Learning English through Popular Culture
Practical Demonstration 2
Angles and Mangles (Advertising)
Timing
Interaction
Procedure
Materials
5 mins
Teacher
1 Introduction
Levi jeans video from internet
leading
Tell sts. they are going to watch something and they should
from the
think about what it is. Play Levi’s video. Ask ‘was that a film? A
front
TV show?’ (= no). Elicit advert/commercial. Show word stress
and drill.
10 mins
Small
2 Initial text analysis
Laminated adverts from the
groups/
(Handout 1: Q 1a) Hand out laminated copies of old ads for
1940’s/1950’s
pairs
students to look at and they discuss in groups what each is
Handout 1 p.3
selling and how direct the messages are, then fill in table. F/b
with the whole class, referring to and explaining advertising
techniques cards on board: Metaphors / Celebrity endorsement
/ sex appeal / aspirations / comparisons / directly speaking to
the audience / imperatives.
5 mins
Teacher
3 Awareness raising 1 (obvious ad)
Mock-up advert which is very obvious,
leading
(Handout 1: Q 2) Show students very obvious and un-subtle
eg, ‘buy this product – it’s good’.
from the
made-up ad and ask them to discuss. Provide sentences
front
starters on board for them to use whilst discussing (e.g. It’s
Learning English through Popular Culture
too…; it doesn’t use…). Elicit why this would probably be
unsuccessful in today’s society. “What does this tell us about
consumers/the general public nowadays?”. Try to elicit that we
are more sophisticated and demand more of adverts so
advertisers have to work harder to get our attention.
5 mins
Teacher
4 Dove/Evolution Internet Film (1st viewing)
Make sure Dove advert Evolution is
leads
(Handout 1: Q 3) Introduce internet as a powerful source of
ready to run/stream from the internet with
from
information and explain we are going to watch a short video
sound.
front
from the internet. DO NOT TELL STUDENTS IT IS AN
ADVERT. Ask students to write down words and phrases in
the boxes as they watch. Grp f/b: call out words they thought of.
10 mins
Teacher
5 Vocabulary work
at front;
(Handout 1: Q 4-6) Go through the questions together eliciting
individu
what they think the motives are behind this campaign (critical
als;
thinking).
pairs
Q 7: Show the 1950’s ad & Dove video juxtaposed. Ask
Students to select 5 adjectives for each image from the word
bank. Use dictionaries if necessary. Pairs f/b.
Handout 1
Learning English through Popular Culture
10 mins
Small
6 Noticing Activity (1)
Dove advert Evolution / website
grps.
Draw attention to the website address and ask students to
www.campaignforrealbeauty.com
discuss questions about what associations they make with the
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.co.uk/
word campaign (see dictionary if necessary to establish the
#/features/videos/
different meanings) and the word dove (animal, bird, purity,
Ppt. slides 11-16
peace). Then ask students about Dove the company and its
products. Ask them to find the Dove product logo on the
webpage.
10-15
Individu
7 Reading and understanding different responses
mins
al; small
(Handout 1: Q 10 & 11) Tell Students that the Dove ad caused
grps.
a lot of discussion & publicity. They read the comments from
Message board handout 1b
message boards on handout 1b, then decide if each one is for
or against the campaign, and select one they most agree or
disagree with. F/b in small grps. This stage is important in
providing students with a chance to think critically.
10-15
mins
Pairs
8 Dove/Evolution Internet Film Ad (2nd viewing)
Show the video again. Afterwards, ask them to look back at
their words from q.7 and then in pairs discuss what they now
think, knowing that it is an advert. Have their ideas changed?
Handout 1
Learning English through Popular Culture
10 mins
Pairs
9 Forming one’s own opinion
(Handout 1: Q 11) Ask Students to work in pairs to make their
own list of points in favour of and against the campaign.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
1. Using the list of points for and against, set up a class
discussion/debate.
2. Using the ‘additional resources’ questions on handout 2,
focus more on the language used on the website and the
themes raised.