Diary of Events Hong Kong

06 September 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Miss Karen Chan, Mr Desmond Chu, Ms Fontane Ko, Ms Paula Kong, Ms Shida Lee, Ms Ada Li and Ms Jenny Siu
	6.30pm - 8.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: Knight Frank HK’s Office, 4/F Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai (by courtesy of the Company) Theme: “Public-Speaking and ESU Scholarships” You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our speakers are winners / representatives of the following ESU scholarships / Competition:- • Paula won the scholarship to attend the Globe Theatre “course” in 2010, • Ada and Fontane won the scholarship to attend the 2010 International Summer Conference in Mansfield, Oxford, • Jenny and Shida won the scholarship to attend the 2010 Shakespeare Study Course in Stratford-on-Avon, • Karen won the Standard Chartered HK English Public-Speaking Contest (co-organised by the ESU(HK) and the HK Federation of Youth Groups) and Desmond won the Public-Speaking Contest (organised by the HK Speech and Music Schools Association). They both represented Hong Kong at the 2010 ESU International Competition in London, Karen was the first runner-up. Karen, Desmond, Fontane, Paula, Shida, Ada and Jenny will be sharing their experience. All are welcome to join what are sure to be most informative and interesting presentations. PRIOR REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL. This event is free-of-charge but donations will be welcome. Cheques should please be made out to “The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd” and sent to The English-Speaking Union, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza – Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. You may also deposit the donation into our HSBC A/C No. 502-003734-001 and email or fax (to fax no. 2110-1991) the pay-in slip to us for reference. This event is limited to 30 persons and so registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
04 September 2010
	ESU HK SCHOOLS` SPEECH FESTIVAL 2010 - TEACHER TRAINING
	Presenter: Dr Mike Ingham, Dr Verner Bickley, Mrs Mary Szeto and Dr Gillian Bickley
	9.30am - 12.30pm
	HK$200 per session or HK$700 for 4 sessions (refreshments will be provided)
	Dates: 4, 11, 18 & 25 September 2010 Venue: BroadLearning Education (Asia) Ltd`s Office, 22/F, One Landmark East, 100 How Ming Street, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, HK (MTR Kwun Tong Exit APM). Tel: 3913-3000. Please click on this link for the details and the online registration:- http://www.broadlearning.com/enewsletter/201008/t8hj/ Enquiries: Tel 3913-3241
03 September 2010
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley and Mr Chris Hall
	10.00am - 12.00 noon
	ESU Members HK$250 donation per session, Students $75, Non-Members $300 (15 mins per session)
	Dr Bickley has more than 35 years experience of teaching and working with Hong Kong people. Her aim is to make your attendance at her Language Clinic useful and forward-looking. Mr Chris Hall is a graduate of Cambridge University, England and has lived and worked in Hong Kong for over 30 years. Our panel of "Language Doctors" offers advice and feedback on your specific questions or interests in using the English language (whether written or spoken). The Language Doctor will discuss with you the particular questions you raise and offer practical solutions and advice. An individual confidential consultation period of fifteen minutes will be allotted to each participant (if you need more time, please request a double session). Prior registration at least one week in advance is essential. From September 2010 until the end of the year, Mr Chris Hall will be available for consultation on the following dates from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon at the ESU Office, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Plaza, 1 Kornhill Road, HK (MTR Taikoo Exit A2):„o Friday, 3 September 2010 Friday, 3 December 2010 Friday, 10 December 2010 Friday, 17 December 2010 Dr Gillian Bickley will be available for consultation on Saturday, 20 November and Saturday, 4 December, from 10:00am to 12:00 noon at the ESU Office (address as above). Please call 2186-8449 (mornings only, Mondays to Fridays) or email esuhk@netvigator.com to book your individual confidential consultation.
31 August 2010
	23rd ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: “Master Harold and the Boys” by Athol Fugard Athol Fugard’s popular and frequently performed one-act play is set in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1950. The three characters are Harold, the white son of the café's owner, and Sam and Willie, two black employees who are clearing up after the day's lunchtime dining as the play opens. The conversation that follows gradually develops into an unflinching exploration of institutionalized racism and the dynamics of a broken family. In the process we discover the history of Harold's childhood, his relationship with his parents and with Sam and Willie, The conversation between the young ‘Master’ and the older ‘Boys’ (the perverse titles being clear signifiers of the underlying racist ideology) touches on kite-flying, music and dancing, comic books and ironically the question of were the most influential figures in recent history. The climax brings the issue of race out into the open as well as Harold's conflicted emotions about his father’s failings and Sam's role as his surrogate father figure. First performed at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1982, Athol Fugard's "Master Harold" and the Boys is based on the playwright's early life in South Africa. The play has lasted because it is much more than a personal memoir or an attack on an apartheid system that was swept away with Mandela’s and ANC’s dramatic ascent to power. Instead, Fugard wrote a play about close human relationships that are challenged by societal as well as personal forces. Although ‘Master’ Harold was inevitably banned in South Africa in the 1980s, it gained awards in London’s West End, on Broadway in New York and in many other countries and is now considered one of Athol Fugard’s dramatic masterpieces. It has yet to be performed in Hong Kong. Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
20 July 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	6.30pm - 8.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: Knight Frank HK`s Office, 4/F Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai (by countesy of the Company) *********** Monday 6 September 2010 Topic: "ESU Scholarships and Public-Speaking" Speakers: Ms Paula Kong, Ms Jenny Siu, Ms Ada Li, Ms Shida Lee, Ms Fontane Ko, Miss Karen Chan and Mr Desmond Chu Monday 4 October 2010 Topic: "Fund-Raising for a Good Cause: Stories of Success and Failure" Speaker: Mr Lum Kwok-choi Monday 15 November 2010 Topic: "The Rule of Three" Speaker: Mr Robert Bull Monday 6 December 2010 Topic: "Charity Work in China - Amity Foundation`s Experience" Speaker: Mr Anthony Tong Monday 10 January 2011 Topic to be announced. Speaker: Ms Katherine Forestier Monday 14 February 2011 Topic: "Plain English (Writing Style)" Speaker: Ms Ruth Benny Monday 7 March 2011 Topic to be announced. Speaker: Mr Danny Harrington
19 July 2010
	ENGLISH-IN-ACTION
	Presenter: Native English Speaker
	7.00pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members - HK$350 for four one-hour sessions, Non-Members - an additional HK$150 as registration fee
	A Programme for Speakers of English as a Second Language Who Would Enjoy Conversing with Fluent English-Speaking Volunteers. New group scheduled to start on Monday 26 July 2010. Other dates: 2, 9, 16 August 2010. Time: 7pm - 8pm Venue: Admiralty The English-in-Action programme of the English-Speaking Union in Hong Kong ESU (HK) aims to provide non-native speakers of English with the opportunity to practice conversational English in a relaxed, social atmosphere. Volunteer conversation leaders benefit from the opportunity to learn more about Hong Kong and its people. English-in-Action (EiA) operates as follows: - Meet in a small group (maximum 4 participants) with a native and/or fluent English-speaker for one hour a week for four weeks. - Practice English conversation and listening skills in an informal, social context geared to the group’s interests. - Learn about other cultures and customs from your conversation partners. - Share the culture and customs of Hong Kong with a foreign English-speaking resident. - Make new friends and improve the ease with which you express yourself and your ideas in English. To register or to obtain further information, please contact the English-Speaking Union (HK), Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, HKSAR; telephone 2186-8449 , fax 2110-1991, or e-mail: esuhk@netvigator.com.
15 June 2010
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	HK$75 ESU members, HK$90 Non-members, HK$25 Students
	AN INTERACTIVE OCCASION Venue: The Helena May Club, 35 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong Bring a book to talk about, read a paragraph from, or to ask questions about! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" You may order sandwiches and drinks at your own expense during the session. Numbers are very limited. To ensure your place, please register early by emailing or by phoning the ESU Administrator, Tel: 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only). PRIOR REGISTRATION AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE WILL BE APPRECIATED SO AS TO FORM A GROUP FOR BETTER INTERACTION. If you wish to join the ESU (HK) as a member, you can do so at the event. Or you can join the ESU (HK) at any time by visiting the ESU (HK) website: www.esuhk.org Annual Membership Donations: Individual (HK$300), Student (HK$100)
07 June 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Simon Tham, Head of Section (Native-speaking English Teacher Section) (Curriculum Development Institute), the Education Bureau
	6.30pm - 8.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Topic: ¡§STORY-TELLING¡¨ Venue: Knight Frank HK¡¦s Office, 4/F Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering which will be held in the Boardroom of Knight Frank Company, 4/F, Shui On Centre, Wanchai, by courtesy of the Company. This session hopes to get participants involved in story-telling, by listening to the speaker tell stories as well as take part in some of the activities that he will ask the participants to join in as the stories are being narrated. Mr Tham has taught English and English Literature at senior secondary level for 6 years, was one of the pioneers for the Target-Oriented Curriculum (TOC) project, being both teacher trainer and curriculum developer in that project. He is also adjudicator and advisor for numerous competitions related to English Language Speech, Drama, Debate, etc in Hong Kong schools. Mr Tham is presently Head of Section (Native-speaking English Teacher Section) (Curriculum Development Institute), the Education Bureau. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation. PRIOR REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL.
03 June 2010
	Hong Kong student excels in international public-speaking competition!
	The English-Speaking Union (Hong Kong) announced today that a Hong Kong student, Miss Chan Kar-wun, Karen had taken the runner-up¡¦s prize in the English-Speaking Union¡¦s International Public-Speaking Competition held in London. An excellent achievement. On Friday, 21 May, 75 participants from 45 countries battled it out. The Competition started 29 years ago and it has now spread to 40,000 young people, world-wide. The appeal of the competition is the opportunity it gives to young people all over the world to practise and improve their skills in public-speaking and communication, by empowering them to give their opinions with confidence and by connecting them to a network of alumni from across the globe from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. 2010 is the 92nd anniversary of the English-Speaking Union, founded in 1918 to promote understanding and friendship through the use of the English language. The Hong Kong Branch will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2011.
25 May 2010
	22nd ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: ¡§Trifles¡¨ by Susan Glaspell Susan Glaspell's one-act play, Trifles, is based on actual events that occurred in Iowa at the beginning of the 20th century, a murder trial which Glaspell reported on when she worked as a newspaper reporter. At the trial Margaret Hossack, a farmer¡¦s wife, was eventually found guilty of the murder of her husband. When Glaspell and her husband, George Cook, were looking for a subject for a new play to be performed by their theatre company, The Provincetown Players in Cape Cod in 1916, Glaspell¡¦s memory of the murder trial inspired Trifles. Trifles is a murder mystery that explores gender relationships, power between the sexes, and the nature of truth. In the play, the Wright, the farmer, and his wife never actually appear. Instead, the story focuses on the prosecutor, George Henderson, who has been called in to investigate the murder; Henry Peters, the local sheriff, Lewis Hale, a neighboring farmer who discovered Wright's body; and Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale, the wives of the two local men. While the men tramp self-importantly around the farmhouse searching for clues, the women, left in the kitchen to pack items for the jailed woman, accidentally discover minutiae of evidence in the ¡¥trifles¡¦ of Mrs Wright¡¦s (nee Minnie Foster¡¦s) life. These include her baking, cleaning and sewing, as well as her caged songbird. Because the men virtually ignore the women's world while they undertake ¡¥men¡¦s business¡¦, they remain blind to the truth before their eyes. The women on the other hand read the signs in the ¡¥trifles¡¦, and are faced with the dilemma of whether to reveal this ¡¥evidence¡¦ to the men or not. ***** Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
24 May 2010
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6.00pm - 8.00pm
	Donations to the ESU: Members 250 per 15-minute session, No-Members $300 per 15-minute session, Studfents $75 per 15-minute session
	Dr Bickley has more than 35 years experience of teaching and working with Hong Kong people. Her aim is to make your attendance at her Language Clinic useful and forward-looking. Dr Gillian Bickley or another member of our "Language Doctor" panel (as announced) offers advice and feedback on your specific questions or interests in using the English language (whether written or spoken). The Language Doctor will discuss with you the particular questions you raise and offer practical solutions and advice. The ESU Language Clinic is run four times a year from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. An individual confidential consultation period of fifteen minutes will be allotted to each participant (if you need more time, please request a double session). PRIOR REGISTRATION AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE IS ESSENTIAL. The next Language Clinic will be held on: Monday, 24 May 2010 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the ESU Office ¡V Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2) Please call 2186-8449 (mornings only, Mondays to Fridays) or email esuhk@netvigator.com to book your individual confidential consultation.
