Term Writing Assignment 4

Learning English through Pop Culture

Time allowed: 1 hr 10 minutes
The English Society is holding an advertisement competition to encourage students
to speak in English on the English Speaking Days. Students are required to design a
commercial of about 30 seconds to one minute. Entries of the competition have to
be in the form of an essay of about 400 words in which students have to describe the
ad by explaining the images, sounds and words used in the ad. They also need to
spell out the techniques they deploy and in what way the ads will appeal to the
target students. Write your entry.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5A Ho Ka Ming 9
With a view to arousing students awareness in speaking English on the English
Speaking Days, I have designed a commercial of about 30 seconds with the slogan of
How come you speak in Cantonese on the English Speaking Day?.
There are four settings in my designed commercial. The first one is in one of
the classrooms in our school during a recess time. The main character is a student in
our school. At the beginning, the camera pans around the classroom in which pack
with noisy students chatting in Cantonese. Then, the camera zooms in on the main
character that is in haste to go to toilet but she does not have tissue paper. She asks
her classmates at the top of her voice for tissue paper in Cantonese. All her
classmates put up their hands with tissue paper in no time. Abruptly, the setting
translates to other classroom in another school whereas the main character keeps
standing. The camera pans around the new classroom in which pack with another
noisy students chatting in English and wearing badges that said English Speaking
Day. Then, the camera zooms in on the main character. She asks once more exactly
the same as the first time. Nevertheless, no one responds to her. The setting converts
to a new classroom in another school. Identical event happens. The setting alters to
another new classroom. This time, she asks in English. Thousands of tissue papers
are in front of her. Suddenly, the setting shifts back to the original classroom. She
asks yet again in English. All her classmates ask at all that how come she speaks in
English. The main character replies, How come you speak in Cantonese on the
English Speaking Day?.
This commercial is not an animated cartoon but is acted by our schoolmates and
filmed in real classrooms. This can get students attention as students are familiar
with them and thus this allows students to have the sense of belonging. Some

classrooms in other schools are filmed, and thus students will further be attracted
owing to their curiosity about the design other classrooms. There is no background
music, but is only full of Cantonese and English dialogue. In this way, there are no
distractions. As for the slogan, the word you, which is ranked first among all the
advertising words, can catch students attention. What is more, the slogan is a
question that encourages students to think about what the answer is. Students may
then realize that their answers are merely excuse, and thus initiate to speak English.
A special technique called peer pressure is deployed. This technique makes us
feel that if we do not do this activity, we will be left out of the group. Teenagers are
more susceptible to peer pressure owing to the mental influence of adolescence. In
the ad, all students except those in our school are used to speak in English in the
English Speaking Days. It is sure that our students will find it embarrassed to speak in
Cantonese in these days and then switch their channel after the ad is broadcasted.
In short, this ad will appeal to the students due to the familiar images which are
students and classmates, a reflective slogan and a technique called peer pressure.