English language & literature

6. Learning English through Poems and Songs

The musical group Nine Dragons has asked you to help promote them by writing a bio for their website. The bio should include background information about the group, style of music and plans for the future.

Nine Dragons — All you need to know

Nine Dragons is a rock band from Hong Kong formed in 2021. It is composed of five boys and four girls named Adam, Anson, Jeremy, Louis, Stanley, Annie, Christina, Emma and Victoria accordingly. All of them participated in the music talent show Hong Kong’s Got Talent at ViuTV in 2020 and won many cheers and applause from the audience. Taking this opportunity, they signed with World Records and released their debut song Warrior on 1 November 2021 which was very well-received. Their second single The Origin of Time won widespread recognition and topped the Radio 903 song chart for two weeks. 

As the members of the band are quite young, aged between 20 and 26, Nine Dragons carries a symbol of youth power which refreshes the current aging Hong Kong music industry. Their style of music is mostly pop rock, with Adam as the drummer, Louis and Emma the electric guitarists and, Jeremy and Victoria the lead vocalists whose voices are idiosyncratic. Apart from being vocalists, Anson, Annie and Christina are also composers and songwriters. They write captivating melodies and catchy poetic lyrics that communicate mainly love and life and resonate with many hearts of Hong Kong youngsters. Each member has his or her own special contribution to the music.

In the near future, Nine Dragons has some breakthrough plans. They would like to try and play different genres of music, for instance, hip hop and dance music, to add rapping and breakdancing elements to their performance.  They would also like to produce new music through experimentation and improvisation. This significant move will definitely establish themselves a unique identity and position themselves a distinct standing in the music industry. 

As Nine Dragons is becoming more popular, the band has decided to do a series of live performance at the Central Harbourfront in the forthcoming Christmas holiday. Tickets will be sold at all 7-Eleven convenience stores and via this website on 25 and 26 November 2022. The price would range from HK$700, $500 to $300. If you are a die-hard fan of Nine Dragons, you will regret should you miss their first amazing live show!

Moreover, Nine Dragons is now making plans to debut individually and release their own singles in order for each member to have a chance to do his or her own signature music to engage with their own respective fans. This move is going to bring about many inspirations to the music industry. Stay tuned!

2. Learning English through Popular Culture

You are the host of “Teen Chat”, a YouTube Channel that explores a wide range of topics from a teenage perspective. Write an article for Teen Magazine about why you started this channel and what you have learned in the process.

Teen Chat — A Teenage Channel

Teen Chat is now a very popular YouTube Channel among young people. It aims to give a voice to the youth in a society where the voices of teenagers are usually unheard and subdued. In recent years, the suicide rate among teens has been unprecedentedly high. A recent survey reveals that many teenagers feel hopeless about the future and that they feel helpless about many problems facing them such as social expectations, intergenerational difference among family members, school performance, peer pressure, bullying at school, to name a few. It is alarming that the pillars of the future are so desperate that they have no choice but to resort to suicide. In view of the depressing situation, I have started the channel to explore various topics and issues from the youth perspective so that it resonates with teenagers who will then feel empowered.

As a host of “Teen Chat”, I have learnt that most of the teenagers need so much to be listened to and to be understood by the adults, especially their parents. Having an intensive interview with teenagers from various secondary schools in Hong Kong, I realize that teenagers seldom have quality conversation with their parents over topics that are intimate to them, plus they usually find themselves being ignored and misunderstood by their parents.  For example, when it comes to what to study at the university or what career to choose after graduation, it often leads to heated argument and even violent conflict between parents and their children. An interviewee named Joyce revealed that her parents would not have an open conversation or discussion with her over her decision to study fine art at the university. Even Joyce tried to convince them that she had shown artistic talents and abilities in various art competitions, her parents would not listen but insisted that she was chasing some unrealistic and nonsensical dream. They not only rejected her decision but also threatened her to study business and finance; otherwise, they would not pay for the school tuition fees. Joyce felt disregarded and helpless. When I retold the story in Teen Chat, many viewers commented that they were facing similar problem and feeling upset about their parents being nonchalant towards their dreams.

Moreover, I have found that almost all teenagers are weak and fragile psychologically and in need of acceptance and encouragement, especially their parents and teachers and classmates.  Most teenagers revealed that under the result-oriented learning atmosphere which put so much emphasis on correctness, they were very afraid to make mistakes because they would be scolded and rejected by their elders and would be laughed and mocked by their peers. For example, an interviewee named Jess from a famous secondary school revealed that as she was not quite good at science subjects compared to her peers, she was very afraid of being asked to answer questions by science teachers during class and felt very ashamed each time after learning that her answer was wrong in front of all her smart classmates. Because of the many mistakes she had made and her poor results in science subjects, she felt that she was not worthy as she was looked down upon by her teachers and classmates. She had lost confidence almost in everything she did. When I retold the story in Teen Chat, many viewers commented that they were quite upset about the fact that instead of giving guidance and encouragement to them, how few chances the adults would give them and how easily the adults would give them up when they had made mistakes or had not performed or behaved well as expected . 

The Youtube Channel Teen Chat has not only attracted the society’s attention to teenage voices but also raised the awareness of the society of the difficult situations faced by teenagers and their concerns. Consequently, the Government has initiated and rolled out various plans and measures in support of teenagers in terms of education, social welfare and health. Teen Chat has finally achieved its ultimate aim.

