Speaking English: The Annual ESU Competition
Interview
It is almost time for the annual English-Speaking Union’s Public Speaking Competition, which is run by the British Corner in Vake Park. On March 14, the first round of the competition will be held, and the second on March 29.
Aiming to inform, persuade, entertain and inspire the audience, young speakers will convey their opinions in a variety of styles, from personal accounts to lectures and jokes.
The aim of the English-Speaking Union (ESU) is to promote friendship and understanding through the English language. The Public Speaking Competition is one of its most successful projects, with 40,000 youth from over 60 countries taking part in the Final in London.
Georgia has participated for 21 years and has sent young people aged between 16 and 20 to speak at the Finals.
GT met with the president and founder of the English-Speaking Union of Georgia, Marina Tsitsishvili, to find out more.
“All my life, I’ve been trying to promote the English language and British culture. In 2016, my humble work was highly appreciated when I received an MBE (Member of the British Empire) for services to UK-Georgian cultural and educational relations. It’s an award from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. I am really very proud that I am the first ever Georgian national to receive this award.”
The English-Speaking Union was set up in London in 1918. It’s an international organization which functions in more than 60 countries The Patron of the English-Speaking Union is Queen Elizabeth II, the President is Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne.
The main goal of the ESU is to promote friendship and understanding through the English Language. But my vision for the ESU goes far beyond the global use of English; it encompasses the active promotion of different cultures among ESU member countries.
ESU-Georgia aims also to introduce Georgian culture to the UK. So, we brought a dance company of Georgian children to perform at the Barbican and the Central School of Ballet. The venture was a big success. The BBC made a special program about the company and the journal ”Dancing Times” wrote:
“Two hours later the ceiling of the studio was in danger of falling down – the cheers of students and staff were deafening, 16 boys and one self-possessed girl were accepting standing ovation.”
We also invited a male choir Tsinandali to sing Georgian polyphonic songs at Langolen International Eistedfod in Wales where they were awarded the first prize.
ESU-Georgia supported by Georgian Ministry of Culture organized an exhibition of a famous Georgian painter Zurab Nijaradze at the Air-Gallery in London and so on.
As for introducing British culture to Georgia here are a few examples. We celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday at an event where students of British and American Schools read Shakespeare in the original language while students of the Drama School read the same in translation. We encourage British schools to perform English plays on our stage.
With great support from British Embassy, we were honored to have the UK Military Band “Salamanca Band and Bugles of the Rifles” to perform on our stage twice in 2015 and 2016.
Again, with the support of British Embassy, the British-Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Georgian Government, we organized the venue of high profile called “Taste Britain”, promoting traditional British food and agricultural products.
The event was attended by the delegation from Wales, headed by the Head of Welsh Parliament Dame Rosemary Butler.
In 2015, with the support of ESU-Georgia, I set up an English Language Centre “British Corner” which in 2016 was rebranded as British-Georgian Cultural Centre. And again, it’s a place not only for teaching English but introducing British Culture, British traditions and even British cuisine.
Tell us more about the public speaking competition. What is required of participants?
International versions of this contest are held in numerous countries around the world; approximately 40,000 young people aged 16-20 take part in them annually, and all the winners are sent to London to take part in the finals. The main purpose of the ESU International Competition in London is to bring together some of the best world speakers. It showcases the highest standard of public speaking while giving participants a chance to meet and make friends with young people of various cultures.
The theme of the competition comes from London. This year’s topic is ‘the best way to predict the future is to invent it’. The winner will go to London for a week on May 14. The finals in Tbilisi will be held on March 29. The competition will be judged by HE Justin McKenzie-Smith, the British Ambassador, and Irakli Gilauri (Bank of Georgia) who has been sponsoring this competition for years. This year the lucky winner will be even luckier because ESU is celebrating its centenary. It will be a big celebration, attended by members of the Royal Family.
What has been your most memorable year of the public speaking competition?
2002, when our representative Sophia Gorgodze won International Public Speaking Competition in London. Later we were invited to Buckingham Palace where Sophia received her certificate from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, then President of the English-Speaking Union.
Since then, Sophia has made a remarkable career. She studied at Harvard University and achieved a PHD. She now teaches Educational Strategy at Ilia University. I’m very proud of her. Every year we invite her to the British Corner to meet young speakers and give them tips regarding the competition in London.
What is your impression of the way English is taught in Georgia?
I think it’s pretty good. Judging by our Public Speaking Competitions, the number of young people (between 16 and 20) who speak fluent English has increased considerably. Of course, it is also due to exchange programs. Young people nowadays have more chances to study abroad and Georgian teachers have more opportunities to go on teacher training courses. Plus, there are more native speaker teachers in the country. In British Corner, we have a policy that Georgian teachers usually teach up to intermediate level after which we give our students an opportunity to work with teachers who are native speakers.
How much more widely-spoken do you think English will become in the next decade in Georgia? And how will British Corner contribute?
We all know that English is a global language and I’m sure it will become even more popular in the future. As for the British Corner, we’ll do our best to promote it as much as we can. Besides the excellent team of teachers, our language school can boast a fine location and facilities: in Vake Park, in a building with light classrooms equipped with all the conveniences and necessary appliances.
We feel confident we can conduct teaching courses at the highest possible level, and this confidence is strengthened by the fact that the high expertise of our teachers is combined with a very strong sense of responsibility and motivation.
Tom Day