Discover. Connect. Thrive. With the English-Speaking Union.
At the English-Speaking Union (ESU), we believe in the power of language to connect people across cultures and generations. More than a tool for communication, it fosters understanding, collaboration, and lifelong learning.
This is an exciting time for the ESU. Following a successful Celebrate Legacy, Inspire the Future Event at ESU House this past weekend, we are building momentum with our Capacity Building Campaign and looking ahead to the nation’s 250th Anniversary, with programs and events planned across the country.
From students and educators to lifelong learners, the ESU offers meaningful ways to engage through workshops, speaker events, exchanges, and special programs.
Stay connected and join us as we continue to build community, exchange ideas, and strengthen global citizenship.
We are proud to announce our new Educator Membership, offered exclusively to teachers involved in TLab, the National Shakespeare Competition, Middle & High School Debate and other ESU education programs. Benefits include:
Access to exclusive professional development workshops - including Music in Shakespeare, live via Zoom from Shakespeare’s Globe
Special curriculum resources and lesson plans
Discounted tickets to the National Shakespeare Competition
Preferred rates at the Shelburne Sonesta Hotel in NYC
The ESU invites you to join the 2027 National Shakespeare Competition, launching in August! Now in its 44th year, this performance-based program helps high school students build confidence and communication skills through the study and performance of Shakespeare’s works. Students from all five New York City boroughs, and over 400 schools nationwide, participated last year. Make your school one of them in 2027!
Professional development workshops are available in the US and UK for participating teachers, with exclusive opportunities for ESU educator members, including TLab UK summer scholarships.
If you have questions, please reach out to Maryellen Liotta at mliotta@esuus.org.
ESU INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS
ESU TRAVEL & LEARN ABROAD SCHOLARSHIPS (TLab)
ESU Teachers Across the Pond!
Academic & cultural adventures have begun for ESU educators across the pond this summer on 2 and 3-week programs at the University of Oxford and Shakespeare's Globe in London! The ESU of the Commonwealth hosted a Welcome Tea for our US teachers who have just arrived to participate in the Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance at Shakespeare's Globe in London. Meanwhile, in Oxford, ESU teachers finished their first week of intellectual and cultural discoveries inside and outside the classroom. Other ESU educators and lifelong learners will be heading soon to Edinburgh and Stratford-upon-Avon. Cheers to a wonderful summer of discovery for these much-deserving teachers!
ESU INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION (IPSC)
Best of Luck to Katherine Zhou, a junior at Choate Rosemary Hall, Connecticut. Katherine is currently in London representing the ESU US at the International Public Speaking Competition from July 13 - 18th.
Katherine and national winners from 40 countries around the world are enjoying cultural activities, public speaking workshops, international exchange and the chance to become the public speaking world champion at the ESU of the Commonwealth in London.
Week 2 of Debate & Fun for NYC middle school students at ESU National Headquarters has just begun! Students are busy making new friends and developing their public speaking, argumentation, and critical thinking skills through a focused exploration of debate. Rooted in the ESU's mission to promote civic engagement, critical thinking, and confident public speaking, students grow as thinkers, speakers, and teammates—whether they're brand new to debate or looking to sharpen their competitive edge. Led by passionate educators and nationally recognized debate coaches and their team of talented instructors, they bring decades of experience as top-tier competitors and transformational teachers.
New this year: an added cultural component has already resulted in private visits with Ambassador Paul Beresford Hill at the Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta, to the United Nations, the Morgan Library & Museum and lunchtime talks with diplomats--connecting debate skills to real-world global institutions made possible in part by the generosity and commitment of the Axe-Houghton Foundation.
On Thursday, June 11, we held our Class of 2026 Graduation Ceremony for the 300+ graduates of our center for new immigrants. This joyful evening was an opportunity for us to celebrate our dedicated, resilient, and courageous immigrant, asylum seeker, and refugee students. Over the past year, they participated in countless hours of English classes, conversation practice, and career services. In the process, they have built the language and career skills to thrive in the U.S. The Class of 2026 was diverse, with students coming from 40+ countries.
The ceremony featured speeches and readings from our diverse and brilliant community. Our ESOL instructor, Tamara, gave a warm and heartfelt speech to the graduates, praising them for their engagement in classes and wishing them the best for the future. One of our graduates, Zion, read an original piece of writing titled “Out of the Mountain, to the Sea.” This work was written as part of our English class, “Writing in English,” and was selected for publication in The Literacy Review, a publication of New York University. Our graduate Marcela presented our keynote address and recounted our center’s positive impact on her career and personal journey as a newcomer to the U.S. A final highlight of the evening was the formal presentation of certificates to the graduates. Students cheered and encouraged each other as their names were read. The Vice-Chairman of the ESU National Board, Darryl McCormick, presented each graduate with their certificate.
It has been an honor and a privilege to work with our amazing graduates this year. Each of them will always have a home at our center. We wish them bright futures in the years to come and cannot wait to see what they accomplish!
