Language use in the General Election

Listen to this abbreviated version of Gordon Brown calling the General Election and pay particular attention to the words he uses. Is there anything here that reminds you of Churchill? Any thoughts on why he finishes in the way he does?

We're not going to comment on the parties' policies or tell you how to vote but we are interested in how politicians use the English language. I had a leaflet through my door, for example, which said: Vote Yellow Get Brown (That's Vote Yellow Get Brown if the colours aren't showing up on your screen.) Which party would have used that slogan? What does it mean? How effective is it?

Now look at some of the other slogans the parties have used and think about the way they use the English Language: the Liberal Democrats; Labour; Conservatives; Plaid Cymru; the Scottish National Party. And, just by way of contrast, what on earth were the UK Independence Party thinking of when they created this poster?

A week is a long time in politics and the slogans have changed as the election has gone on: what do you make of this picture, for example? If you can, compare what you have seen here with the election material that has been coming through your letterbox. And if you have been struggling with some of the terms that have been floating around over the last few weeks, click here for a jargon buster.

Great Political Speeches

With the general election coming up, now is a good time to analyse what makes a good political speech. Listen to this speech by Barack Obama given when he was just a warmup act to John Kerry at the Democratic Party Convention in 2004. Whatever you think of Obama's politics you can still be impressed by his oratory. As you watch and listen, try to work out what it is about his choice of words, his delivery and his gestures which makes it so impressive. Here's the transcript.

Now compare this speech with one of the great speeches from an earlier pre-TV age. Families used to gather around the wireless to listen to Mr Churchill and though his style now seems dated, there is no doubting the power of his words 70 years on. Here is a partial transcript of this speech and some other great Churchill speeches.

But don't worry if you have to give a talk: a speech doesn't need to be delivered with great passion to be successful. One of the most powerful political speeches I have ever heard was Geoffrey Howe's resignation speech which effectively ended Mrs Thatcher's time as Prime Minister. It was devastating precisely because it was delivered in so under-stated a manner. If you think it's boring then ask yourself whether it's better to live in a world dominated by soundbites.

Similarly, one of the most important speeches of the 20th Century was Nehru's speech on Indian independence which was heard on millions of crackly radios across the subcontinent. It now has iconic status but it was delivered with none of the obvious passion of an Obama. It's still well worth listening to though.

Votes at 16?

With the General Election only a matter of months away, now is the time to think about whether 16 year olds should be given the vote. A surprising number of politicians, including the Prime Minister, think that they should and there are plenty of campaigners who agree with them. Click here, for example, to find out more about one active campaign group.

But what are the arguments and how strong are they? Watch this video of two 17 year olds from Northern Ireland arguing that the voting age should be lowered to 16. Then look at this selection of opinions on a BBC website. What do you think?

More MUNA videos

And just one piece of photographic evidence that not all delegates had their thoughts fixed on complex political matters all the time.

MUNA Video

To give you a little more of the flavour of the conference we have uploaded a brief extract from a speech from the opening conference. We'll try to ad more later.

And the news today is ...

While idly leafing through my Dutch National paper this morning, I came across this article on our Model united Nations Conference. You might recognise one of our students.

Let the debate begin

The great thing about attending this Model United Nations Conference in the Netherlands is the opportunities it provides for international collaboration. Here is one of our students (from Brunei) representing France and a Dutch student (representing Germany)!

We have also heard from Dan King from the US Embassy in Amsterdam who spoke to the Crisis Committee and the Security Council about crisis management, with particular reference to Haiti and last year's Turkish plane crash in the Netherlands.

But there have been plenty of opportunities for students to speak as well as to listen. Here is one of our students, representing Afghanistan, successfully defending a resolution on women's education.

And here is another of our students enjoying the vote (even though it went against her!)

And, last but not least, here's yet another of our students just having fun.

Model United Nations Alfrink

Many of the Sixth Form are currently on the outskirts of the Hague in the Netherlands attending a Model United Nations Conference. Even as I type, students are lobbying, debating, submitting and defending resolutions. The planning started early and continued in the Eurostar station,

 and on the train

It was a little chilly when we arrived

 but everyone is in very good spirits! After checking out the Prime Minister's Office

we headed back to Alfrink College for further training. It's that way ...

Two of our students gave speeches at the opening conference (and we were very proud of them) before everyone moved into their repsective committees.

We have heard a high level of debate so far and are very much looking forward to the next day and a half. Updates to follow if we can find time.