Leadership and Democracy
Senior 2 · English
Leadership and Democracy
Lesson 3 of 4
25 min
Many schools hold elections for class monitors, prefects and head students. For one week, candidates make speeches, put up posters and answer questions. It is a small copy of a national election, and it is the best place to practise leadership.
In this lesson you will read a campaign speech, discuss the qualities of a good leader, learn the present perfect continuous, and practise the weak forms and contractions that make spoken English sound natural. You will finish by writing a short speech about the role of a leader.
An original speech written by Ganzaa.
Good morning, teachers and fellow students. My name is Uwase Diane, and I am standing for the post of head girl.
I have been studying at this school for two years, and I have been serving as class monitor of S2 B since January. In that time, I have learnt that a leader is not the person who shouts the loudest. A leader listens.
For the last three months, I have been talking to students from every class about what they want to change. Many of you have told me the same three things. The library closes too early. The tap near the girls' dormitory has been leaking for weeks. And new students feel lonely in their first term.
If you elect me, I will do three things. First, I will ask the administration to keep the library open until six o'clock. Second, I will report the broken tap every week until it is repaired. Third, I will start a "big sister, big brother" programme, so that every S1 student has an older friend to turn to.
I won't promise you a swimming pool. I can't do that, and a good leader doesn't make promises she can't keep. But I will be honest, I will be fair to every student, and at the end of each term I will tell you what I've done and what I haven't done yet.
Thank you. Vote Uwase, for a school that listens!
| Quality | What it means | Evidence in the speech |
|---|---|---|
| a good listener | pays attention to what people need | "I have been talking to students from every class" |
| honest | tells the truth, even when it is not popular | "I won't promise you a swimming pool." |
| fair | treats everyone equally | "I will be fair to every student" |
| accountable | explains what he or she has done | "at the end of each term I will tell you what I've done" |
| experienced | has done a similar job before | "class monitor of S2 B since January" |
| having a vision | has a clear plan for the future | her three concrete promises |
Form: have / has + been + verb-ing
Use 1: an action that started in the past and is still continuing now, often with for (a length of time) or since (a starting point).
Worked example. Uwase became class monitor in January. It is now September, and she is still class monitor.
→ She has been serving as class monitor since January. (starting point)
→ She has been serving as class monitor for eight months. (length of time)
Use 2: a recent activity whose results we can see now. The floor is wet because the tap has been leaking. Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?
In natural speech, small grammar words are not stressed, so they become shorter.
Contractions are normal in speeches, conversations and friendly letters. In formal essays and exam compositions, write the full forms.
Tip
HAVE BEEN + ING = started before, still going now. Use for with a length of time (for two years) and since with a starting point (since January, since 2024). Never use it with state verbs like know.
Complete with the present perfect continuous: Mugisha ___ (train) for the school race since June.
Solution: has been training. Mugisha is one person (has), and the training started in June and continues.
For or since? We have been waiting ___ an hour. They have been campaigning ___ Monday.
Solution: for an hour (a length of time); since Monday (a starting point).
Correct the mistake: I have been knowing Uwase for three years.
Solution: I have known Uwase for three years. "Know" is a state verb, so we use the present perfect simple.
Write the full forms: I've been, she won't, we can't.
Solution: I have been, she will not, we cannot.
Write a campaign speech of 100–130 words for the post of class monitor. Include: a greeting; what you have been doing (present perfect continuous); two or three promises with I will; one quality of a good leader; a closing slogan. Then read it aloud using contractions and weak forms.
Model answer: Good morning, everyone. My name is Mugisha Eric, and I'm standing for class monitor. I've been sitting at the back of this class for two years, and I've been watching carefully. I've seen that our biggest problem is time: lessons often start late because the classroom isn't ready. If you elect me, I will organise a cleaning rota, so the room is ready before 7.30. I will collect your ideas in a suggestion box every Friday and take them to our class teacher. And I will tell you honestly what I have done and what I have not done. A good monitor is not a boss; he is a servant of the class. Vote Mugisha: ready, fair and on time!
With your class, run a mini-election: (1) agree on the post and the rules; (2) candidates hand in a short manifesto; (3) hold a question-and-answer session; (4) vote by secret ballot; (5) count the votes in front of two observers; (6) announce the results and congratulate every candidate. Afterwards, write five sentences about what you learnt, using the passive (The votes were counted…).
Remember
Sources and credits
