ESB Centre News, Spring/Summer 2019 edition

We have redesigned the ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech (Grade 4). This new innovative qualification now offers four exciting ‘Pathways’ for you to choose from: Traditional - This option follows the traditional ESB format, in which learners are encouraged to give a presentation on a topic which interests them, speak a chosen poem or drama piece by heart, introduce a chosen reading and give and respond to questions from their peers. Speech to Inform – Learners who choose this option can explore a Key Stage 3 curriculum topic in a wide range of subjects. They are encouraged to review a newspaper item and give a persuasive speech about a current affairs topic. Speech to Perform – This option suits learners who are passionate about the arts, and who want to build their confidence in performing. Learners will get a chance to write and perform their own self-composition. Speech for Employability – This option supports learners who want to deepen their understanding of a particular career and prepare for themselves for the job market. This option will also provide learners with a mock job interview. To see how learners respond to our new Pathways, we piloted the qualification across 10 schools with around 310

learners. One of the centres included RECLAIM, a youth leadership and social change group in Manchester which works with youngsters in the North West. To measure the value of the Pathways, we carried out learner and teacher questionnaires and baseline tests in each school. The results were staggering; not only did the learners thoroughly enjoy their ESB assessments, but for each Pathway, learners improved their oracy skills in almost every category. In the ‘Speech to Inform’ Pathway, the number of learners who felt they possessed ‘bad’ communication skills dropped by 50% after completing the assessment. Teachers were amazed to find that after the pilot, over 20% of learners had improved from ‘not competent’ to ‘competent’ in Key Stage 3 (KS3) Spoken English requirements. These findings show how beneficial ESB is, particularly for supporting the least confident or lower- achieving learners. The ‘Speech to Perform’ Pathway saw a 14% increase in the number of learners who felt their communication skills had boosted after achieving the qualification. Following the assessment, teachers reported that a percentage of learners improved in the following KS3 criteria: discussing language and meaning, expressing own ideas and high competency in using Standard English confidently.

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