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When Cinderella came to the ball, she dazzled them all!

We’re fairly sure our 2024 champions, Colegio Internacional SEK Pacífico (you can also spot our 2024 Public Speaking winner, Cristóbal Clavijo in the picture above, second from the left), will hate the comparison, cheeky bunch that they are. But, try as we might to find another, this one keeps coming back, leaving us with no choice but to surrender to it. We’ll trust that the high they’re feeling right now will offset any annoyance at the allusion to fairy-tale princesses.

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If Music be the food of love… Recite on!

Lovelorn Count Orsino spoke these famous first words from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: “If music be the food of love, play on!” Struck with the pangs of unrequited, boundless, and—let’s be honest—purely imaginary love, he fittingly sought sustenance from the most ephemeral and intangible of art forms: music. Which happens to be, of course, this year’s ESU Poetry Recitation Competition theme!

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CALL AND RESPONSE, COUNTERPOINT AND HARMONY!

This year’s theme for Duologue and Poetry is ‘MUSIC’, the perfect framing for our youngest and dearest, who through their dialog recitations must follow pretty much the same variables that make or break a musical performance: proper tone, using the right volume, hearing and responding to your partner, making your content legible to the audience, have them enraptured with enthusiasm and conveying your emotions. Did we mention that all of this is achieved by 1st and 2nd graders? 

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¡VIVA CHILE!

¡Feliz 18! From all of us at ESU Chile we wish all people that call this beautiful country their home, a great long weekend with

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AND WE HAVE OUR 12!

AND WE HAVE OUR 12! 12 Teams have entered this year’s ESU Tournament, which brings us back to pre pandemic levels. These are the schools

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TO BE YOUNG, CREATIVE AND WRITE!

The morning was decidedly cold on Saturday, June 8th. With skies overcast and ever-threatening a downpour, our twenty finalists arrived in a steady drizzle up the road to the Mayflower School campus in Lo Barnechea, Santiago. Huddled at the feet of the Andes, all carried multitudes inside themselves, ready to be unleashed on the scariest of adversaries: a blank page.

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Ready? Set? SPELL!

Busy, buzzing, spelling bees, from early morning to afternoon. The best English spellers of the land arrived in warm clothes that covered hearts brimming with hope. Heads bursting with words learnt and repeated until etched on their scalps, letter by letter. Each word on stage, taking the trip from the top of the palate to the tip of the tongue.

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Riding the Wave of Public Speaking: 2024 Semifinals and Final

It is very difficult to convey to anybody that hasn’t attended one of our events the air of competitive camaraderie between participants. Yes, there are heated arguments in our debates, side glances at our judges and more than one heart crushed at our prize giving ceremonies when their name or team comes up and it’s not under Number 1… but every step of the way, you can hear whispers of encouragement, teasing laughters, hugs of celebration and a few tears being wiped away by comforting hands.

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Our PSC Semifinals and Final are just a week Away!

Just one week is left for our in-person 2024 Public Speaking Competition semifinals and finals! Each of the ten semifinalists – after a virtual Round 1 in which they had to submit a video – will have the opportunity to present their speeches to a distinguished panel of judges, who will evaluate their performance based on a variety of criteria, including clarity, delivery, and overall effectiveness. The judges are respected leaders in their respective fields, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to them for their time, expertise, and dedication to this competition.

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First Annual ESU Kick Off!

“It’s the deep breath before the plunge,” Gandalf said. Which could be an apt image for our first Kick Off event, right at the beginning of the year and before all others!
Above all, it is a joyous celebration of the talents, enthusiasm, and courage of young people—some of them as young as 1st grade!—who participated and won our competitions in 2023. Our congratulations once again to them all and their teachers and parents who’ve supported them all along the way.

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Happy International Women’s Day!

In honour of the International Women’s Day, we would like to take the opportunity to thank and congratulate all women and girls that have been part of our community throughout the years: winners and participants, parents, teachers, judges, ESU board members, you all know who you are!

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All for one, and one for all!

“All for One and One for All!” That was the Musketeers’ motto in 17th-century France when King Louis XIII’s men contended for the land’s power with Cardinal Richelieu’s guards.

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Good Duologues are the Building Blocks for Understanding

Teaching and learning English is tough. VERY tough. VERY, VERY tough if it’s taught as a second (or even third) language. And if we add to that the pressure that kids feel to perform well and be recognized for it, we have a concoction that may not suit everyone’s taste…

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