Речь ученицы на защите проекта:

In the present world when travelling is so popular and travelling industry is so much developed, a lot of people go around the world with different aims: business, hobby, relaxation, family visits and so on. But nearly every traveller on every occasion tries to find a souvenir that they can bring home and keep it so that they never forget about their adventure.

The purpose of my work is to collect information about different types of souvenirs people buy, to make a questionnaire for my friends and classmates and see if people like to buy souvenirs, what kind and what happens to these souvenirs next.

So, Souvenirs or memorabilias?What is a souvenir?

The English Wikipedia gives the following meaning:

A souvenir (from French) is an object a person buys for the memories the owner associates with it. The term “souvenir”means somethingfrom a gift shop. But a souvenir can be any object that a traveller can take home.

Souvenirs can be of 2 types:

1)mass-produced (clothes, collectables, household items), and

2)non-mass-produced: folk art, antiques, and others.

The main function of souvenirs is to give a person a thing that will remind them of the place they visit, of the feelings and emotions they have.

Similar to souvenirs, there are memorabilia. But unlike souvenirs, memorabilia are valued for a connection to an event. Examples include sporting events, historical events, culture, and entertainment. They include clothes, game equipment, and posters.

I think there is no need to present all the souvenirs that you can buy in the English-speaking countries. I will just show you some slides of the most popular ones:

• the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
• the United States of America;
• Canada;
• Australia;
• New Zealand.

You can see that the form of the souvenirs is the same (T-shirts, cups, magnets, toys), but the topics are different and depend on the country and its history and culture.

The most interesting part of my project was my questionnaire.

My teacher and I asked the following questions to the pupils of our school:

• What souvenir do you usually buy when you travel?
• What happens to this souvenir next?
• What souvenir will you bring from England?

We got the following answers:

• The most popular souvenir is a magnet. Some pupils said: a keyring, a T-shirt, food and toys.
• People usually put the souvenir on the fridge or on the shelf. Some people said that they give it as a present.
• As for Great Britain, pupils want to buy typical symbols (like double-deckers, Big Ben or the statues of the queen). Some said money, photos, or flags.

In the end I’d like to say that my work on the project showed me what a souvenir is and that there are different types of souvenirs. Now I know a lot about specific souvenirs of the English speaking countries. As for the research, I expected something new, but all the pupils gave typical answers about the souvenirs. Nevertheless, now I know what to buy when I go to these countries. Thank you!