THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION
THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION
England & Wales registered charity no. 273136
Oracy Education with the English-Speaking Union
ESU education programmes support the development of vital oracy skills for all children and young people. Our resources, programmes and competitions all teach two things. First, they teach students how to talk – how to structure a speech, summarise information, listen critically and to consider and address different audiences. Second, they help students to learn through talk. By discussing current affairs and topical issues, in any class or subject, students not only acquire deeper subject knowledge but a greater awareness of the world around them. Their horizons broaden and they improve their ability to consider and evaluate diverse opinions and points of view.
Debate Academy
Debate Academy is a friendly, immersive summer school for 14 to 18 year olds. It offers top-quality coaching in debate skills to all ability levels, delivered by some of the best coaches and debaters in the world. Whether students have little or no experience or are getting ready for trials for their national debating team, this summer school has something to offer.
As well as offering important debate tips and debate skills training, Debate Academy is a wonderful opportunity to make friends with like-minded people, to learn more about the wider world through our elective sessions and spend a week away from home developing confidence and independence. It’s a summer camp like no other, and we hope to see you there!
Debate Academy is lifechanging. With really interesting socials, electives and classes, but also meeting other like-minded people, it has helped me see debating, my future, and the world in different perspectives and showed be the power of persuasion, languages, and words. My debating coach said whoever went to ESU’s debating camp came back more informed about the world, and I can testify to that. – Debate Academy participant, 2022
Discover Your Voice
The ESU’s Discover Your Voice oracy workshops are available for learners in Key Stages 2-5, providing oracy skills development opportunities tailored to age, ability and school or setting requirements.
Suitable for: Beginner (Years 5-6); Intermediate (Years 7-8) and Advanced (Years 9-10) in schools or youth groups/informal education settings or for groups of home-schooled children and young-people.
Workshop length: Workshops last 2.5 hours (but multiple options can be combined to create a full-day programme).
Delivery: ESU oracy experts.
Using the ESU’s century of oracy education experience we support schools to develop their oracy provision through the lens of debate or public speaking – but every workshop provides all learners with a thorough understanding of core oracy skills and workshop 1 in each stream provides a general oracy skills introduction for students of all ages.
Choose a one-off workshop or work with us over a longer period with a sequenced series of sessions, building to a capstone oracy event day, facilitated by ESU oracy experts.
Each of the workshops are structured around the ESU key skill sets of reasoning and evidence; listening and response; expression and delivery and organisation and prioritisation.
Customisable to specific curriculum areas or projects, all Discover Your Voice workshops build learners’ ability to communicate and reason effectively, to listen, and to understand and respond to others’ points of view. All workshops last 2.5 hours, but multiple options can be combined to create a full-day programme (or longer).