KEY FACTS
Our secondary school workshops cover public speaking, debating and performance at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Each is structured around the ESU key skill sets of listening and response, expression and delivery, organisation and prioritisation, and reasoning and evidence.
Suitable for: Key stages 3 – 5
Workshop length: Half day, full day
Delivery: ESU Mentors
Prices starting from: £325 for half-day and £495 for full-day session
Find out more about our workshops below
Developing Oracy Skills (Beginner and Intermediate)
Suitable for: Key stage 3 – 5
Workshop length: Half day, full day
Delivery: ESU Mentors
Prices starting from: £325 for ½ day and £495 for full day session
This workshop is for learners who are beginning to use talk for learning or seeking to improve their speaking and listening skills.
Through fun and creative games, students gain confidence when expressing themselves in front of an audience, explore speaking styles for formal and informal environments and gain strategies for active listening, turn-taking and summarising information.
The workshop builds up to a presentational talk activity (such as a speech, discussion or facilitated debate) which can be tailored to a specific curriculum focus. All learners receive feedback.
Learning objectives:
- Understand what oracy skills are and their importance for learning
- Apply/use key skills via focused games and activities
- Analyse/examine what skills an activity requires
- Participate in a discussion/debate/presentation
Skills for Debating (Beginner and Intermediate)
Suitable for: Key stages 3 – 5
Workshop length: Half day, full day
Delivery: ESU Mentors
Prices starting from: £325 for ½ day and £495 for full day session
Through debate, learners will be shown how to justify ideas with reasons; ask questions to check understanding; negotiate; evaluate and build on the ideas of others; and select the appropriate register for effective communication.
Designed to support learners to explain their understanding and to prepare their ideas before they write, this workshop focuses on how to speak clearly and convey ideas confidently. Students will participate in a range of small and whole group speaking activities which can be tailored to context.
The workshop will build up to participation in a debate of an appropriate format and learners will receive valuable feedback.
Learning objectives:
- Understand how oracy skills are used in debating
- Apply/use skills via focused games/activities
- Analyse/examine what skills an activity requires
- Create/perform a speech or adjudication
- Understand how the ESU’s skill sets are used and can be developed
Skills for Debating (Advanced)
Suitable for: Key stages 3 – 5
Workshop length: Full day only
Delivery: ESU Mentors
Prices starting from: £495 for full day
This full-day workshop is suitable for Key Stage 3 and above and is designed to rapidly identify learners’ debating strengths and to introduce specific strategies to aid improvement. Learners will participate in a range of oracy exercises and receive personalised feedback from our expert trainers to improve their competitive debating; such as advanced argument analysis, impromptu speaking and teamwork. Workshop leaders create a safe and supportive space where students contribute to peer learning and expand their debating comfort zone.
Learning objectives:
- Understand how key oracy skills are used in debating
- Analyse/reflect on strengths and areas for self-development
- Understand and apply strategies for improvement
- Hold a debate
- Understand how the ESU’s skill sets are used and can be developed
Skills for Public Speaking (Beginner and Intermediate)
Suitable for: Key stages 3 – 5
Workshop length: Half day, full day
Delivery: ESU Mentors
Prices starting from: £325 for half day and £495 for full day
Public speaking has great personal benefits, such as building self-esteem, honing critical thinking skills, and equipping learners with skills for work and higher education – verbal communication is a highly sought-after skill among employers.
Students will learn what makes a strong presentation, experiment with different styles of delivery and leave feeling able to express their thoughts with confidence. Workshop leaders will create a safe and fun space for learners to put their skills to practice, deliver a speech and receive valuable feedback.
Learning objectives:
- Understand/recognise how oracy skills are used in public speaking
- Apply/use skills via focused games/activities
- Analyse/examine what skills an activity requires
- Create/perform a speech or presentation
- Understand how the ESU’s skill sets are used and can be developed
Skills for Public Speaking (Advanced)
Suitable for: Key stages 3 – 5
Workshop length: Half day, full day
Delivery: ESU Mentors
Prices starting from: £325 for half day and £495 for full day
This workshop is designed for learners who are confident in expressing their ideas and responding to peers and who are seeking to improve their competitive or presenting success. Workshop leaders will support learners to identify their strengths and areas for development. Facilitators will teach students a range of relevant strategies to improve across all four oracy skillsets – such as evaluating ideas, impromptu speaking and using rhetorical devices effectively. Learners will receive personalised feedback in a safe learning environment to feel empowered to use their voice in a range of academic and formal contexts.
Learning objectives:
- Understand how key oracy skills are used in public speaking
- To improve across all four ESU skill sets
- Analyse/reflect on strengths and areas for self-development
- Understand strategies for improvement
- Apply strategies for improvement
- Create/perform a speech, presentation
- Understand how the ESU’s skill sets are used and can be developed
Skills for Performing (Beginner and Intermediate)
Suitable for: Key stage 3 – 5
Workshop length: Half day, full day
Delivery: ESU Mentors
Prices starting from: £325 for half day and £495 for full day
Through performance, learners will be shown how to critically interrogate a text, use their voice and body language to convey ideas, and how dramatic devices are used to communicate meaning.
Designed to support learners in their critical reading and emotional awareness, this workshop focuses on how the work of dramatists is communicated effectively through performance. Students will participate in a range of small- and whole-group activities and contribute to a performance (prose, poetry or drama linked to their scheme of work).
Learning objectives:
- Understand/recognise how oracy skills are used in performance
- Apply/use skills via focused games/activities
- Analyse/examine what skills an activity requires
- Create/perform a monologue, duologue or performance piece
- Understand how the ESU’s skill sets are used and can be developed
‘The ESU’s Discover Your Voice workshops help students significantly’
‘The activities are fun and interactive but also get them to focus on specific skills – such as how to make points more fully by backing them up with evidence and reasons, how to respond to points that others make, how to structure their speech as a whole and how to present confidently and expressively.’
John Matthews, Head of Key Stage 3 English, Orleans Park, Twickenham
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