11 May 2010
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	Donations: ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	AN INTERACTIVE OCCASION Venue: The Helena May Club, 35 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong Bring a book to talk about, read a paragraph from, or to ask questions about! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" You may order sandwiches and drinks at your own expense during the session. Numbers are very limited. To ensure your place, please register early by emailing or by phoning the ESU Administrator, Tel: 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only). PRIOR REGISTRATION AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE WILL BE APPRECIATED SO AS TO FORM A GROUP FOR BETTER INTERACTION. If you wish to join the ESU (HK) as a member, you can do so at the event. Or you can join the ESU (HK) at any time by visiting the ESU (HK) website: www.esuhk.org Annual Membership Donations: Individual (HK$300), Student (HK$100)
03 May 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Verner Bickley
	6.30pm - 8.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: Knight Frank HK¡¦s Office, 4/F Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai. Topic: ¡§Creative Writing and Life Writing¡¨. A talk illustrated with excerpts from the autobiography, ¡¥Footfalls Echo in the Memory¡¦ and given under the English-Speaking Union series, ¡§Meet at the ESU¡¨. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering which will be held in the Boardroom of Knight Frank Company, 4/F, Shui On Centre, Wanchai, by courtesy of the Company. ¡§Creative writing¡¨ may take many forms and may include works of fiction (such as novels, short stories, plays and film-scripts) and non-fiction (for example, essays, instructional books, religious tracts, biographies, autobiographies and memoirs). So far, in this ¡§Meet at the ESU¡¨ series we have heard from experts on the arts of questioning, ordered listening and text-book writing; all of which skills were of value to the autobiographer whose turn it is this evening. Our speaker, Dr Verner Bickley, will discuss certain key aspects of creative writing and illustrate these with excerpts from his recent autobiography, ¡§Footfalls Echo in the Memory¡¨. In addition to his first-hand account of the Mutiny of (the then) Royal Indian Navy in 1945, he will refer to the occasions when the Aga Khan was weighed in diamonds; when a train in Ceylon refused to move; when discretion proved the better part of valour in Singapore and Jakarta;; when tailors in Hong Kong did more than just make suits; when Governor Gimson provided roofs over many heads; when the indomitable Dr Hensman¡¦s medical training deserted her and when Miss Gulliver survived despite the odds. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation. PRIOR REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL. Enquiries to: esuhk@netvigator.com, or Tel 2186-8449 (M-F am only). This event is free-of-charge but donations will be welcome. Cheques should please be made out to ¡§The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd¡¨ and sent to The English-Speaking Union, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. This event is limited to 30 persons and so registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
29 April 2010
	ESU Scholarships 2010
	ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION SCHOLARSHIPS 2010 Applicants for the following English-Speaking Union Scholarships are invited by the ESU (HK) Scholarships Committee to attend interviews as follows: The 2010 ESU and Globe Education Cultural Seminar for Teachers at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London (Sunday 8 - Saturday 14 August 2010 (inclusively) Date of Interviews: Thursday, 29 April 2010 Time: 5.00pm - 6.30pm Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). Candidates should be teachers of English or Theatre who (preferably) have experience of teaching Shakespeare and are non-native English speakers. Participants will be introduced to Globe Education's approach to teaching Shakespeare to students of all ages and will meet and work with Globe Theatre staff and Globe Education practitioners. The Scholarship covers tuition, theatre trips and accommodation (breakfast included). It does not cover air fares to and from the U.K. or local fares in the U.K. An application does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a scholarship. **************************** International Summer Conference (Sunday 8 - Saturday 14 August 2010 (inclusively) Mansfield College Oxford Date of Interviews: Thursday, 29 April 2010 Time: 6.30pm ¡V 7.30pm Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). The average age of participants in this important Conference on International Relations is 30-35 but people as young as 22 fit in well. Young people of all professions take part, but the majority tends to be lawyers, journalists, teachers/university lecturers. It is not recommended that undergraduates should participate. The Conference will deal with a variety of issues relating to International Relations. It will cover International Relations, British Institutions, the Developing World and International Trade and Industry. Each session will take the form of a short lecture followed by a comprehensive discussion involving all the delegates. The Scholarship covers all costs while at Mansfield College - lectures, receptions, visits, accommodation and meals. It does not cover air fares to and from the U.K. or local fares in the U.K. An application does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a scholarship. For enquiries, please contact Tel: 2186-8449, Email: esuhk@netvigator.com, Fax: 2110-1991. ADDITIONAL ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY! SUNDAY 1 - SATURDAY 7 AUGUST 2010 (INCLUSIVELY). INTERVIEWS IN HONG KONG ON WEDNESDAY, 7 APRIL, 2010 (SEE BELOW). For several years now, the English-Speaking Union (ESU) in Hong Kong has submitted applications to the ESU in London for two scholarships; the first to enable a Hong Kong person to attend a major conference on international relations at Mansfield College, Oxford and the second to enable a Hong Kong person to participate in a programme at Shakespeare¡¦s Globe Theatre in London. All our applications have, so far, been successful but, of course, there are no guarantees. Now, I am delighted to announce a third (additional) scholarship opportunity for persons studying Literature/ Shakespeare at Degree or Post-Graduate level, or who have an otherwise demonstrable interest (i.e. a theatre practitioner). ¡§Shakespeare in Stratford¡¨ is offered in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. It consists of a week of Shakespeare plays, lectures, discussions and workshops devised and delivered by Shakespearian experts in Shakespeare¡¦s birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon. Drawing on the unique resources available at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the week-long Course provides the participants with insights into the life of Shakespeare, having an opportunity to explore the places where he lived and worked. The Course offers an academic programme of pre-performance lectures and post-performance discussions led by scholars of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute. The Courses are augmented by classes with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company (including actors and voice coaches) and attendance at performances of Julius Caesar, The Winter¡¦s Tale, As You Like It and The Comedy of Errors. A scholarship covers accommodation, meals, course fees, including any excursions or theatre trips. It does NOT cover travel to and from the U.K., and travel to and from the airport. Date of Interviews in Hong Kong: Thursday, 29 April 2010. Time: Starting from 7.30pm. Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. For enquiries, please contact Tel: 2186-8449, Email: esuhk@netvigator.com, Fax: 2110-1991.
27 April 2010
	21st ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: ¡§The BrowningVersion¡¨ by Terence Rattigan Terence Rattigan's 1948 one-act play 'The Browning Version' is probably one of the very best one-acters ever written in the English language. It depicts Andrew Crocker-Harris, an embittered, middle-aged schoolmaster who begins to feel that his life has been a failure. Diminished by poor health, a crumbling marriage on account of his wife Millie's infidelity with a younger colleague, and the derision and misunderstanding of his pupils, the once brilliant scholar is compelled to re-examine his life when a young student offers an unexpected gesture of kindness in the form of a rare and valuable translated version of Aeschylus's Greek tragedy, 'Agamemnon'. The Greek tragedy concerns the murder of the Greek king on his return from the Trojan wars by his unfaithful wife, Clytemnestra and her lover, which sets in chain a spate of revenge killings. By contrast the unheroic human context of Crocker-Harris's situation offers no such dramatic possibilities for revenge, simply the redemptive act of thoughtfulness and appreciation by one student, Taplow, who is more sensitive than the rest and sees his form teacher's mask of sternness and rectitude as a mask for his shy but intellectually generous nature. Rattigan's play, like his other post-war masterpiece 'The Winslow Boy' and 'The Deep Blue Sea', was hugely successful in London and New York, and was adapted into the award-winning 1951 film of the same name, with Michael Redgrave in a career-defining performance as Crocker-Harris. 'The Browning Version' is an absorbing and thought-provoking play, which we will be able to read in its entirety in this month's ESU play-reading session. ***** Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
26 April 2010
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6.00pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$250.00 donation per session, Non-Members $300, Students $75
	Dr Bickley has more than 35 years experience of teaching and working with Hong Kong people. Her aim is to make your attendance at her Language Clinic useful and forward-looking. Dr Gillian Bickley or another member of our "Language Doctor" panel (as announced) offers advice and feedback on your specific questions or interests in using the English language (whether written or spoken). The Language Doctor will discuss with you the particular questions you raise and offer practical solutions and advice. The ESU Language Clinic is run four times a year from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. An individual confidential consultation period of fifteen minutes will be allotted to each participant (if you need more time, please request a double session). PRIOR REGISTRATION AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE IS ESSENTIAL. The next Language Clinic will be held on: Monday, 26 April 2010 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the ESU Office ¡V Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2) Please call 2186-8449 (mornings only, Mondays to Fridays) or email esuhk@netvigator.com to book your individual confidential consultation.
23 April 2010
	ENGLISH-IN-ACTION PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Native English Speaker
	7.00pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members - HK$350 for four one-hour sessions, Non-Members - an additional HK$150 as registration fee
	Dates of Meeting: to be matched. A Programme for Speakers of English as a Second Language Who Would Enjoy Conversing with Fluent English-Speaking Volunteers The English-in-Action programme of the English-Speaking Union in Hong Kong ?ESU (HK) ?aims to provide non-native speakers of English with the opportunity to practice conversational English in a relaxed, social atmosphere. Volunteer conversation leaders benefit from the opportunity to learn more about Hong Kong and its people. English-in-Action (EiA) operates as follows: - Meet in a small group (maximum 4 participants) with a native and/or fluent English-speaker for one hour a week for four weeks. - Practice English conversation and listening skills in an informal, social context geared to the group’s interests. - Learn about other cultures and customs from your conversation partners. - Share the culture and customs of Hong Kong with a foreign English-speaking resident. - Make new friends and improve the ease with which you express yourself and your ideas in English. To register or to obtain further information, please contact the English-Speaking Union (HK), Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, HKSAR; telephone 2186-8449 , fax 2110-1991, or e-mail: esuhk@netvigator.com. Other groups for other dates and other times can be arranged upon request.
