A Drama Reflection

By 4B CHAK HOI KI

   When I first read the story, I was immediately attracted by it.  It is a really creative story which combines two different stories from different cultures (Snow White and Mulan).  I thought the writer is really imaginative.  However, it was difficult for me to remember the script which I had never seen before, especially as I was the main character - Snow White - who had a lot of lines to learn.

     At the first rehearsal, the atmosphere was quite awkward, even embarrassing. As none of the characters had learnt their lines, we could only read the script rather clumsily. However all my classmates are responsible, and read the script quickly. As I was the main character, my performance was quite important, so I discussed the acting and stagecraft with others . Everyone asked me to act in what I thought was a very exaggerated way; I thought it was a difficult task for me. I was really shy and afraid to do it. Fortunately, my English teacher practised with me and helped me to solve the problem. After that, I started to devote myself to the play.

 Also, the props team started to design the props and background 'drops'. Most of my classmates stayed after school to help make them, even though they were not in the team. Through this, I could see my classmates were enthusiastic, proactive and keen to be involved in the drama. Luckily, everything was going smoothly.

      Day by day , the preparation for the play was slowly completed. We discussed the acting , sound effects and plot together to make final decisions. Finally, the day of the performance arrived.

  We arrived early in order to have enough time to get made up. As other classes had prepared very well, I was full of misgivings. Some of the stories were adapted from novels and their performances were really wonderful. Fortunately, our class also did a good job, and went wqithout a hitch.  The duration of the play was also just right. The lighting, sound effects and plot matched perfectly. We did it as well as in our rehearsals.

      Although we didn't get as good a mark as we wished, I learnt a lot through this drama competition. We improved our collaboration and communication skills, and we used our critical thinking ability to find the problems and solve them. Even  though it was quite sad not to win the competition, it was still a precious experience.

Song anaylsis - We Are the World (USA for Africa)

    by 5F Wong Tin Wing         

Name of song: We Are the World (USA for Africa)

Name of songwriter: Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie

Lyrics of song:

 There comes a time when we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We all are a part of God's great big family
And the truth, you know,
Love is all we need

[Chorus:]
 
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart so they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

[Chorus]
 
When you're down and out, there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe there's no way we can fall
Well...well...well
Let's realize that a change can only come
When we stand together as one

[Chorus]

Description of the theme and ideas:

The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie for the people who suffered from famine in Africa. They wanted to raise money for them by using this song. Therefore, the theme of the song is caring about and helping people in need.

The songwriters try to tell people that they should care about people in need and should give them help. In line 3, ‘there are people dying’ draws people’s attention to the fact that there are people who are suffering. The songwriters then try to persuade the audience to give help in two ways. The first way is to promote the greatness of love and care. For example, in stanza 1, the songwriters describe the love from giving help as ‘the greatest gift of all’ and in stanza 3, they compare people’s help with God’s miracle. The songwriters try to give the audience an impression that love is something great and respectful so that the audience will start considering helping people. The second way to persuade the audience to offer help is to emphasise that a good future for everyone can be built through giving help. In the chorus, the lines ‘we are the ones who make a brighter day’ and ‘so let’s start giving’ tell people that through helping people, a better future with love and care , which will be good to all people, can be created. Therefore, people should start giving.

Special language features:

Different poetic devices are used in the song.

Metaphors are used in the chorus. The songwriters use ‘world’ and ‘children’ to describe us. They may want to imply that our power can be as strong as the ‘world’ so people should not think that their helping hands are insignificant. If every lucky person in the world gives help to the unlucky ones, a miracle like ‘turning stones to bread’ can be done. Also, the songwriters want to deliver the message that everyone is originally innocent and kind-hearted by describing us as ‘children’. They tried to tell us not just to wait for the kind-hearted people to help the poor. We can actually be one of these kind-hearted people if we wish to.

There are also metaphors found in other stanzas. In stanza 1, ‘lend a hand to life’ is used to describe giving help. In stanza 3, ‘turning stones to bread’ is used to describe miracle. The songwriters are in fact looking for a miracle that one day everyone in the world can love each other.

Besides, the songwriters use heart to symbolise love and care in stanza 3. This makes the lyrics more aesthetic. More importantly, they can emphasise  that the help people need is not only money but also true love.

Furthermore, repetition is used in the lines ‘we are the world, we are the children’ and ‘we are the ones who make a brighter day’ in the chorus. Alliteration is used in the line ‘that someone, somewhere will soon make a change’ in stanza 2.These are a mnemonic deuce that helps the audience remember the song more easily.

