The cultural life of Indianapolis has been enriched for over half a century by the Indianapolis Branch of The English-Speaking Union (ESU), an educational organization that celebrates shared interests in the English language, literature, and history. In this city, the ESU has pursued its educational mission "to promote scholarship and the advancement of knowledge through the effective use of English in an expanding global community" by sponsoring the annual Shakespeare Competition for secondary school students; sending an area high school teacher to a British university each summer to study; partnering with Indiana University to bring a British student to study in Bloomington; hosting a British educator each year who visits the U.S. to study a particular issue; partnering with the Bavarian Branch of the ESU in Munich and sharing our respective cultures; and providing programs throughout the year that explore topics related to the English language, literature, and history.
The English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth, headquartered in London, was established in 1918 and now has Branches in over 50 countries around the world. Two years later, in 1920, Sir Evelyn Wrench founded The English-Speaking Union of the United States to help foster the Anglo-American friendship so evident during World War I and to connect people through the English language. The Indianapolis Branch, one of 75 ESU Branches across this country, was established in 1949. William Howard Taft, former president of the U.S., served as the first president of the ESU of the U.S. Other notable persons serving the organization over the years include President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was chairman of the ESU after he left the White House, the poet T.S. Eliot, historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, and writer George Plimpton.
To fulfill its educational mission, the Indianapolis Branch of the ESU participates directly in the following programs:
The National Shakespeare Competition is the ESU's largest educational initiative. Working in conjunction with secondary schools and local communities, it provides teachers with a curriculum-based program for introducing and promoting the study of Shakespeare. Through the memorization and interpretation of a monologue and a sonnet, high school students are encouraged to develop their communication skills and an appreciation of language and literature. Since 1983, approximately 150,000 young people in 60 communities nationwide have participated in the program. The local Shakespeare Competition, whose winner competes in the National Shakespeare Competition in New York City, takes place each February. The Indianapolis Branch also offers a Shakespeare Workshop for high school teachers in the area.
The British Universities Summer School (BUSS) scholarships allow American secondary school teachers to study in Great Britain each year. Teachers may become students again at the University of Oxford, the International Shakespeare Globe Centre, or the University of Edinburgh, where they may study literature, theatre, or history. The Indianapolis Branch has sent teachers to Britain from throughout the metropolitan area. In addition to sending a Hoosier teacher to the U.K., we partner with Indiana University to sponsor a British student in Bloomington.
The Walter Hines Page Scholarships promote the exchange of ideas by bringing British educators and administrators for short-term visits to American schools to study developments in their specialized fields. Walter Hines Page, for whom the scholarships are named, was President Woodrow Wilson's ambassador to Great Britain before and during World War I.
The Books-Across-the-Sea program represents various educational projects related to the written word, highlighting the role of books as interpreters of culture. The Ambassador Book Awards are presented annually to authors whose works best represent American life in the areas of fiction, biography, poetry, and American Studies. In Indianapolis, there is an ESU Book Club whose members read and discuss these works. Through the Books as Envoys program, these works are then sent as "literary ambassadors" of American culture to ESUs around the world for distribution in their area. The Indianapolis Branch is paired with the Bavarian Branch in Munich in this program.
The Indianapolis Branch also supports several other educational programs offered by the national English-Speaking Union, which is headquartered in New York City. English in Action is an English-as-a-Second-Language tutoring program; the U.S. Culture Seminar provides educators and other professionals from around the world with an opportunity to explore various aspects of life in this country; the Luard Scholarships are merit awards offered to students attending United Negro College Fund institutions and Hampton and Howard universities, enabling recipients to spend their junior year at the British university of their choice; and the Secondary School Exchange (SSE) enables American and British teenagers to spend a post-graduate semester or year in the opposite country on a full scholarship provided by participating schools. Both Park Tudor School and The Culver Academies have participated in the SSE program.
From September through June, the Indianapolis Branch of The English-Speaking Union holds local programs of interest to its membership.
The English-Speaking Union has been a part of the vibrant cultural life of Indianapolis for fifty-five years. Its educational mission and intellectual focus on the English language, literature, and history make for a rich cultural experience. People interested in the ESU may learn more by visiting the National web site at www.esuus.org.