Dear Human Resources Manager,

Application for the position of Assistant Coach

I am writing in response to your recent advertisement about the position of Assistant Coach at Hong Kong Sports Foundation. Having been a professional swimmer for over twenty years, I would like to make a career change and become a professional coach. I believe that my solid athletic experience would make me a strong candidate for the position.

Since I was 11 years old, I have trained under the famous and successful swimming coach Michael Chan. I receive intensive morning and afternoon training every weekday and spend hours on workouts every weekend. I mainly practise freestyle and breaststroke.  Since high school, I have participated in many open swimming competitions held by local, regional and international sports organizations including Hong Kong Sports Foundation. At the age of 18, it is the first time I have taken part in Asian Swimming Championships where I have won a silver medal in women’s 50m freestyle event and earned a fourth place in women’s 100m breaststroke event. In the following years, I compete in various World Championships where I have won several awards such as a bronze medal in both women’s 50m freestyle and breaststroke. In 2016 Olympic Games, I have got a fourth place in women’s 50m freestyle final.

Throughout all these years, having participated in numerous international sporting competitions and contests, I am very well aware of how to organize world-class sporting events such as bidding world events, identifying appropriate venues, providing hospitality to sponsors, coordinating different participating parties and governing bodies, communicating with the press, arranging accommodation and transportation for participants and so on. Given the exposure and experience, I believe I can help deliver smooth and successful international sporting events.

As a competent and well-trained professional swimmer, I understand that a high-quality training programme is necessary for developing future elite athletes. In additional to regular and disciplined physical training, mental and psychological preparation play a very important part in enhancing the performance of the athletes and taking them to the elite level. Not to mention the harsh and tough daily athletic training, the athletes are under tremendous pressure in the preparation for, in the anticipation of and in the participation in various contests. They need consolation to relieve their stress. Besides, on becoming an elite athlete, the athletes have to face countless failure, struggles and frustration. They need constant motivation and encouragement to build their confidence and resilience to enable them to strive for excellence and outperform their contestants. Therefore, I believe that I can help design training programmes suited to the needs of the elite athletes.

Having accumulated sufficient professional athletic experience, I have developed passion for raising and supporting the next generation elite athletes. In fact, there are many athletic talents in Hong Kong waiting to be discovered. The 2021 Olympics gold medalist Cheung Ka Long in fencing and silver medalist Ho Sze Pui in swimming are the good examples. I would be very happy to help seek out Hong Kong young people with right physical and mental attributes and lead them on to the journey of a professional athlete. 

I enclose my resume that details my background and experience and how they relate to the position.  I would appreciate if I could be given an interview to discuss further. I can be reached at 9292 9393. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Yours faithfully,

Sara Tse

5. Learning English through Debating

A social media influencer is a person who is paid by a company to promote goods and services through their social media networks. Surveys show that a majority of millennials trust the advice of social media influencer over a traditional media advertisements. Write an argumentative essay. 

• Discuss whether social media influencers are more trustworthy than traditional media advertisements. 
• Give reasons to support your point of view.

Social Media Influencer More Preferable

Thanks to the technological advancement, social media has become indispensable in our modern life. It helps connect people around the world and influences what information they share and receive and thus their thoughts and behaviours. Due to the powerful influence of social media, some industry experts choose to promote and sell specific goods and services through their social media networks. Because of their professional knowledge and insights, their opinions greatly affect their followers’ purchase decision and behaviour. Therefore, some of them have become social media influencers. According to a recent survey, a majority of millennials trust the advice of social media influencers over traditional media advertisements. In my opinion, this phenomenon is justifiable. The following arguments will explain the reasons why social media influencers are more trustworthy than traditional media advertisements.

In the first place, social media influencers are more trustworthy than traditional media advertisements because they demonstrate professional knowledge over the goods and services they choose to promote to their target customers. Most of them have achieved professional insights and accumulated solid experience in their own industry. They are willing to share and communicate with their audience their expertise and professional opinion in respect of certain goods and services. As a result, they have gained trust and confidence from their followers. For example, Gloria Tsang, an experienced nutritionist and dietician, has gained widespread credibility from her numerous Facebook and Instagram followers by sharing her professional opinion on how to keep fit through healthy eating and how to choose healthy food through reading nutrition labels. Gloria’s choice of and recommendation on certain brands of food is highly respected and adopted by her audience. On the contrary, traditional media advertisements, usually in the form of celebrity endorsement, are less persuasive because they only rely on the positive image and popularity of the celebrities to attract customers’ attention and to raise the awareness of and the status of the goods and services promoted. The celebrities are not necessarily experts in the products and services promoted. Therefore, social media influencers are more trustworthy.

Second, social media influencers have a more authentic relationship with their target customers than traditional media advertisements. In order to maintain trust and credibility among their followers, social media influencers tend to promote good and services which they have used and preferred by themselves. Social media influencers will not risk losing their hard-won long-term credibility by selling poorly-performing products and services in favour of short-term interests. However, traditional media advertisements in general lack sincerity and authenticity because it is uncertain whether the celebrities actually use or prefer the products and services they endorse. 

Lastly, social media influencers are more transparent than traditional media advertisements. The former has a two-way communication with their audience while the latter is only a one-way communication. As social media users can leave their comments and reviews on the products and services recommended by the social media influencers, in order to avoid any misunderstandings and doubts about their credibility, social media influencers usually actively engage and interact with their target audience. The two-way communication deepens the trust between the social media influencers and their followers which traditional media advertisements can never achieve.

In short, compared to traditional media advertisements, social media influencers are more trustworthy in terms of their professionalism, integrity, sincerity and transparency.