Title: Voices and Value – Communication Challenges Across Differences Communication is more than just talking—it’s how we express identity, emotion, and connect with others.
📋 Exam Question
Compare communication challenges in an English-language story of your choosing with either the short story "Who Said We All Have to Talk Alike", the song "Talk", or one of the films in the preparation material. Your chosen story may be a film, TV series, short story, novel, song, game or other work of fiction.
In your text:
Briefly introduce your chosen stories.
Discuss relevant communication challenges in your stories, giving examples.
Reflect on what we can learn about communication from the stories you chose.
✏️ Model Answer
Title: Voices and Value – Communication Challenges Across Differences
Communication is more than just talking—it’s how we express identity, emotion, and connect with others. In both the short story “Who Said We All Have to Talk Alike” by Varsha Shah and the film The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith, we meet characters who face major communication challenges, not because they lack words, but because society often judges how and when they speak. These stories highlight how language, class, and status can affect one’s voice and sense of belonging.
In “Who Said We All Have to Talk Alike”, the main character is a young girl who proudly speaks in her own dialect—a mix of English and her cultural background. However, when she speaks in class, her teacher corrects her and tells her to “talk properly.” This moment is painful for the girl, who feels that her voice—and by extension, her identity—is not respected. Her way of speaking becomes a barrier, not because it is wrong, but because others refuse to accept it. The communication challenge here is social: being judged or silenced because you don’t sound like those in power.
In The Pursuit of Happyness, the main character, Chris Gardner, is a homeless father trying to get a job as a stockbroker. He is smart and determined, but he often finds it difficult to communicate in professional settings. He wears old clothes, comes late to meetings, and doesn’t “look” or “sound” like the others. Even when he speaks well, people doubt him because of his appearance and background. Chris struggles to be taken seriously, and he must prove his worth not just through his words, but by working harder than everyone else.
Both characters face similar challenges: their voices are undervalued because of how they speak or who they are. In Shah’s story, the girl’s dialect is considered “wrong.” In the film, Chris’s poverty makes people question his intelligence and ability. In both cases, language becomes a symbol of power, and those who don’t match the “standard” are pushed to the side.
From these stories, we learn that communication is deeply connected to identity and equality. It’s not enough to say that everyone has a voice—we also have to ask: Are all voices respected? Are all ways of speaking accepted? These stories show the harm caused when people are told they must “change” their voice to be heard.
They also teach us that effective communication is about more than grammar or accent. It’s about listening, respecting difference, and giving people the space to express themselves fully. Whether it’s a student in the classroom or a father trying to change his life, everyone deserves to be heard—just as they are.
Task 4bPerson 1: "SIX!". Person 2: "NINE!". Just because you are right, does not mean I am wrong. You just haven't seen life from my side. …