In the middle of a fast-paced New York City workday, something quieter and more meaningful unfolds on 39th Street. Volunteers and new immigrants sit across from each other, building confidence through conversation. These one-on-one exchanges, where English is practiced, stories are shared, and connections are formed, are at the heart of the English in Action (EiA) program.
For over 60 years, EiA has helped newcomers overcome language barriers by providing a welcoming space to develop English skills, navigate daily life, and grow professionally. As one participant shared, “It’s not just about learning the language—it’s about connecting with others and building confidence each week.”
EiA will be wrapping up its sessions for the summer, with programming set to resume in the fall.
THE ESU PLAYERS
Our End of the 2025-2026 Season Gala
A Staged Reading of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The ESU Players on their 26th Annual production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," honoring Mary and Bill Way, to whom the room is dedicated.
As part of the ongoing celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, this ESU Happy Hour event highlights North Carolina's overlooked role in the nation's founding. Guest speaker Brian Burns will discuss the Halifax Resolves, a pivotal event in the village of Halifax, NC, which marked the very first official action for independence taken by any of the thirteen British colonies. Alongside the actions of three North Carolina delegates at the Second Continental Congress, these resolves served as a crucial catalyst for the creation of the United States.
As part of the English-Speaking Union's (ESU) ongoing celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary, this virtual Happy Hour event features a dialogue between historical biographer Flora Fraser and Doug Bradburn, President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The discussion will reexamine the American Revolution by challenging the traditional narrative of unity, instead exploring it as a deeply divisive conflict, essentially America's first civil war. Through personal stories and historical insights, the speakers will delve into the intense conflicts between Patriots fighting for independence and Loyalists staying faithful to the British Crown, highlighting the complex costs of loyalty, identity, and freedom.
Exclusive Patron Membership Offer For a limited time, we invite you to enjoy a special benefit available only through this ESU Happy Hour event. Members who upgrade to a National Patron Membership, and new supporters who join at the National Patron level, will receive an autographed copy of Flora Fraser’s acclaimed book, Flora Macdonald: Pretty Young Rebel her life and story,” a unique keepsake from this exceptional presentation featuring Flora Fraser and Doug Bradburn.
Patron Members play a vital role in sustaining the English-Speaking Union’s mission to educate, inspire, and connect people through the power of the English language and its rich cultural heritage. Signed copies are limited and will be available while supplies last. We hope you will take this opportunity to become a National Patron Member and help ensure the continued strength and impact of the ESU for years to come.
Flora Fraser is a London-based historical biographer who specializes in archival research on 18th-century European and American women. She has authored several biographical works, including Beloved Emma, The Unruly Queen, Princesses, and Venus of Empire. Her book The Washingtons: George and Martha won the 2016 George Washington Book Prize, and her latest biography, chronicling the life of Scottish heroine Flora Macdonald, is published under the title Pretty Young Rebel.
Douglas Bradburn, PhD, is an award-winning author, early American history scholar, and the President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. After joining Mount Vernon in 2013 as the Founding Director of its Presidential Library, he was named the estate's 11th Director in 2018. His published work includes The Citizenship Revolution: Politics and the Creation of the American Union, 1774-1804, alongside three anthologies. Additionally, Bradburn co-founded and edits the Early American Histories book series for the University of Virginia Press and has received numerous prestigious fellowships, including a year-long research fellowship at Monticello.
WRENCH SPEAKER SERIES
SAVE THE DATE
Monday, October 5, 2026
King Charles III: 40 Years of Architecture
As Prince of Wales, King Charles III had a profound effect on the way architecture was viewed, not just in the UK but around the world. By championing Classicism and traditional styles, he gave heart to architects who had felt ostracized from their profession due to the ideological dominance of the Modern Movement.
The King first entered the fray with his famous “Carbuncle” speech. Not content merely to criticize what other people were doing, Charles first persuaded the Duchy of Cornwall to create the model urban developments of Poundbury and Nansledan. Then, in the 1990s, a school for architecture and the crafts. All the aspects of the King’s personality can be seen in the intensely personal Arcadia he has created at Highgrove House in the Cotswolds, with its famous garden. A different kind of Arcadia exists in parts of Transylvania, where he owns homes amid prelapsarian beauty.
As King, Charles is no longer head of the Duchy of Cornwall and cannot freely express his opinions. It is therefore time to assess the legacy of his 41 years of engagement with architecture. This lecture will show that it is astonishingly rich.
Clive Aslet is a writer, publisher, podcaster and visiting Professor of Architecture at the University of Cambridge.
He is now the publisher of Triglyph Books, the publishing house that he founded with photographer Dylan Thomas in 2019. His most recent book is King Charles III: 40 Years of Architecture, a tribute to the King’s long-standing passion for architecture, seen in the numerous causes he has championed as well as the model development undertaken by the Duchy of Cornwall while he was Prince of Wales.
In 2025, Clive was honoured to receive the Board of Directors’ Award from the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art at the Arthur Ross Awards in New York. He divides his time between Pimlico, in central London, and Ramsgate, on the Kent coast.
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