20 April 2010
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	AN INTERACTIVE OCCASION Venue: The Helena May Club, 35 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong Bring a book to talk about, read a paragraph from, or to ask questions about! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" You may order sandwiches and drinks at your own expense during the session. Numbers are very limited. To ensure your place, please register early by emailing or by phoning the ESU Administrator, Tel: 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only) If you wish to join the ESU (HK) as a member, you can do so at the event. Or you can join the ESU (HK) at any time by visiting the ESU (HK) website: www.esuhk.org Annual Membership Donations: Individual (HK$300), Student (HK$100)
12 April 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mrs Linda LUI
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Topic: ¡§The Art of Listening with Understanding¡¨ Guest Speaker: Mrs Linda LUI You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering which will be held in the Boardroom of Knight Frank Company, 4/F, Shui On Centre, Wanchai, by courtesy of the Company. After taking early retirement from her job as a lecturer in teacher-training, Linda LUI turned her interest to writing and promoting the use of English. She worked part-time at HKU-Space from 2003 to 2004 and she also wrote for Oxford University Press (China) Ltd. She has been working as an external assessor for HKU and Macau¡¦s DSEJ. Besides being an active volunteer for the English-Speaking Union, taking charge of the very successful English-in-Action programme, Linda is a UK-trained Christian Listener, and occasionally gives talks at the Sheung Kung Hui Ming Hua Theological College. She also runs the Hong Kong Christian Listening Ltd. We listen all the time but do you really hear what is actually spoken? This talk helps you to listen to others attentively and equip you with the skills to listen with understanding. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation. This event is free-of-charge but donations will be welcome. Cheques should please be made out to ¡§The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd¡¨ and sent to The English-Speaking Union, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. This event is limited to 30 persons and so registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
07 April 2010
	ESU SCHOLARSHIPS 2010
	From 5.00pm
	ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION SCHOLARSHIPS 2010 Applicants for the following English-Speaking Union Scholarships are invited by the ESU (HK) Scholarships Committee to attend interviews as follows: The 2010 ESU and Globe Education Cultural Seminar for Teachers at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London (Sunday 8 - Saturday 14 August 2010 (inclusively) Date of Interviews: Wednesday, 19 May 2010 Time: 5.00pm - 6.30pm Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). Candidates should be teachers of English or Theatre who (preferably) have experience of teaching Shakespeare and are non-native English speakers. Participants will be introduced to Globe Education's approach to teaching Shakespeare to students of all ages and will meet and work with Globe Theatre staff and Globe Education practitioners. The Scholarship covers tuition, theatre trips and accommodation (breakfast included). It does not cover air fares to and from the U.K. or local fares in the U.K. An application does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a scholarship. **************************** International Summer Conference (Sunday 8 - Saturday 14 August 2010 (inclusively) Mansfield College Oxford Date of Interviews: Wednesday, 7 April 2010 Time: 6.30pm - 7.30pm Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). The average age of participants in this important Conference on International Relations is 30-35 but people as young as 22 fit in well. Young people of all professions take part, but the majority tend to be lawyers, journalists, teachers/university lecturers. It is not recommended that undergraduates should participate. The Conference will deal with a variety of issues relating to International Relations. It will cover International Relations, British Institutions, the Developing World and International Trade and Industry. Each session will take the form of a short lecture followed by a comprehensive discussion involving all the delegates. The Scholarship covers all costs while at Mansfield College - lectures, receptions, visits, accommodation and meals. It does not cover air fares to and from the U.K. or local fares in the U.K. An application does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a scholarship. ********************************* ADDITIONAL ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY! SUNDAY 1 - SATURDAY 7 AUGUST 2010 (INCLUSIVELY). INTERVIEWS IN HONG KONG ON WEDNESDAY, 7 APRIL, 2010 (SEE BELOW). For several years now, the English-Speaking Union (ESU) in Hong Kong has submitted applications to the ESU in London for two scholarships; the first to enable a Hong Kong person to attend a major conference on international relations at Mansfield College, Oxford and the second to enable a Hong Kong person to participate in a programme at Shakespeare¡¦s Globe Theatre in London. All our applications have, so far, been successful but, of course, there are no guarantees. Now, I am delighted to announce a third (additional) scholarship opportunity for persons studying Literature/ Shakespeare at Degree or Post-Graduate level, or who have an otherwise demonstrable interest (i.e. a theatre practitioner). ¡§Shakespeare in Stratford¡¨ is offered in association with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. It consists of a week of Shakespeare plays, lectures, discussions and workshops devised and delivered by Shakespearian experts in Shakespeare¡¦s birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon. Drawing on the unique resources available at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the week-long Course provides the participants with insights into the life of Shakespeare, having an opportunity to explore the places where he lived and worked. The Course offers an academic programme of pre-performance lectures and post-performance discussions led by scholars of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute. The Courses are augmented by classes with members of the Royal Shakespeare Company (including actors and voice coaches) and attendance at performances of Julius Caesar, The Winter¡¦s Tale, As You Like It and The Comedy of Errors. A scholarship covers accommodation, meals, course fees, including any excursions or theatre trips. It does NOT cover travel to and from the U.K., and travel to and from the airport. Date of Interviews in Hong Kong: Wednesday 7 April 2010. Time: Starting from 7.30pm. Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. For enquiries, please contact Tel: 2186-8449, Email: esuhk@netvigator.com, Fax: 2110-1991.
30 March 2010
	20th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Guest Facilitator: Mr David Booth, ESU Coordinator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: ¡§The Cherry Orchard¡¨ by Anton Chekhov in an adapted version by David Mamet Anton Chekhov's masterpiece 'The Cherry Orchard' Guest facilitator David Booth has considerable experience in directing Anton Chekhov's plays and has directed this play 'The Cherry Orchard' and also 'Uncle Vanya' in Hong Kong in English. He has selected this contemporary version of the play written in 1985 by celebrated American dramatist David Mamet as his focus for the ESU play-reading this month, and will bring his deep knowledge and insight into this great play to our reading and discussion. David Mamet's instinct and ear for great dialogue in his plays such as 'Glengarry Glenn Ross' and 'Oleanna' serve him well in this adaptation of Chekhov's 1904 play which was first performed at the Moscow Arts Theatre under the direction of the great Konstantin Stanislavsky. At the start of the play Madame Ranevsky and her daughter, Anya, return to their country estate from Paris to find that the estate is about to be sold at auction for debt. To all the family it is quite unthinkable that they should lose the wonderful cherry orchard whose white blooms are part of their childhood memories. Madame Ranevsky is an irresponsible soul who cannot be made to realize the value of money. Her brother, Gaev, is quite as hopeless where money is concerned. Varya, the step-daughter, is the only practical one, but how can a woman raise money? Lopahkin, a former serf, with whom Varya is in love, has become a wealthy landowner. Out of his admiration for Madame Ranevsky and a genuine affection that remains from childhood days, he suggests that if they will tear down the house and raze the cherry orchard, they can cut the property up into the popular new villa sites. The entire property, he assures them, will promptly be leased and the substantial income it will afford, will enable them to live where and as they please. However, family pride combined with a spirit of procrastination prevents their accepting this suggestion even if their fondness for their cherry orchard would permit their considering its destruction. They continue to believe that some miracle will save their orchard. Thus they drift along until the day set for the sale. For Mamet , as he points out in his introduction the play is less about money and property and more about the subtext of the frustrated sexuality of the characters. ***** Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
29 March 2010
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6.00pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$250 donation per session, Students $75, Non-Members $300 (15 mins per session)
	Dr Bickley has more than 35 years experience of teaching and working with Hong Kong people. Her aim is to make your attendance at her Language Clinic useful and forward-looking. Dr Gillian Bickley or other members of our "Language Doctor" panel (as announced) offers advice and feedback on your specific questions or interests in using the English language (whether written or spoken). They will discuss with you the particular questions you raise and offer practical solutions and advice. The ESU Language Clinic is run four times a year from 6.00pm to 8.00pm. An individual confidential consultation period of fifteen minutes will be allotted to each participant (if you need more time, please request a double session). PRIOR REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL. The next session will be on: Monday 29 March 2010 6:00 to 8:00 pm at the ESU Office ¡V Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2) Please call 2186-8449 (mornings only, Mondays to Fridays) or email esuhk@netvigator.com for an appointment.
06 March 2010
	HERITAGE WALK - "Early Pioneers of Western Education in Colonial Hong Kong"
	Presenter: Led by Hong Kong writer, historian and long-term resident,Dr Gillian Bickley
	10.00am sharp - 12.30pm
	Donations to the ESU: ESU Members HK$180, Non-Members HK$230, Full-time Students up to age 24 HK$100
	Start 10.00am sharp Finish 12.30pm Meeting Place Mid-levels Escalator walkway above Queen's Road Central (i.e. where the Escalator walkway and Queen's Road Central intersect). Opposite the Seven Eleven Store. Ends outside the St John's Building, Garden Road. Cash Please bring some money for refreshments if needed. Numbers are limited. Avoid disappointment and reserve your place early by sending your cheque as soon as possible. Deadline for enrollment: Friday, 5 March 2008, 11.00am. Please make your cheque payable to ¡°The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd¡± and send it to Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¨C Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. Visit significant sites at Hollywood Road, Ice House Street, Wyndham Street, Lower Albert Road, Garden Road: the Hong Kong early western residents knew! Mainly flat walking. We suggest walking shoes, an umbrella, water and some small change. The organiser disclaims any responsibility for accidents or injuries. LEARN ABOUT HONG KONG & SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW! The date is close to the 148th anniversary of 10 March 1862, when Frederick Stewart, celebrated by his contemporaries as the Founder of Hong Kong Government education (including of course English Language education), taught his first class at the Hong Kong Government Central School (now known as Queen's College), the first school established and fully funded by the Hong Kong Government. English language Government education laid the foundation for Hong Kong's development. The second site housing this school has been the subject of recent controversy. Cancellation: We regret, no reimbursements are possible. Substitutions are always welcome. Please let us know immediately if you suddenly find you cannot come and please let us know if anyone will come in your place.
