ILM Projects (II): How to make a TV Spot

Here we are again to share with you another ILM project, developed in the Fall semester (2016/17) with a B1 class (a great class, by the way). This time, our first-year students had to make a TV spot.

After covering related grammar and vocabulary contents in class (future for predictions and plans, for example), we dealt with inventions and their impact in our lives. Then, we recreated the “Inventor’s process”, that starts with finding the solution to a problem. Also, identifying the target customer is essential to appropriately communicate with the audience. In this case, the class professor (someone students knew well enough) would be the target audience for their products and spots.

Once students, in groups, had decided on their inventions, we moved on to learn how to describe them best, showing their market advantage and adequately using comparative structures and descriptive adjectives. Creating the perfect spot for a given target audience is not as simple as it seems, so several advertising techniques were exemplified, the structure of a spot was explained and some tips to address the audience in a persuasive and attractive way (question tags, catchy slogans) were dealt with along several sessions.

Students, then, elaborated the script for their spots, which had to include a detailed description of their product, a number of positive consequences the product would have and some of the main grammar contents studied in class. They also prepared an oral presentation to sell their invention to the class (and, of course, to their professor), where they showed their spots. Some of the spots were recorded in class with the collaboration of us all and some groups preferred to keep it secret. The experience was great and we want to share with you some of these amazing spots. Enjoy!