2 years, BELTA has organized conferences and spelling competitions with many more events coming soon.

The new and current executive committee was elected in August earlier this year (2006), with Dyg Hjh Aishah binti Hj Muhammad Husain, the Director of Curriculum Development Department, as President. It currently has over 200 members.

For information on upcoming events, you can visit the BELTA Calendar .

Regards,
Joanna Kwan
Secretary
belta.sec@gmail.com