01 March 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Jeremy Walenn
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	Free-of-charge but donations will be welcome
	Topic: ¡°The Prize-Winning Language Learning Entry and a Visit to the Palace¡± Venue: Knight Frank HK¡¯s Office, 4/F Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering which will be held in the Boardroom of Knight Frank Company, 4/F, Shui On Centre, Wanchai, by courtesy of the Company. ¡°English for Specific Academic Purposes!¡±. This book won the Duke of Edinburgh English Language Book Award in 2009. Jeremy Walenn is a successful writer of text books and an experienced lecturer in English as a Foreign Language in Hong Kong. He was a winner in 2009 and can speak from his own personal experience of receiving the award. Jeremy will talk about the history of the ESU awards and the impact that these awards have had on raising the standard of English as a Foreign Language learning and teaching materials. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation. This event is free-of-charge but donations will be welcome. Cheques should please be made out to ¡°The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd¡± and sent to The English-Speaking Union, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¨C Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. This event is limited to 30 persons and so registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
23 February 2010
	19th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: ¡°The Woman in Black¡± by Susan Hill This Gothic tale adapted for the stage from Susan Hill¡¯s novel has been running continuously in London since 1993 and has been a huge artistic and commercial success for London¡¯s Theatreland. The story is about a mysterious woman in black who haunts an old isolated situated in the marshland off the east coast of England in the early 20th century. In the stage version a solicitor called Kipps, now a middle-aged man, hires a theatre and an actor to help him re-enact what happened during his visit in order to exorcise the demons that have haunted him ever since that visit when he was a young man. He is coached by the actor to participate as the second actor and the play moves from narration to role-play and then full re-enactment. The actor impersonates the young Kipps, while Kipps himself plays all the other roles. The two are aided by theatrical artifice and trust the imagination of the audience to see what they are seeing in the mind¡¯s eye. Thus a brilliantly imaginative theatricality is at the very heart of the novel adaptation. In their attempt to of the Woman in Black and lay her tormented spirit to rest ¨C tormented and vengeful on account of the cruel loss of her child a century beforehand - the two are unleashing forces that they do not fully understand, but which the reader and audience becomes of the final chilling twist of the play. The play is an outstanding example of the power of the thriller/horror genre to grip an audience without resorting to spoof or parody. The Woman in Black has been performed a number of times in Hong Kong in recent years. ***** Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
22 February 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Professor Yvonne Y H Fung
	6.30pm - 8.30pm
	Topic: ¡°Liberal Studies in the New Secondary Curriculum for HK Schools¡± Venue: Knight Frank HK¡¯s Office, 4/F Shui On Centre, 6-8 Harbour Road, Wanchai. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering which will be held in the Boardroom of Knight Frank Company, 4/F, Shui On Centre, Wanchai, by courtesy of the Company. This talk will include a brief analysis of the rationale underlying the curriculum design of Liberal Studies, the content of the curriculum, and the pedagogical and assessment strategies. It will also cover how teachers can plan their teaching and address parents¡¯ concerns about effective student learning. Professor Fung is an experienced teacher-educator and is now the Dean of the School of Education and Languages, The Open University of Hong Kong. Her research interests are in science education, curriculum development and assessment, and the use of distance education in teacher education. She has developed distance learning courses for a number of education programmes at the Open University of Hong Kong and is one of the authors of the course Learning and Teaching Liberal Studies. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation. This event is free-of-charge but donations will be welcome. Cheques should please be made out to ¡°The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd¡± and sent to The English-Speaking Union, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¨C Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. This event is limited to 30 persons and so registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
09 February 2010
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Led by Dr Gillian Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	HK$75 ESU members, HK$90 Non-members, HK$25 Students
	AN INTERACTIVE OCCASION (Change of Venue & other Changes) Venue: The Helena May Club, 35 Garden Road, Central, HK Bring a book to talk about or to ask questions about! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" Numbers are very limited. To ensure your place, please register early by emailing or by phoning the ESU Administrator, Tel: 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only)
26 January 2010
	18th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: ¡°Daisy Pulls It Off¡± by Denise Deegan Daisy Pulls It Off is a comedy play by Denise Deegan. It is a parody of adventure stories about life in a 1920s girls' English boarding school, such as those by Angela Brazil. The original London production of the play opened at the Gielgud Theatre in 1983 and ran for 1,180 performances. The protagonist of the play, the positive-minded high achiever Daisy Meridith, a girl from a lower social class, wins a scholarship to the exclusive Grangewood School for Young Ladies. At the beginning of her stay at the school she is forced to confront and overcome snobbish prejudice and schoolgirl pranks from some of the wealthier girls. In the process she and her best friend, zany Trixie Martin, search for missing treasure that could save the fortunes of the school. In a kind of Harry Potter-like initiation rite, Daisy must overcome false accusations, save the lives of her nasty schoolmates, Monica and Sybil, and discover that the mysterious stranger seen around the grounds is her long-lost father. As in the comedy series, the St Trinians films, the schoolgirls are played by older actresses, and the headmistress can be played by a man, as in pantomime tradition of British theatre. The play won the 1983 Laurence Olivier Award for best new British stage comedy. Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
04 January 2010
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Malcolm Brocklebank
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for New ESU Members
	Topic: "Questions & Questioning Techniques in English" Venue: Room 603, The Boys` & Girls` Clubs Association of HK, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, HK You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Mr Brocklebank is a senior Company Director with broad-level experience in strategic visioning, marketing/planning and new business development. He has been the Founder and CEO of Marketing and Management Solutions since 1994. Following Mr Brockelbank¡¯s talk, participants will be divided into small groups for some fun and games! All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
19 December 2009
	ESU CHRISTMAS PARTY
	2.00pm - 5.00pm
	Venue: Rm 510A,Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, HK (MTR Taikoo Exit A2) In my Christmas message on 2 December last year, I said that the shops had been taken by surprise and that we hadn¡¯t heard any recorded Christmas music in the shopping malls. That is most definitely not the case this year and we have either felt plagued or delighted since the middle of November. If this trend continues, it will become very confusing since we shall be celebrating next year¡¯s Christmas before we have enjoyed this year¡¯s¨Dor something like that¡­ But forgive this rambling. I am writing now to remind members about our annual Christmas Party which we have ¡°trailed¡± in our Newsletter and on our web site. The party takes place (as I am sure everybody knows) on Saturday, 19 December from 2pm to 5pm at our Kornhill Office. Last year, as seems to have become the custom, two of our Executive Committee members, Anthony Tong and Mike Ingham, provided guitar music and there was the usual raffle, good food and other delights. Twangs for the memory! Are there other musicians out there who would like to join the band? This is usually a wonderful party. Everyone is welcome (members, non-members and certainly those who wish to become members). The party is a ¡°pot luck¡± event. Pots are certainly welcome. Everyone is encouraged to bring something to eat or drink, to share among us all. If you find this difficult or inconvenient, then you may wish to donate cash (before the event) so that we can buy what else might be needed. Do please contact Venni if you are willing to help and if you have any ideas for enriching the Party (I remember that, some years ago, one of our members showed us all how to make ¡°milk tea¡±. It was enjoyed by all). �7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8�7«8 REPLY FORM: From (name): ____________________________________ ESU Member no: ____________________ / �6Ò2 Friend of the ESU Email address: _____________________________ Phone No. ___________________ Postal address: ___________________________________________________________ I will come to the ESU Party on Saturday, 19 December, 2.00pm to 5.00pm: �6Ò2 Yes �6Ò2 No I will bring with me to share: Salad (please describe) __________________________________________________ Meat dish (please describe) _______________________________________________ Vegetarian dish (please describe) __________________________________________ Snacks (please describe) _________________________________________________ Bread / rice (please describe) _____________________________________________ Desert / cakes (please describe) ____________________________________________ Chocolates (please describe) ______________________________________________ Wine (please describe) ___________________________________________________ Soft / light drinks (please describe) _________________________________________ Fruit Juice (please describe) _______________________________________________ Fruit (please describe) ____________________________________________________ I would like to donate cash to purchase consumables for the event. Please find my cheque for HK$ ____________ attached. I regret I cannot attend, but I would like to donate the following prize for the raffle: _______________________ and /or cash to purchase a raffle prize HK$ _____________ I regret I cannot attend, but I would like to donate to the ESU in support of its programmes: Cash HK$____________________ (I will send my cheque to the ESU by post, made out to, "The English-Speaking Union (Hong Kong) Ltd".
14 December 2009
	ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
	6.30pm
	NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of the members of THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION (HONG KONG) LIMITED (the Company) will be held at the Helena May Club, 35 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong on Monday, 14 December, 2009, at 6.30pm for the following purposes: 1. To consider and receive the audited Financial Statements of Accounts for the Year ended 31st March 2009, together with the Reports of Directors and Auditors. 2. To elect Directors. 3. To appoint Auditors. 4. To transact any other ordinary business of the Company. A shareholder entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and to vote in his/her stead. A proxy need not also be a member. By order of the Board Verner Bickley Deputy Chairman and Director
07 December 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mrs Mary Szeto, BBS
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, FREE FOR NEW MEMBERS
	Venue: The HK Federation of Youth Groups, Room G06, The Center, 99 Queen¡¯s Road, Central, Hong Kong. Topic: ¡°The Leadership Mystique¡± You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Leadership ¡ª is it charismatic, transformational, situational or emergent? Why is there this fascination with leadership and how does it affect people both as leaders and followers? Mrs Mary Szeto will lead a discussion on the different aspects of leadership, the assumption that there are leaders at every level, and the ways in which people can become more effective leaders in their professional and personal lives. Mrs Szeto, a Director of the ESU (HK), is a retired civil servant and training professional. She teaches leadership and communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Baptist University. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
24 November 2009
	17TH ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Verner Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: ¡°The Wedding" (and, if time, "The Anniversary") by Anton Chekhov One of the world¡¯s leading playwrights, Anton Chekov is perhaps best known for his serious plays, The Seagull, Uncle Vania, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard. Despite occasional light touches, these, apparently light-hearted, but fundamentally sad, plays continue to be performed all over the world. In contrast to these serious masterpieces, Chekov¡¯s comic ¡°muse¡± is displayed in a number of one-act plays and farces. Following the success of our reading last June of the playwright¡¯s uproariously funny play, The Proposal, we have chosen, for this month, another of Chekhov¡¯s lively comedies, The Wedding. A bridegroom has ambitious plans to invite a general to attend his wedding ceremony but his plans fall apart when it turns out that the so-called general is only a retired naval captain ¡°of the second rank¡±. The play is funny but dark undertones may be detected. There is a gap between the surface gaiety and the hollowness within and there is a certain desperation to the characters. Their behaviour is comic but does it conceal an inner unhappiness? ***** Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
04 November 2009
	7th ESU DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES
	Presenter: Mr Robert Lloyd George
	12.30pm - 2.15pm
	ESU Members and their guests: HK$325. Non-Members: HK$350 (includes three course lunch and one soft drink/glass of wine)
	We are honoured to have Mr Robert Lloyd George as the seventh speaker in our ESU (HK) Distinguished Speaker Series. His topic is: ¡§Winston, David, Tony and Gordon: Leadership in Peace and War.¡¨ * Date: Wednesday, 4 November, 2009. Place: The Helena May Club, 35 Garden Road, Hong Kong. Time: 12.30pm to 2.15pm. Cost: ESU Members and their guests: HK$325, Non-Members: HK$350 (includes three course lunch and one soft drink/glass of wine). Members and Non-Members of the ESU are cordially invited to join Mr Lloyd George at luncheon at the Helena May Club. Mr Lloyd George is the great-grandson of the famous British Prime Minister, Mr David Lloyd George. He is the author of books on Asia, Chinese history and family business and, most recently, David and Winston. How a Friendship Changed History. ¡§Although from wholly different backgrounds, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill forged a close friendship, delighting in each other¡¦s wit, oratory, brilliance and unconventionality. Both were outsiders. Neither attended university. Above all, both loved political sparring - often together, in the epic parliamentary battles of the early years of the last century. Theirs was a personal friendship that involved frequent holidays together and support of each other¡¦s families. But their real shared passion was politics. For ten years between 1904 and 1914 they met every day for an hour¡¦s private discussion. At this time Lloyd George profoundly influenced Churchill¡¦s political philosophy and played a formative role in his career. Their interdependence built on this early bond, with Lloyd George¡¦s decisive speech in the Commons debate of May 1940 marking the downfall of Neville Chamberlain, and Churchill¡¦s ascent to power. In Churchill¡¦s writings about his Second World War policy, he frequently alluded to the lessons he learnt from Lloyd George in the First World War.¡¨ ** As the title of Mr Robert Lloyd George¡¦s talk indicates, he will compare the leadership of two great public figures of the past with that of two well-known public figures in the present. If you are able to attend, please complete the form below and send it before Monday, 26 October to The ESU Administrator, The English-Speaking Union, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong or by e-mail to esuhk@netvigator.com. We look forward to welcoming you at this important occasion. * i.e. Winston Churchill, David Lloyd-George, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. ** From the cover of David and Winston: How a Friendship Changed History, Robert Lloyd-George, John Murray, 2005. ¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹¡¸¡¹ Name ______________________________________________ (Please print) Tel No ____________________ Mobile Tel No _________________________ E-Mail _________________________________________ I would like a vegetarian/non-vegetarian lunch (please strike out as appropriate). Please make cheques payable to: ¡§The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd¡¨ and send to: The ESU (HK), Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong.
