The ESU-BC October Workshops

From the Ateneo's Dr. Marlu Vilches comes this recap of the ESU-British Council debate and public speaking workshops in October 2006:

Our guest workshop facilitators were James Probert (Deputy Director of
Education and Head of the Centre for Speech and Debate of the English
Speaking Union) and his student James Dray. Their visit had been
arranged by Gill Westaway, former British Council Director, before she
left for her new post in Sri Lanka in August. Thank you, Gill!

Both half-day workshops took place in the Far Eastern University
Conference Center. The debate workshop (12th October) and the public
speaking workshop (13th October) had 53 and 101 participants,
respectively, from Metro Manila schools. The two Jameses--as I realized
they had been fondly called!--were reported to have been truly
impressive in handling the workshops despite technical difficulties. They
only had a whiteboard and pens (no computer!) but they got the
participants' full attention through their use of various games. They
also skillfully introduced the procedures of the British Parliamentary
Debate and staged a simulation activity (on the subject: "private
vehicles should be banned") which was participated in by debaters from
FEU ORADEC, as well as students from Holy Spirit High School and EAC
Manila. Drawing from their vast and varied experience in public
speaking, James Probert and James Dray also devised exciting games and
challenging exercises to show proper techniques of oral presentation
before a crowd and gave practical tips on how one could improve speaking
skills through daily practice.

Both workshops were graced with the presence of Andrew Picken, OBE, the
new British Council Director, and the FEU co-hosts: Dr. Lourdes
Montinola, Chair, FEU Board of Trustees; Dr Lydia Echauz, FEU President;
Dr Jaime An Lim, Dean, FEU Institute of Arts and Sciences; Dr Isagani
Cruz, Director, FEU Teachers Academy; Prof May C. Garin, Chair,
Communication Department. The FEU Chorale sang the Philippine National
Anthem at the open ceremonies for each of the workshops.

Now, a word of thanksgiving ...

ESU Philippines is grateful to Dr. Montinola and the FEU team for their
great support for the event--especially for making the FEU conference
center available on short notice and for making the guests feel warmly
welcomed (beginning with lunch on day 1).

ESU Philippines is also grateful to the British Council for giving ESU
this rare opportunity to co-sponsor an event that is close to its heart.
Special thanks go to Andrew Picken for hosting lunch (see attached photos)
on 11th October in honor of our special guests, members of ESU Philippines
(Krip Yuson, Kat Legarda, Jimmy Abad, Linda Panlilio, Marlu Vilches), and
representatives of local university debate teams (Patricia Evangelista,
Glenn Tuazon, Ryan Buenafe). Spanish cuisine at Casa Armas wouldn't be
complete without its paella and lengua which most if not all had an
appetite for! Thanks to Nannette Mercado and Alec Ladanga for a good
restaurant choice!

Many thanks, also, to Linda Panlilio who escorted our guests to the Ayala
Museum after lunch. They both appreciated the kind gesture as well as
the book on the Dioramas of Philippine History.

The Chairman's Report

(This report on ESU Philippines was presented by ESUPhil Chairman Amb. Cesar Bautista at the ESU International Council Meeting in Marlborough House, London, 13-15 September 2006.)

The most interesting part of the meeting was the country report presentation where experiences were shared and insights on the way forward for each chapter were commented on. There were 43 participants representing some 30 countries in the meeting. The depth and variety of the activities/projects were quite impressive.

I reported on the busy 2005 for our organization which culminated in the formal presentation of the ESU charter from Lord Watson, the ESU chairman, in November. Our membership of 30 consists of representatives from the academe, business and the young professionals, all committed to improving international understanding and opportunities through the proper use of English. The challenge is for ESU Philippines to make a difference in this field. In addition to the doables that we are already into, eg selection of the national candidate for the International Public Speaking Contest, the support for improved debate and public speaking skills via our network of student clubs, and our “advocacy” for the improvement of English in schools, we are considering options where we can play a meaningful role in improving English proficiency especially in relation to making it the “language of opportunity” in today’s world.

A number of proposals have been brought forward by our members include the organizing of a English Public Speaking Contest amongst some elementary schools initially in the Metro Manila area to develop confidence at an earlier age, and the support of a research study on how to improve teaching proficiency, sponsoring British young volunteers to encourage their Filipino counterparts on the use of the language, etc. We can handle only one project initially but with the help of our university students network and business affiliates together with support of media, these initiatives may cover the wider countryside region with time

The suggestion regarding young British volunteers training our students on being comfortable with the use of English has drawn favorable responses from the Filipino professionals in the UK and the British Friends of the Philippines. A similar approach is already in place in Japan, called JET (Japan English Teaching), which is a bilateral project between the two governments. ESU Japan is familiar with the project but is not involved in it. It is a big undertaking and the challenge is whether we can come out with a similar but smaller project. Please refer to their website www.jet.uk.org. Former Ambassador Paul Dimond who heads the Friends of the Philippines has been very helpful in explaining this possibility to us.

Another version of this scheme is that the British volunteers shall be on their gap year, to train Filipino student school levels. Filipino professional in the UK together with the British Friends of the Philippines can be tapped to sponsor the plane trips of the volunteer and the business firms to support their local costs.

I made it clear that the above proposals are very much at the conceptual stage and we still have to flesh it out. However, these appear to be in the range of possibilities that ESU Philippines can handle within its resources and expertise.

While each country has its own challenges and peculiarities, the best project will be those where the cooperation and synergy between strengths of ESU chapters can be utilized to achieve a greater impact internationally.

Comments from Other Chapters:

The Chairman of ESU Scotland, Jonathan Dye, found our initiatives of interest to their chapter and would like to be kept informed because they may be able to offer assistance. They presently conduct a “Creatures Writing Competition” which has been a terrific success. They will send us details about this contest for our consideration as an alternative project in the future. I shall send a copy of their project to the ESU Philippines members as soon as available.

The American chapter was also keen to be in partnership with our group. They have outreach programmes that may complement our projects. They would also like to develop a twinning arrangement which could include the contribution of “books-across-the-sea" especially from their West Coast cities. I promised to get back to them as soon as I had the opportunity to discuss it with our members.

The Richmond Branch of ESU USA will host the annual conference of ESU in cooperation with Jamestown’s 400th anniversary on October 31-November 4, 2007. It will be held in Richmond and will have distinguished programs such as a Shakespeare Festival, Churchill Symposium and a panel discussion on ”ESU and the English Language.” They would very much like to have a panelist from us during that occasion. Kindly raise your hand if you will find yourself in Virginia during that week next year. It will be both a national and international event and will involve not just ESU but a wider range of experts.

The next ESU International Council Meeting will be nearer to home—in Tokyo—on October 8-10, 2007. I hope that our chapter will be represented in that meeting. Mr. Masahito Agata, auditor of ESU Japan, was particularly eager to show their projects to our participants during that occasion.