USM PENANG, 16 June 2023 – Seeing your effort comes to fruition will surely bring happiness to those who have done their best.

This is what Test Centre Malaysia hopes to see on the faces of the young writers, who have put their creative writing hats on and produce their work of fiction in a book as part of a compilation of stories.

Working together with judges and editor from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Languages, Literacies and Translation (PPBLT), Test Centre Malaysia have spent the last six months ensuring that the final outcome of the project would be worth everyone’s while, more so the young writers who had undergone writing workshops, and listening to inputs from industry experts relevant to the project.

Test Centre Malaysia Managing Director, Ezani Amir and his colleague were at PPBLT to present complimentary copies of the book to the academic staff of PPBLT, 8 of them as pre-screening judges along with the book editor, Nadia Roselilyana Noordin.

According to Ezani, it is good to be able to hold this competition the second time around.

“When it was first held, the environment was quite ‘depressing’ due to COVID-19. Now however, more engagements could be done to uplift the spirits of the students and spur their creativity, and to allow them to put their ideas into words better,” he said.

Dean of PPBLT, Professor Dr. Salasiah Che Lah was there to express her gratitude to Test Centre Malaysia for extending the opportunity to the staff at PPBLT.

“It is truly a different kind of experience, to be involved in such a project. Aside from teaching, the staff gained exposure in evaluating essays that were written in a creative manner by secondary school students.”

The compilation of stories, entitled “50 Short Stories on Saving Marine Life” is part of the We Ocean Warrior (WOW) TOEFL Short Story Writing Competition held last year.

It is a collaborative effort between Test Centre Malaysia and the Marine Life Conservation Society (MALCONS), in conjunction with the Royal Pahang International Billfish Competition. This book is the second to be published under the WOW series.

Others involved in the project are Malaysian teachers who are ETS certified TOEFL Young Student Series Master Trainers.

615 original essays were received from participants in 77 participating schools for the competition, and the best 50 essays with the theme ‘Marine Life Conservation’ were then selected to be part of the book.

The project has also received the support of the Ministry of Education, Malaysia.

Test Centre Malaysia is the country representative of Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Malaysia. It conducts fair, valid and reliable proficiency-based assessments for professionals as well as academic candidates. In Malaysia, it is managed by Eshia & Associates Sdn Bhd, and as the ETS representative in Malaysia, Test Centre Malaysia supports a wide range of TOEIC and TOEFL test products.

Text: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin/Photo: PPBLT