02 November 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Matthew DeCoursey & Ms Michelle Raquel
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of HK, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. TOPIC: "THEATRE AND DRAMA IN LANGUAGE LEARNING" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Dr DeCoursey is a lecturer in drama and literature at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He was involved in theatre as a second language learner, in French, and has been directing productions with second language learners since 1997. After working in Turkey, Taiwan and Bulgaria, he moved to Hong Kong and has been living here since 2004. Michelle Raquel is a language instructor at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. She first became a theatre director as a secondary school student in the Philippines. Upon her arrival in Hong Kong in 2005, she again became involved in theatre. She is presently working on a PhD on drama in language education at the University of Tasmania. DeCoursey and Raquel have co-directed three plays, Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest and Aladdin, all at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Drama is increasingly important in English education in Hong Kong especially with the inclusion of the English through Drama elective in the New Secondary School Curriculum. In this session, we will discuss the principles of using drama activities to enhance second language learning in the classroom, discussing the role of the teacher and benefits to students. We will also survey the kinds of drama activities teachers can use, and possible drama activities as extracurricular activities. We will go on to a workshop demonstrating one kind of drama activity: we will work on a short script, concentrating on the decisions a teacher must make as director, whether in readers' theatre or in a full-scale production. All are welcome to join what are sure to be most informative and interesting presentation.
27 October 2009
	16TH ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	Free Admission, but donations will be appreciated.
	We are going back to the HK Arts Centre for this and future sessions. Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: (a continuation) ¡°Blithe Spirit¡± by Noel Coward Noel Coward¡¯s comedy Blithe Spirit (the title borrowed from a poem by Shelley) was written in 1941, during the darkest days of World War II and succeeded in diverting Londoners¡¯ minds from the Blitz that was then at its height. Coward's sparkling farce gave the theater-going public a break from their travails, and its highly successful playwright famously referred to his theatre as ¡®a temple of illusion.¡¯ The play¡¯s protagonist, an author named Charles Condomine, invites a local spirit medium Madame Arcati to conduct a spiritual s¨¦ance in his house, in order to collect material for his new novel. The sceptical Charles certainly does not expect for a moment that the bumbling Madame Arcati will succeed in summoning his ex-wife, Elvira, back from the dead. To make things even more complicated for him, when the spirit of Elvira appears, she is visible and audible only to Charles. He has considerable difficulty convincing his second wife, Ruth, that he¡¯s neither mad nor drunk. However, the mischievous spirit of Elvira wants to win Charles back from Ruth by hook or by crook, and plots how she can arrange for Charles to die in an accident in order for her and her ¡®ex¡¯ to be reunited in the afterlife. The carefully constructed farcical plot has ensured that Blithe Spirit is constantly in performance, and there is fresh upcoming production planned for the Manchester Royal Exchange in the Christmas season 2009-10. The adjective ¡®blithe¡¯ means ¡®happily self-absorbed¡¯, a state that is common to most of the play¡¯s characters, to the point of selfishness. Blithe Spirit has not been performed recently in Hong Kong either in English or in Cantonese. ***** This will be an evening of fun. Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so. ESU Facilitator: Dr Michael Ingham.
21 October 2009
	THE WORLD OF BOOKS
	Presenter: Dr Sheilah Hamilton
	10.30am - 12.00 noon
	Donations: HK$150 per person
	You are warmly invited to the October meeting of the ESU's highly successful morning programme, "The World of Books". We are still focusing on Hong Kong, this interesting place where we live and work: ¡ª books about or from Hong Kong, and books written in English by Hong Kong writers. We are delighted that Dr Sheilah E. Hamilton will talk to us about her book, Watching over Hong Kong: private policing 1841-1941 (HKU Press, 2008). She will bring copies with her. Sheilah arrived in Hong Kong in 1968 to join the HK Government Laboratory as a chemist. During the next 41 years she worked as a forensic scientist, mostly in Hong Kong but also in Australia and Wales where she taught both forensic science and fire investigation. For the last 20 years she has run her own consultancy, Forensic Focus, investigative work which has brought her into frequent contact with law enforcement agency personnel. At HKU, she studied criminology at Master's degree level, and then for her PhD delved into the world of Hong Kong's private security industry. The book she will be talking to us about evolved from her doctoral studies. In it, she deals with areas of Hong Kong history never before examined and shows how watchmen in early Hong Kong were subject to legislation not applied to other workers. As well as discussing local private security personnel, such as the District Watch, the book also uncovers groups of "hybrid" security men working in HK Government Departments. Other subjects include the role of security guards in combating piracy, the large number of Indians employed in shore security duties, and the Village Scouts and Village Guards in the New Territories. Finally, the book compares the private security situation in Shanghai, where many similarities existed with that in Hong Kong. Books inform, entertain, console, surprise, mentor, teach and provide companionship. They also give us a subject to talk about, whether to a new acquaintance or a friend. Come along and enjoy the privilege of hearing a respected author speak about her book! Secure your place by registering as early as possible! The ESU is a non-profit, registered, educational charity with no Government or institutional funding whatsoever. As with all ESU programmes, a small donation to the ESU is requested from those attending, in this case, the modest sum of HK$150 per person. Mrs Lindsay will kindly provide tea or coffee. Please fill in the reply-slip attached and send it to the ESU Administrator with your cheque as soon as possible, to confirm your attendance. If you are not sure until the last minute that you would like to come, you may pay the ESU at the event. But please ring Ms Venni Tam or email her to let her know that you will be coming. She will confirm if there is room for you and give you the complete address at that time. We look forward to meeting you! If you would like to join the ESU as a member or join us at other activities, you would be very welcome to do so.
05 October 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK) - HOW USEFUL ARE WORDLISTS IN LANGUAGE LEARNING?
	Presenter: Dr Arthur McNeill, Director of the Language Centre at the HK University of Science & Technology
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	HK$75 ESU members, HK$90 Non-members, HK$25 Students, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Topic: "How Useful Are Wordlists in Language Learning?" Venue: Room 602, The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of HK, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Arthur McNeill recently returned to Hong Kong as Director of the Language Centre at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, after working in Thailand as Head of the Education Department and Associate Dean of Liberal Arts at Asian University. He was also Head of TESOL at Edinburgh University¡¦s School of Education. His academic interests include second language vocabulary and teacher language awareness. He was principal investigator of a recently completed project to develop an English vocabulary curriculum for Hong Kong schools. He is co-author of the Step Ahead series for the New Senior Secondary Curriculum (EPH) and was a Consultant to the Step Up series for primary schools. He holds a PhD in applied linguistics from the University of Wales. Many learners of English feel frustrated because their knowledge of vocabulary remains limited in spite of years of serious language study. Recent approaches to the teaching of English have emphasized the importance of learning words in context rather than studying lists of words in isolation. This talk examines ways in which wordlists have been used effectively in language learning and refers to recent applications of technology to the development of personalised, inter-active wordlists which can support both productive and receptive vocabulary skills. Reference is made to a number of popular wordlists and English language corpora. All are welcome to join what are sure to be most informative and interesting presentation.
29 September 2009
	15th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: "The Puzzle", Room 201, Lee Loong Building, 4 Queen Victoria Street, Central. The Play this time: "Blithe Spirit" by Noel Coward Noel Coward`s comedy Blithe Spirit (the title borrowed from a poem by Shelley) was written in 1941, during the darkest days of World War II and succeeded in diverting Londoners?minds from the Blitz that was then at its height. Coward's sparkling farce gave the theater-going public a break from their travails, and its highly successful playwright famously referred to his theatre as `temple of illusion`. The play’s protagonist, an author named Charles Condomine, invites a local spirit medium Madame Arcati to conduct a spiritual seance in his house, in order to collect material for his new novel. The sceptical Charles certainly does not expect for a moment that the bumbling Madame Arcati will succeed in summoning his ex-wife, Elvira, back from the dead. To make things even more complicated for him, when the spirit of Elvira appears, she is visible and audible only to Charles. He has considerable difficulty convincing his second wife, Ruth, that he’s neither mad nor drunk. However, the mischievous spirit of Elvira wants to win Charles back from Ruth by hook or by crook, and plots how she can arrange for Charles to die in an accident in order for her and her ‘ex?to be reunited in the afterlife. The carefully constructed farcical plot has ensured that Blithe Spirit is constantly in performance, and there is fresh upcoming production planned for the Manchester Royal Exchange in the Christmas season 2009-10. The adjective ‘blithe?means ‘happily self-absorbed? a state that is common to most of the play’s characters, to the point of selfishness. Blithe Spirit has not been performed recently in Hong Kong either in English or in Cantonese. This will be an evening of fun. Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
12 September 2009
	HK SCHOOLS SPEECH FESTIVAL 2009 - TEACHER TRAINING
	Presenter: Dr Verner Bickley, Dr Mike Ingham and Mr David Booth
	9.30am-12.30noon, 2-5pm
	HK$200 per session or HK$700 for 4 sessions
	What is better than being trained by adjudicators from the Speech Festival? This programme is designed to help English teachers at either primary or secondary levels to prepare students for the Hong Kong Schools Speech Festival, 2009. The English-Speaking Union?™s experienced trainer/ educators are or have been involved with adjudication in the Festival and will be able to offer advice to teachers on diction, expression, interpretation and performance, as well as on techniques for developing students??appreciation and awareness of rhetorical features of the relevant texts. Help and advice will also be given to those who are seeking a suitable option for the own choice categories, or with preparing the poem/ piece that has been chosen by teachers. Session 1 12 Sept (Sat) 9:30am-12:30pm Choral/ Harmonic Choral Speaking for Classes (90-99) & (104-122) Conductor: Dr Mike Ingham Session 2 19 Sept (Sat) 2.00pm-5.00pm Public Speaking Solo (193-196), Public Speaking Team (198-201), Thematic Group Speaking (206-208) Conductor: Dr Verner Bickley Session 3 26 Sept (Sat) 2.00pm-5.00pm Solo Dramatic Performance (216-218), Dramatic Duologue (223-225), Dramatic Scenes (219-222), Shakespeare Monologue (212-215), Solo Prose Speaking (140-148), Solo Prose Reading (158-175) Conductors: Mr David Booth & Dr Mike Ingham Session 4 10 Oct (Sat) 9:30am-12:30pm Solo Verse-Speaking (1-70) Conductor: Dr Mike Ingham Venue for Sessions 1, 2 & 3: "The Puzzle", Room 201, Lee Loong Building, 4 Queen Victoria Street, Central, Hong Kong. Venue for Session 4: Room 501, The Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of HK, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. - Limited places per session. First come first served. - Certificates will be awarded for Continuous Professional Development credits. - Participants are encouraged to bring with them set pieces or rough ideas for development and discussion.
08 September 2009
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Guest-of-honour: Dr Vaughan Rapatahana, a New Zealander working in Hong Kong. Led by: Dr Gillian Bickley.
