Join | Donate | Volunteer:

Join

Become part of a 5,000+ community which believes that speaking and listening skills are central to personal fulfilment and cultural understanding

Become a member

Donate

One-off or regular donations are vital to our work, helping us ensure that young people everywhere have the oracy skills they need to thrive

Donate

Volunteer

We’re hugely grateful to those who volunteer their time in helping to organise and run ESU programmes and competitions. Find out how you could help

Volunteer

‘We rely on the generous support of our members, donors and volunteers to ensure we can reach those children who need our help most’

The English-Speaking Union is a charity working to give young people the speaking and listening skills and the cross-cultural understanding they need to thrive

listen

speak

succeed

I’m interested in...

START THE DEBATE WITH OUR FREE RESOURCES

From games to lesson plans, our bank of resources will help you get your class talking

EXPLORE OUR RESOURCES

Sign up now for our Competition Network meetings

Whether your school is new to ESU competitions, or well-established, the ESU’s new online Competition Network meetings are designed to help you and your students get the most out of our events, connecting you with our experts and other schools to share ideas, gain valuable advice and learn more about how the ESU can support you. Find out more and sign up on the links below:

Schools’ Mace Competition Network meeting on Thursday, 4 November at 4pm

ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition Network Meeting on Wednesday, 10 November at 4pm

Performing Shakespeare Network Meeting on Thursday, 13 January at 4pm

‘Young people today are exposed to a tide of incivility – they need to be equipped with the skills to cope with it’

MILES YOUNG, ESU CHAIR

Read more

For teachers

We offer rigorous speech and debate programmes, competitions and resources to boost oracy provision in your school, as well as workshops and scholarships to aid your professional development.

Find out more

For members

Our network of branches across England and Wales provides opportunities to meet like-minded people, to socialise and to gain new perspectives on the world. Membership helps fund our vital educational work and many members also fundraise or volunteer their time.

Our branches

Internationally

There are over 50 international English-Speaking Unions around the world, spanning the globe from Albania to Yemen. All work to promote proficiency in spoken English as a means of cultural exchange and understanding.

Discover more

We regret that, due to the pandemic, Dartmouth House is closed to members. Find out more here.

The difference we’re making

Changing Lives
Photo of teenager Ahmad in a blue tshirt smiling

Ahmad Nawaz

I realised that if we all speak out about what we think is wrong in society, we can change it.
Changing Lives
Fatima pictured with a bright yellow top infront of astone wall

Fatima Conteh

Debate Academy opened my mind to different opinions.
Changing Lives

Edward Stourton and Sir Nicholas Mostyn

Debating taught us that ‘If you can speak in this country, you can do anything’.

10,000+

...the number of young people reached through our UK-based programmes in 2018/19

Help give more young people the speaking and listening skills and cultural understanding they need to thrive

Donate

Become a member

Volunteer

Support our work


Registered charity number: 273136

Dartmouth House, 37 Charles Street, London W1J 5ED. Tel. 020 7529 1550

© 2021 English-Speaking Union. All rights reserved.

Share Page