CONTRIBUTORS
The ESU ’ s vital role helping to improve the speaking and listening skills of young children
WORDS DR TONY WOOD PICTURES GIGI GIANELLA
Three years ago we launched a pilot scheme in the Ouse Valley Branch to introduce public speaking to children aged 7-9 years . Over a thousand children have now taken part . Why did we do this , and why has it been so popular ?
The ability to speak well and use language effectively , to listen and engage in constructive dialogue , to consider objectively the opinions of others which may not correspond to your own , to marshal one ’ s thoughts and respond spontaneously to questions , and to do all these things with panache and confidence , is a huge asset in life which most people would give their eye-teeth to possess .
Public speaking provides a means to help pupils develop qualities like these . As we know , children are most receptive to new ideas at a very young age ; it is during the early years that the foundations for adulthood are established . It is therefore axiomatic that the sooner one can introduce these concepts the better , to help children derive the maximum benefit from their education , and hopefully attain in due course a better quality of adult life .
We began in 2010 with several live training sessions for teachers which concentrated on preparing whole classes for a simplified form of a public speaking competition , and culminated in each school choosing a representative team for an inter-school contest .
30 | dialogue