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: LB level (public space), Hong Kong Arts Centre, Harbour Rd, Wanchai, HK. If in doubt, please check the location at the Bookstore at G/F when you arrive. Guest-of-honour will be Dr Vaughan Rapatahana, a New Zealander working in Hong Kong. He had two poetry collections published twenty years ago and his work is appearing again in poetry publications in New Zealand and Hong Kong. His poetry teaching resource series entitled English Through Poetry is currently available worldwide. The session will be led by: Dr Gillian Bickley (co-Founder with her husband, Dr Verner Bickley, of the Proverse Literary Prize), who will answer questions about entering for the 2010 Proverse Prize Competition). You may bring any book you would like to introduce to the group; And seek opinions from group-members about any literary question you may have. Come for the whole time or just drop in for a while! All are welcome! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" Enquiries to: ESU (HK): 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only); email: esuhk@netvigator.com; website: www.esuhk.org If you have suggestions of books to be discussed or writers of books in English to be invited, please email esuhk@netvigator.com with the subject line, "Say Your Piece!"
07 September 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Ms Phoebe LEE, Mr Joey TANG and Mr Mathias CHEUNG
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: “The Puzzle�, Room 201 Lee Loong Building, 4 Queen Victoria Street, Central, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Phoebe won an ESU scholarship to attend the Globe Theatre “course� in 2009. Joey, winner of the Standard Chartered HK English Public-Speaking Contest (co-organised by the ESU (HK) and the HK Federation of Youth Groups) and Mathias, winner of the Public-Speaking Contest (organised by the HK Speech and Music Schools Association), represented Hong Kong at the ESU International Competition in London. Phoebe, Joey and Mathias will be sharing their experiences. (Mr Ray Lee won an ESU scholarship to attend a major conference at Oxford in 2009 but he is not available to talk on this date. Ray will be invited to speak at another time on his experience at Oxford and on other subject.) All are welcome to join what are sure to be most informative and interesting presentations.
25 August 2009
	14th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), HK Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. The Play this time: “Educating Rita� by Willy Russell Russell, the Liverpool-born author of the long-running London stage musical Blood Brothers, wrote Educating Rita in 1980, and the play won the Best Comedy award for the West End in that year. It was subsequently adapted into an extremely successful film in 1983 with Michael Caine and Julie Walters in the principal roles. The play focuses entirely on the lively relationship between a 26-year old working-class hairdresser who calls herself ‘Rita’ White (her real name is Susan) and Dr. Frank Bryant, a disillusioned, middle-aged academic over the course of a single University semester. The naturally bright and vivacious, but poorly educated, Rita is discontented with the routine of her work, home and social life and is looking for the opportunity to acquire an education in art and culture (something normally considered irrelevant and pretentious in her working-class background) by enrolling on an open university programme in English literature. In spite of his cynical attitude toward what he sees as the pretentious posturing of cultured people and his fellow academics and also his profound scepticism about the education system, Frank has agreed to tutor the new mature student to subsidize his growing expenditure and dependency on alcohol. The play opens as Rita meets Frank for the first time, producing an immediately comic effect in the collision of class and cultural value systems. In that respect Educating Rita is reminiscent of G.B. Shaw’s 1916 social comedy, Pygmalion. It has become just as much of a classic comedy of manners as well as a philosophically thought-provoking commentary on what education means to us. This will be an evening of summer fun. Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
15 July 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Mark Loasby
	6.30pm - 8.30pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for new ESU Members
	Venue: The Puzzle, Room 201, Lee Loong Building, 4 Queen Victoria Street, Central, Hong Kong. Topic: "THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! What can be learnt about how to make a great presentation by watching well known public speakers? Here's your chance to study some of the best and the worst (and the simply awful) in action. Judge for yourself and take home useful tips and techniques on how (and how not!) to make the impression you want at your next presentation. Our guest speaker, Mr Mark LOASBY, has been helping individuals and corporations throughout Asia and Australia to achieve success through greater communication. Based in Hong Kong since 1984, Mr Loasby was formally an international school principal and has a Masters degree in Educational Management. He is presently the Managing Director of Connect Communication. Come and join us for a most informative and interesting evening. All are welcome!
23 June 2009
	13TH ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Facilitator: Dr Verner Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Anton Chekhov is regarded as one of the world’s leading playwrights. Although his output was relatively small, his plays are still performed all over the world in many different languages. Ivanov, The Wood Demon, The Seagull, Uncle Vania, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard have touches of light-heartedness but are fundamentally sad, a contrast to Chekhov’s own apparently cheerful disposition. His five earlier one-act humorous plays (Chekhov called them “vaudevilles�) are most certainly not sad. Four of the five (The Bear, The Proposal, An Unwilling Martyr and The Wedding) have been classified as farcical. We have chosen to read one of these five humorous plays this month, before we break for July and resume our readings again in August. The Proposal has only three characters, Choobukov, a landowner; his daughter Natalyia aged 25 and Lomov, also a landowner, a perfectly healthy person but a hypochondriac who worries constantly about non-existent ailments. At the beginning of the play, we are introduced to Lomov who visits Choobukov to ask for Natalyia’s hand in marriage. Choobukov agrees enthusiastically. Then Lomov meets Natalyia. After the two have exchanged preliminary compliments, a dispute begins over landownership which becomes so fierce that Lomov stalks off without mentioning his proposal. After Lomov’s departure, Choobukov and Natalyia continue to criticize him in strong language until Choobukov reveals the reason for Lomov’s visit. Then Natalyia’s mood changes! Choobukov: And this ridiculous freak, this eyesore – yes, he has the impertinence to come here and make a proposal and all the rest of it! Would you believe it? A proposal! Natalyia (presumably with a “double take�): What proposal? Choobukov: Yes, just fancy! He came to propose to you. Natalyia: To me? By why didn’t you tell me that before? Choobukov: That’s why he got himself up in his tail-coat. The sausage! The shrimp! Natalyia: To me? A proposal? Oh! (Drops into a chair and moans) Bring him back! Bring him back! Oh, bring him back! ***** This will be an evening of summer fun. Do come and join us. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-reading will have the opportunity to do so.
17 June 2009
	THE WORLD OF BOOKS
	Presenter: Mr S J CHAN
	10.30am - 12.00 noon
	Donations: HK$150 per person
	You are invited to the fourth meeting of the ESU's highly successful morning programme, "The World of Books", focusing (for this first series) on Hong Kong: — books about or from Hong Kong, and books written in English by Hong Kong writers. Mr S. J. Chan will speak about his new book, "East River Column: Hong Kong Guerrillas in the Second World War and After", published in June by the University of Hong Kong Press as part of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series. Hong Kong's story in WWII has been predominantly told as a story of the British forces and their defeat on Christmas Day 1941. But there is another story. The Chinese guerrilla forces who harassed the Japanese played a crucial part in escapes from Hong Kong's prisoner of war camps and in rescuing Allied airmen. - For a long time, the heroism of the East River Guerrillas has remained a legend due to political sensitivities in Hong Kong under colonial rule. - This neglected part of Hong Kong's war is Chan Sui-jeung's topic in this pioneering book informed by his many contacts with participants in the guerrilla warfare. Chan Sui-jeung was District Officer, Sai Kung, New Territories Administration, where he met many of the veterans of the East River Column. For over 20 years, he has been an Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre of Asian Studies at the University of Hong Kong. Books inform, entertain, console, surprise, mentor, teach and provide companionship. They also give us a subject to talk about, whether to a new acquaintance or a friend. Come along and enjoy the privilege of hearing a respected author speak about his book! Secure your place by registering as early as possible! The ESU is a non-profit, registered, educational charity with no Government or institutional funding whatsoever. As with all ESU programmes, a small donation to the ESU is requested from those attending, in this case, the modest sum of HK$150 per person. Mrs Lindsay will kindly provide tea or coffee. Please fill in the reply-slip attached and send it to the ESU Administrator with your cheque as soon as possible, to confirm your attendance. We look forward to meeting you! If you would like to join the ESU as a member or at other activities, you would be very welcome to do so.
09 June 2009
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	BOOK-LOVERS may comment on a book they have read. POETS AND WRITERS may read or talk about their own work. PARTICIPANTS may ask questions and hear answers. EVERYONE may bring a favourite piece to talk about. ANYONE may ask help with interpreting a passage. Anyone from 12 years old to 200 is welcome. The second session of this Year 2009 Series will be held on Tuesday, 9 June, 7.00-9.00pm at G/F OR 2nd/F OR LB level (all public spaces), Hong Kong Arts Centre, Harbour Rd, Wanchai, HK. Please ask the Bookstore on the G/F for the location of the day. This session will be led by: Gillian Bickley (non-fiction and short-story writer, poet, playwright, university professor). Guest-of-honour will be Caleb Kavon, businessman & author of the passionate new novel, "The Monkey in Me: Confusion, Love and Hope under a Chinese Sky", visiting from the Mainland. You may bring any book you would like to introduce to the group; And seek opinions from group-members about any literary question you may have. Come for the whole time or just drop in for a while! All are welcome! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" Enquiries to: ESU (HK): 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only); email: esuhk@netvigator.com; website: www.esuhk.org If you have suggestions of books to be discussed or writers of books in English to be invited, please email esuhk@netvigator.com with the subject line, "Say Your Piece!" Whilst every effort will be made to hold a course or event at the announced venue, with the announced presenter(s), and with the announced content, the English-Speaking Union reserves the right to change the venue and/or presenter(s) and/or content if this should prove to be necessary. Please check your emails before attending. If you wish you to join the ESU (HK) as a member, you can do so at the event. Or you join at any time by visiting the ESU (HK) website: esuhk.org Annual Membership Donations: Individual (HK$300), Student (HK$100)
01 June 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU: A SOCIAL EVENING
	6.30pm - 8.30pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Venue: The Puzzle, Room 201, Lee Loong Building, 4 Queen Victoria Street, Central, Hong Kong You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Come and join us for an evening of friendship and fun. Enjoy stimulating conversation, language games, quizzes and much more. Refreshments will be served. All are welcome!
26 May 2009
	12th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	FREE ADMISSION, BUT DONATIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
	Venue: G/F or 2/F, The HK Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai. HK. The Play this time: “Abigail’s Party� by Mike LEIGH Mike Leigh’s famous 1978 comedy of manners revolves around five characters who come together at Beverly and Lawrence’s drinks and dinner party. The hosts, a nouveau riche pretentious middle-class couple, have invited Angela and Tony who have recently moved to the area in addition to their neighbour, the anxious and preoccupied divorcee, Sue. The latter’s teenage daughter Abigail is having a party upstairs. Abigail features in the conversation, but like Godot in Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece, she doesn’t put in an appearance. Beverly spends the evening showing off, boasting and condescending to her impressionable, socially ‘inferior’ guests. The relationships are painful and limited and the characters’ understanding of their own motivations, let alone those of others, is virtually non-existent. Beverly dominates the evening exercising her control over the unfortunate Lawrence and showing an insensitivity to husband and guests alike that is both embarrassing and funny. She flirts with the monosyllabic ex-footballer Tony and patronises his unattractive wife (Ang, as Beverly insists on calling her) throughout the play. Only a crisis in the final act mitigates the cringing embarrassment of this hilariously embarrassing social occasion. With a devised, semi-improvised script (Leigh’s preferred modus operandi), this play sparkles with humour and the absurdity of human foibles such as social climbing. Alison Steadman (Mrs Bennett in the BBC Pride and Prejudice) made the role of Beverly utterly unforgettable in both the play and the film versions. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-readings will have the opportunity to do so.
