The English-Speaking Union

Want to build a culture of public speaking and active listening in your school, but not sure where to start? ESU CPD is designed for exactly that. Our workshops are flexible and can be tailored to wherever you are on your oracy journey. Learn more: esu.org/cpd/cpd-worksh…

Want to know more about the role of oracy in the Curriculum and Assessment Review and Ofsted Framework, and what it might mean for your school? 🗣️ Come and visit the Voice21 Speaking Summit and drop by our stand. 🌟 Find out more: ow.ly/w2Xq50YssZU

ESU IPSC 2025: Recap! 🌍💫 Watch Sashane from Sri Lanka, winner of this year's IPSC, deliver his speech at the Royal Institution. For the full speech, discover the ESU YouTube channel youtube.com/watch?v=X5GdOu… #ESU #theESU #ESUIPSC #Oracy #ESUGlobal

Public speaking tip: Working as a team The best debates start long before you step up to speak! Get in a room together, do your research as a team and make sure everyone understands the full picture, not just their own part. That's what makes a great team debate. 🗣️ #ESU

Congratulations to Matas Grikšas, the winner of ESU Lithuania's National Public Speaking Competition!🏆 A fantastic achievement, we look forward to welcoming you to London alongside the other countries' national winners at the International Public Speaking Competition in July.

This Monday, 11 ESU guests joined the Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey, including our Chair, Miles Young, who walked in the procession alongside guests from across the world. A fantastic reminder of the importance of cross-cultural understanding. 🌏

Want to know more about oracy and what we do? Come and meet us on stand 88 at the ASCL Conference this Friday and Saturday! 🌟 Hope to see you there! ascl.org.uk/annualconferen… #ASCL2026

New article alert! 🚨 Peter Nyvold Bojsen-Møller, from ESU Denmark, writes about his journey to the IPSC, including the friendships he formed across borders, and why bringing young people together to share ideas matters now more than ever. 🌎 Read more: ow.ly/bI4i50Y3OXp

Asking questions 👋 We encourage questions to be asked in our competitions! It shows you are engaged, listening and thinking critically about the speaker's points. However, you usually need to speak a little louder than you think when amongst a crowd, so be sure to project!📢

We’re exhibiting at the Schools & Academies Show on 7 May 💫 If you’re a school or trust leader looking to learn more about oracy in education, come and say hello! 🎟️ You can register for free here: hubs.la/Q03YkKDG0

Introductions📝 Your introduction is your first opportunity to make a great impression to the judges, the audience and your fellow competitors! Take your time to lay the foundations of your speech to help them feel at ease and prepared for the rest of your performance. 🗣️

A seemingly innocent online spoof of how a dog would use to AI to create their CV led our Consultant Editor, Natasha Goodfellow, to address the more alarming trend of artificially created profiles and job applications online. Read more: esu.org/news-and-views…

It's International Mother Language Day! 🌍 Cross-cultural communication is one of our core missions here at the ESU, and every shared conversation, debate and performance in any language brings us that one step closer together.🗣️ #MotherLanguageDay #LanguageDiversity #ESU

Wishing our Muslim friends in the ESU community a blessed Ramadan. May this month bring joy, peace and meaningful dialogue across cultures. 🌟 #Ramadan #RamadanMubarak #Ramadan2026 #ESU

Happy Lunar New Year to those who celebrate! This year we are celebrating the arrival of the Fire Horse.🔥🐎 Bringing boldness and courage, the fire horse represents the power of finding your voice and speaking-up, which is something we always champion here at the ESU.🌟

Introduced to the ESU as a parent, Joël Lawson noticed a lack of diversity among judges, so he became one himself. He shares his experience and why more minority groups should consider getting involved. Read more: esu.org/news-and-views…

Well done to everyone who competed in round two of our ESU Public Speaking Competition! And congratulations to those that made it through to the regional finals, no mean feat! 📢 We can't wait to see what the next phase of the competition brings, good luck to everyone. 🌟

Happy Valentine's Day! 💘 To mark the day of love we are celebrating one of the greatest romance playwrights of all time, Shakespeare! From Romeo and Juliet, to Much Ado About Nothing, his plays are some of the most iconic love stories of all time.

Congratulations to those that have made it through to the regional finals of our ESU Schools' Mace Debating Competition! And well done to all that took part, the competition was fierce. 🔥 We can't wait to see what is brought to the next round, good luck! #ESUMace

What a week it has been so far at the ESU - ASEEDER Youth Public Speaking Competition 2026 in Macau! Our ESU representative, Harriet Gruender, had a fantastic time at the opening ceremony for the Asian round of the competition on Monday. Good luck to everyone taking part!