Personal reflections

I think the song tells us two messages. One of them is that we should never think that our power is insignificant. Never think that nothing will be changed even we try. Actually, if we stand together, many things that seem impossible can be achieved. I quite agree with this idea. Many people think that the poor will not become better because of our little help. Therefore, they do nothing for them. However, if everyone in the world offers such ‘little’ help, the world will be changed a lot.

The second message is that not only the poor receive help while we are helping them. Through giving help to people in need, a world with love and care can be created. This is not only for the poor but for everyone in the world, including you and me.

Farewell from Mr Sweet

by Mr Timothy Sweet

 

As this will be my last year at Valtorta College, I would like to wish the staff and students at this tremendous school all the best for the future. I will always carry my fond memories of the kindness and hospitality I experienced here in Hong Kong with me.

One-Minute English Sum Up

 

Due to the fact that some students may have had difficulty hearing, understanding or remembering my One Minute English speeches I have summarized some of the main points below. Take some time to read them to boost your performance in English. As well as preparing for the HKDSE, these tips and explanations will help you to make sense of English poems, songs, movies, dramas, and even television advertisements.

Poetic Devices

Every HKDSE candidates should try to understand the main kinds of poetic devices. Remember, poetic devices are the tools we use to make poems and songs special. There are two main kinds:

1) Figures of speech: figures of speech are uses of words that are different to their normal meaning.   Here are a few of the most common kinds: 

a)      Metaphor: This compares two different things to say something in a beautiful or dramatic way (e.g. ‘she is an angel’ = she is very kind and helpful).

b)      Simile: This is very similar to metaphor but is less direct (e.g. ‘the student was as busy as a bee’ = the student was very busy).

c)      Personification (e.g. ‘the icy wind was biting at my skin’ = the cold wind was hurting my skin).
 

2) Sound devices: As their name shows, these are tools to make poems and songs sound catchy or beautiful. Here are a few well-known examples:

a)      Rhyme: Everyone knows what rhyme is, but can you spell it correctly in an exam? Almost every pop song uses rhyme to emphasize meaning. Poor quality pop songs and poems use it without thinking about the meaning (e.g. “I feel like a king, every time I sing”).

b)      Assonance: This is related to rhyme but we only repeat the vowels and not the final consonants (e.g. ‘she moved through the room’ note that the /d/ and the /m/ sounds at the end of the words are different, but the vowel sound / U: / is the same).

c)      Alliteration: This is about consonant sounds and many VC students found it easy to write their own examples (e.g. “3B is bright, brilliant and blessed”).

Exam Skills

Exams can be very stressful, especially if you are not well prepared. Here are some tips to help you to improve your English scores and to reduce stress:

1)   Develop a good learning attitude and take every chance to speak in class.

2)   Always ask your teacher questions if you don't understand. Remember, if you don’t understand, other students probably don’t either.

3)   Revise your notes every weekend. ‘Cramming’ (studying lots of information just before exams) doesn’t work for English the way it does for some subjects.

4)   Find a 'study buddy' and meet at lunch or after school to practice together.

5)   If you are studying with your study buddy after school and you need to find the correct pronunciation of a word, go to a website like www.howjsay.com.

6)   Keep your own vocabulary book where you write your own example sentences and definitions of new words and phrases. Top HKDSE students will build their vocabulary to about 3000 words during their time at secondary school. You can do that too if you study a few new words every day starting from S1.

 

English for Life

As well as passing exams, you will need your English for your career and when you travel abroad. Here are Mr Sweet’s ‘3 Virtues of Good English Students’ to help you develop the right attitude to become a fluent English speaker.

 

1)      Patience: being patient is important because learning a language takes a long time.  Don’t get frustrated and tell yourself you are not improving – negative messages will stunt your progress. Instead, tell yourself positive messages, like “I can do it” or “Little by little I am becoming fluent”, and encourage your friends, too.

2)      Diligence: this is just another word for being hardworking. Be strict on yourself – are you keeping up with your vocabulary so that you will know enough words and phrases by the end of Secondary 6? Rewarding yourself with fun activities like playing an English computer game, watching an English movie, or singing an English song can help you keep going when your hard work starts to get boring. Don’t give up!

3)      Courage: one of the most important ‘virtues’ of good English learners is that they aren’t too scared of making mistakes. In fact, the best way to learn new things is by making mistakes. Don’t be scared!

Good luck everyone.

Mr. Sweet.