20 May 2009
	Interviews for 2009 SCHOLARSHIP - ESU & Globe Education Cultural Seminar for Teachers
	from 5.30pm
	The 2009 ESU and Globe Education Cultural Seminar for Teachers at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London 9 - 15 August 2009 Date of Interviews: Wednesday, 20 May 2009 Time: starting from 5.30pm Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). Candidates should be teachers of English or Theatre who (preferably) have experience of teaching Shakespeare and are non-native English speakers. Participants will be introduced to Globe Education's approach to teaching Shakespeare to students of all ages and will meet and work with Globe Theatre staff and Globe Education practitioners. The Scholarship covers tuition, theatre trips and accommodation (breakfast included). It does not cover air fares to and from the U.K. or local fares in the U.K. An application does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a scholarship. The Scholarship does not cover travel cost to and from the U.K. To apply, please send your C.V. and a personal statement illustrating why the Scholarship is of interest to you and how you would benefit from the Seminar and how the experience would help you in your current work and future ambitions. For enquiries, please contact Tel: 2186-8449, Email: esuhk@netvigator.com, Fax: 2110-1991.
12 May 2009
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley (non-fiction and short-story writer, poet, playwright, university professor)
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	A SERIES OF INTERACTIVE OCCASIONS Please register by emailing or phoning the ESU Administrator (Tel: 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only) BOOK-LOVERS may comment on a book they have read. POETS AND WRITERS may read or talk about their own work. PARTICIPANTS may ask questions and hear answers. EVERYONE may bring a favourite piece to talk about. ANYONE may ask help with interpreting a passage. Anyone from 12 years old to 200 is welcome. The first occasion will be held on Tuesday, 12 May, 7.00-9.00pm at G/F or 2nd floor, The Hong Kong Arts Centre, Harbour Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong The first session will be led by: Gillian Bickley (non-fiction and short-story writer, poet, playwright, university professor) She will introduce and read briefly from her published poetry books, "For the Record", "Moving House", "Sightings", and bring a new poem for your feedback. You may bring any book you would like to introduce to the group; And seek opinions from group-members about any literary question you may have. Come for the whole time or just drop in for a while! All are welcome! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" Enquiries to: ESU (HK): 2186-8449 (M-F mornings only); email: esuhk@netvigator.com website: www.esuhk.org If you have suggestions of books to be discussed or writers of books in English to be invited, please email esuhk@netvigator.com with the subject line, "Say Your Piece!"
28 April 2009
	11th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7pm - 9pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: “The Bookshop�, G/F, The HK Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wanchai. HK. The Play this time: “Art� by Yasmina REZA; English version by Christopher HAMPTON Yasmina Reza’s sharp comedy of manners has received critical plaudits all over the world since winning the Moliere award for best play in Reza’s home country, France, when it appeared in 1994. Translated into many languages since – including a highly popular Cantonese language version in Hong Kong that has been revived several times – the work is one of the best known and most acclaimed plays of the past twenty years. The play focuses on three Parisian friends, Yvan, Marc and Serge whose friendship is tested by Serge’s acquisition of an experimental contemporary work of art for a large sum of money. Marc reacts negatively and ridicules Serge’s extravagance in purchasing it. He believes Serge has been motivated by pretentiousness. Yvan tries to mediate between the other two and downplay their mutual antagonism, in order to preserve the harmony of the triangular friendship. The problem is that Serge has behaved in an entirely unexpected and uncharacteristic manner in becoming a patron of abstract art and thus infringed the unwritten code of normal behaviour that exists between the three close friends. The disagreement over the painting – a white design on a white background! – threatens to break them apart. The play thus prompts the following question: is Serge’s identity limited by the perception of him that exists in the minds of his two best friends? It also prompts the age-old question about art and aesthetics whether beauty – or indeed value – exists only in the mind of the beholder. The play poses the even more fundamental question: Are we who we are because we are who we are, or are we who we are because of our relationship with others? Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-readings will have the opportunity to do so.
25 April 2009
	6th ESU DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES - "Enhancing Communication Skills"
	Presenter: Mr LEE Ming Kwai, Dick - Former Commissioner of HK Police Force
	10.00am - 12.00noon
	FREE (Sponsored by the Oxford University Press)
	We are pleased to let you know that the English Speaking Union (Hong Kong) has organized the 6th talk in its Distinguished Speaker Series ‘Enhancing communication skills’ with support from the Oxford University Press. To help students in ‘Learning English through Workplace Communication’ with the insight and experience of a distinguished leader in one of the most challenging workplaces in Hong Kong, we would like to invite you to our workshop: Date: 25 April 2009 Time: 10 a.m. – 12 noon Venue: Langham Place Ballroom, Level 7, Langham Place Hotel, Mongkok The workshop features sharing and resources that may:  Help students to visualize being in a job The HKDSE examination’s writing paper sample (Dec, 2009) contains a question which requires candidates to imagine having gone through a ‘Working Week’ scheme in one of five different professions, and then write a school magazine article to describe the experience. The more real-work stories your students hear, the better they can imagine being in a job. Come and share Mr Lee’s experience, and then give your students a motivating encounter with Mr Lee with the help of a video recording of his talk.  Help students develop imagination and creativity The HKDSE also has a set of performance descriptors for the writing paper, which expect students to display ‘imagination and creativity when appropriate’. Imagination and creativity are usually appropriate. Students are just finding them in short supply. Help your students get a glimpse into the thoughts of a workplace leader who tackled one of the most daunting tasks in Hong Kong. Give the students food for imagination and creativity. Along with this letter, please find an invitation to the workshop. To enrol, please fill in the registration form and fax it to 2811 9071 before 20 April 2009. For enquiries, please call 2516 3208 (OUP) or 2186 8449 (ESU).
22 April 2009
	THE WORLD OF BOOKS
	Presenter: Hosted by: Mrs Bridget Lindsay
	10.30am - 12.00 noon
	Donations: HK$150 per person
	Venue: Central Mid-levels. (Further details after registration.) You are invited to the third meeting of the ESU’s highly successful new morning programme, "The World of Books", kindly hosted by Mrs Bridget Lindsay at her home in Central Mid-levels and focusing (for this first series) on Hong Kong: — books about or from Hong Kong, and books written in English by Hong Kong writers. The speaker in April will be Mr Geoffrey Emerson, MA, whose recent book on civilian internment in Stanley was so very well received that it quickly went into a second printing. Geoffrey Charles Emerson has lived in Hong Kong for more than forty years. He retired in 2000 from St Paul's College, where he taught history and English and served as vice principal and careers master. He was President of the Hong Kong History Society and is presently a council member of the Royal Asiatic Society (Hong Kong Branch). For his MA thesis, completed in 1973, Geoffrey Emerson interviewed twenty-three former Stanley internees. His book, Hong Kong Internment, 1942-1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley -- with additional material and illustrations -- tells the story of the more than three thousand non-Chinese civilians -- British, American, Dutch and others -- who were trapped in Hong Kong and interned behind barbed wire during the Japanese Occupation. Books inform, entertain, console, surprise, mentor, teach and provide companionship. They also give us a subject to talk about, whether to a new acquaintance or a friend. Come along and enjoy the privilege of hearing a respected author speak about his book! Secure your place by registering as early as possible! The ESU is a non-profit, registered, educational charity with no Government or institutional funding whatsoever. As with all ESU programmes, a small donation to the ESU is requested from those attending, in this case, the modest sum of HK$150 per person. Mrs Lindsay will kindly provide tea or coffee. Please fill in the reply-slip attached and send it to the ESU Administrator with your cheque as soon as possible, to confirm your attendance. We look forward to meeting you! If you would like to join the ESU as a member or at other activities, you would be very welcome to do so.
08 April 2009
	Interviews for ESU SCHOLARSHIP 2009
	Applicants for the following English-Speaking Union Scholarships are invited by the ESU (HK) Scholarships Committee to attend interviews as follows: International Summer Conference 9 - 15 August 2009 Mansfield College Oxford Date of Interviews: Wednesday, 8 April 2009 Time: starting from 5.30pm Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). The average age of participants in this important Conference on International Relations is 30-35 but people as young as 22 fit in well. Young people of all professions take part, but the majority tend to be lawyers, journalists, teachers/university lecturers. It is not recommended that undergraduates should participate. The Conference will deal with a variety of issues relating to International Relations. It will cover International Relations, British Institutions, the Developing World and International Trade and Industry. Each session will take the form of a short lecture followed by a comprehensive discussion involving all the delegates. The Scholarship covers all costs while at Mansfield College - lectures, receptions, visits, accommodation and meals, but does not cover travel costs to and from Oxford in the U.K. An application does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a scholarship. ********************************* The 2009 ESU and Globe Education Cultural Seminar for Teachers at Shakespear's Globe Theatre, London 9 - 15 August 2009 Date of Interviews: Wednesday, 20 May 2009 Time: starting from 5.30pm Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). Candidates should be teachers of English or Theatre who (preferably) have experience of teaching Shakespeare and are non-native English speakers. Participants will be introduced to Globe Education's approach to teaching Shakespeare to students of all ages and will meet and work with Globe Theatre staff and Globe Education practitioners. The Scholarship covers tuition, theatre trips and accommodation (breakfast included). It does not cover air fares to and from the U.K. or local fares in the U.K. An application does not guarantee that an applicant will receive a scholarship. For enquiries, please contact Tel: 2186-8449, Email: esuhk@netvigator.com, Fax: 2110-1991.
31 March 2009
	10TH ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. The Play this time: "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" by Jay Presson Allen (1968) adapted from the novel by Muriel Spark (1961) This month`s play is based fairly faithfully on Muriel Spark`s most famous novel, popular in its own right and also thanks to its stage and film adaptations. The protagonist of the drama is an inspirational but eccentric Edinburgh school-teacher, Jean Brodie. She inspires cult-like reverence among her students thanks to her idiosyncratic methods of teaching, in defiance of the rules and norms laid down by her adversary, the school principal, who suspects her of committing adultery with two of the male teachers. Somewhat reminiscent of the Jesuits` aphorism about teaching young boys, Miss Brodie believes in "taking a child in her impressionable years and making her mine for ever." Full of her own charismatic, dynamic but excessive ego, she slants the teaching of her little elite group of "creme-de-la-creme gels (girls)" towards Art, Truth and Beauty in her own fascinating but selfish way, neglecting such mundane but necessary things as basic fairness, accurate spelling and multiplication tables. Careless of the feelings of her adolescent girls as they approach young womanhood, she continues to flirt with danger as well as with the seemingly sexy ideology of Italian fascism and the cult of Mussolini. In the play version Miss Brodie's ultimate downfall is told from the unsympathetic perspective of one of her students whose betrayal of her mentor and icon is never discovered by the teacher herself. Like the source novel, the play explores themes of innocence, educational values and responsibilities, love and sex, betrayal and brilliantly contrasts the respective approaches of cold rationality and unrestricted emotionalism. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-readings will have the opportunity to do so. Light Refreshments will be served.
18 March 2009
	THE WORLD OF BOOKS
	Presenter: Dr Dan Waters
	10.30am - 12.00 noon
	Donations: HK$150 per person
	Venue: Central Mid-levels. (Further details after registration.) Hosted by: Mrs Bridget LINDSAY You are invited to the second meeting of the ESU¡¯s new morning programme, "The World of Books", kindly hosted by Mrs Bridget Lindsay at her home in Central Mid-levels, and this will take place on Wednesday, 18 March, from 10.30am to 12.00 noon. The focus for this programme in the series will be a book written by Dr Dan Waters ¡ª ¡°One Couple, Two Cultures: 81 Western/Chinese Couples Talk About Love and Marriage¡±. Dr Waters will talk about his book and about how he has become a writer as well as on the writing assignments that he has done. Books inform, entertain, console, surprise, mentor, teach and provide companionship. They also give us a subject to talk about. We can talk about a book when making a new acquaintance. We can make friends by sharing a common interest in books. The book to be introduced at the next meeting (Wednesday 22 April) will be announced later. The ESU is a non-profit, registered, educational charity with no Government or institutional funding whatsoever. As with all ESU programmes, a small donation to the ESU is requested from those attending, in this case, the modest sum of HK$150 per person. Mrs Lindsay will kindly provide tea or coffee. Please register with the ESU Administrator and send in your cheque as soon as possible, to confirm your attendance. We look forward to meeting you! If you would like to join the ESU as a member or at other activities, you would be very welcome to do so.
12 March 2009
	5th DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES
	Presenter: Mr Andrew SEATON, British Consul-General
	12.30pm - 2.15pm
	ESU Members and their guests: HK$325. Non-Members: HK$350 (includes three-course lunch and one soft drink/glass of wine)
	Venue: The Helena May Club, 35 Garden Road, Hong Kong. Mr Andrew SEATON, British Consul-General, has kindly consented to be the speaker in the fifth of the ESU (HK)¡¦s Distinguished Speaker Series. The topic is: ¡§The Climate Change Debate. A Lot of Hot Air?" Members and Non-Members of the ESU are cordially invited to join Mr Seaton at luncheon at the Helena May Club. If you are able to attend, please complete the form below and send it, before Friday, 27 February, 2009, to The ESU Administrator, The English-Speaking Union, Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong or by email to esuhk@netvigator.com. We look forward to welcoming you on this important occasion.
11 March 2009
	PROVERSE SURPRIZES: THE PROVERSE PARTY & PROGRAMME
	7.00pm-9.30pm
	Donations to the ESU: HKD100, plus prices for the books
	BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT, MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE ESU (HK) ARE INVITED TO THE FOLLOWING PARTY & LITERARY EVENT You are warmly invited to attend "PROVERSE SURPRIZES: THE PROVERSE PARTY & PROGRAMME" arranged for the independent Press, Proverse Hong Kong. In association with the Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2009. Wednesday, 11 March 2009, Blue Room, The Helena May, 35 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong, 7.00pm-9.30pm. Experience the buzz in a wonderful setting at very reasonable cost! Enjoy three readings / brief talks, "Changing Places, Changing Words, Changing Worlds." Get updates on how to enter for the Proverse Prize, to be awarded for the first time this year. Caleb Kavon will travel from the Mainland to sign & speak about his stunning novel, "The Monkey in Me. Confusion, Love and Hope under a Chinese Sky". Gerald Yeung will fly in specially from the USA to sign and read from his hilarious and thoughtful first book, "Wannabe Backpackers: The Latin-American & Kenyan Journey of Five Spoiled Teenagers". Proverse Guest Editor, Tony Yip, will sign his Chinese edition of Gillian Bickley's, "Moving House and other Poems from Hong Kong", and explain some of the secrets of the difficult art of English to Chinese literary translation. Meet writers, poets, publishers, sponsors. Mingle with other Proverse authors, including Canadian Kate Rogers, whose well-received first poetry collection, "Painting the Borrowed House", Proverse launched last year. THE PARTY starts at 7.00pm. THE PROGRAMME will begin at 7.45pm to 9.00pm approx. Cash bar, book collection and book-signing of newly-launched books from 7.00pm (except during the programme). We do hope you will come! Pre-ordered book collection available, 6.15-6.45pm, if, regrettably, you can't attend The Proverse Surprizes Party and Programme. RSVP to: Rm 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¨C Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong, to arrive by 4 March latest. Enquires to Ms Venni Tam at: Tel: 2186-8449 (ESU contact hours: 9.30am-12.30pm). Or email: esuhk@netvigator.com. REPLY SLIP AND BOOK ORDER FORM CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE ESU (HK). PLEASE REGISTER and place your book orders as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Places are strictly limited by the capacity of the room. We regret no cancellations or refunds are possible, but substitutions are always welcome. (Please write to us to ESU to advise re any substitution.)
24 February 2009
	9th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys¡¯ & Girls¡¯ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai The Play this time: ¡°Rats¡± by Agatha Christie Agatha Christie was the queen of the ¡°who-done-it¡± genre of popular novel. However she was also a prolific playwright and her full-length play, 'The Mousetrap', is still the longest-running play in London's West End theatre district, having opened there in the 1950s and been performed continuously ever since (though not with the same cast throughout!) The short, one-act play, 'Rats' was written by Ms. Christie in the early 1960s and premiered at the Duchess Theatre in London. It is a distanced psychological study in mystery, suspense, duplicity, manipulation and finally desperation, and it is remarkable for having no appealing or likeable characters. All four, two women and two men, come together in a smart but somewhat cold and alienating flat in London. The flat actually belongs to a couple we never meet, but who appear to have invited the two women for a drinks party. As the two male characters enter, the initial feeling of bizarre comedy gives way to something more sinister, and two of the characters, Sandra and David, begin to understand why they have been lured to the empty flat and caught like 'rats in a trap'. The language of the play is rich but conversationally conventional. At the same time it succeeds in communicating character and motive extremely effectively. One realises why Agatha Christie's work has been adapted for cinema and television so successfully; her understanding of plot, character, motive and, of course, dramatic twist in the narrative is superlative, even when she is working within conventional structures and styles. We will be able to complete the drama within the meeting time and have time to discuss aspects of plot, character and language in this short play. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-readings will have the opportunity to do so. Light Refreshments will be served. ESU Facilitator: Dr Verner Bickley.
18 February 2009
	THE WORLD OF BOOKS
	Presenter: Hosted by: Mrs Bridget Lindsay
	10.30am - 12.00 noon
	HK$150 per person
	Venue: Central Mid-levels. (Further details after registration.) You are invited to the first meeting of the ESU¡¯s new morning programme, "The World of Books", kindly hosted by Mrs Bridget Lindsay at her home in Central Mid-levels, and this will take place on Wednesday, 18 February, from 10.30am to 12.00 noon. The focus for this first programme in the series will be Hong Kong: ¡ª books about or from Hong Kong, and books written in English by Hong Kong writers. Books inform, entertain, console, surprise, mentor, teach and provide companionship. They also give us a subject to talk about. We can talk about a book when making a new acquaintance. We can make friends by sharing a common interest in books. For this first meeting, Dr Verner Bickley, Chairman of the ESU (HK) will introduce the ESU. Then Dr Gillian Bickley will give us a flavour of what life was like in early Hong Kong, based on her book, "The Golden Needle" (ISBN9628027085). The book to be introduced at the next meeting (Wednesday 18 March) will be announced later. The ESU is a non-profit, registered, educational charity with no Government or institutional funding whatsoever. As with all ESU programmes, a small donation to the ESU is requested from those attending, in this case, the modest sum of HK$150 per person. Mrs Lindsay will kindly provide tea or coffee. Inquiries and registration: Tel: 2186-8449 (mornings only), Fax: 2110-1991 or Email: esuhk@netvigator.com.
16 February 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Simon Hunt, Director, English Language Services, The British Council, HK
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: The Boys¡¯ & Girls¡¯ Clubs Association of Hong Kong,Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Mr Hunt will talk about the role of the web in increasing opportunities to teach and learn and how this suits learner lifestyles. As part of the talk, he will demonstrate the British Council¡¯s new Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) learning platform, which is being piloted in China. Mr Hunt arrived from the UK in October 2005 and is now managing the British Council¡¯s work in English in Hong Kong. His professional background is in English Language teaching and testing and also strategic educational management. In addition to working in the UK, he has also worked in the British Council teaching network as Director English Language Services Bangkok (2000¨C2003), Teaching Centre Manager and Country Exams Manager Slovakia (1997-1999), Director of Studies Cameroon (1994-1996) and in other senior teacher positions in Bulgaria, Syria and Algeria. All are welcome!
20 January 2009
	8th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: The Boys¡¯ & Girls¡¯ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. The Play this time: ¡°A Retrospective devoted to the Drama of Harold Pinter¡± Harold Pinter, who died on Christmas Eve at the age of 78 after a long battle against cancer, was the foremost dramatist of his generation. The London-born playwright, screenwriter, actor and director was not only a multi-talented artist but also a fierce critic of the Bush-Blair so-called ¡®war on terror¡¯. In his 2005 Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he took the opportunity to castigate the Anglo-American coalition for their neo-imperialist attitudes and actions on the world stage. Pinter¡¯s own stage world had of course brilliantly exposed a more complex kind of linguistic violence in our verbal interactions. In an impressive sequence of great plays he skillfully and insightfully depicted the dark heart of human beings in their dealings with others, whether strangers as in his masterpiece The Caretaker, or lovers as in Old Times and Betrayal. In this ESU play-reading session, we will present a number of extracts from Pinter plays including some humorous excerpts from early one-act plays such as The Dumb Waiter and A Slight Ache as well as more recent plays like the 1999 one-act Celebration. It¡¯s not just the famous Pinter ¡®pause¡¯ that distinguishes his plays from those of others, but the brilliant way he exposes what is not said, through the seeming banality of much of the dialogue of his plays. At the same time, there is a poetic beauty about the rhythms and sonorities of much of Pinter¡¯ dialogue, influenced as he certainly was by the writing of Samuel Beckett. Pinter¡¯s work is occasionally seen in Hong Kong performed in Cantonese or English. One of his great plays, Betrayal, will be performed in both Cantonese and English on different evenings in June 2009 at the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Come to the ESU play-reading evening and find out why Harold Pinter ranks alongside Beckett, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams as the greatest English-language dramatists of the 20th century. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-readings will have the opportunity to do so. Light Refreshments will be served. ESU Facilitator: Dr Mike Ingham.
19 January 2009
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Charles Griffith - Lecturer in the English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for New ESU Members
	Topic: "Culture and Globalisation" Venue: The Boys` & Girls` Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Prior to moving to Hong Kong, Mr Griffith ran a number of language schools in Finland from 1980 to 1993, largely teaching English to business executives. He has been living and working in Hong Kong since 1994 and is currently a Lecturer in the English Language Centre, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has been a Counsellor to the ESU in Hong Kong since 2003. In the talk, Mr Griffith will focus on a nation's inherent cultural values and pose the question whether culture itself will be standardised due to the forces of globalisation: whether globalisation will change our culture and values. He will also make reference to corporate culture and a nation's inherent culture, and whether these interact harmoniously. All are welcome!
20 December 2008
	ESU CHRISTMAS PARTY
	2.00pm - 5.00pm
	Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road (MTR Taikoo Exit A2). It¡¦s almost unbelievable that Christmas has come again. Even some of the shops have been taken by surprise and, at the time of writing, we hadn¡¦t heard any recorded Christmas music in the shopping malls. It¡¦s becoming very difficult for the music industry to think of innovative ways of presenting Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. But we, in the ESU, can always think of something new. Last year, our Christmas Party featured some interesting songs and, in particular, guitar music was provided for us by two of our executive committee members, Anthony Tong and Mike Ingham. We¡¦ll hire them again! This is usually a wonderful party. Do join us at Kornhill on Saturday, 20 December, from 2pm to 5pm. Everyone is welcome (members or non-members). The party is a ¡§pot luck¡¨ event. Everyone is encouraged to bring something to eat or drink to share among us all. If you find this difficult or inconvenient, then you may wish to donate cash (before the event) so that we can buy what else might be needed. Do please contact Venni if you are willing to help and if you have any ideas for enriching the Party. We look forward to meeting you again. REPLY FORM: From (name): ____________________________________ ESU Member no: ____________________ / ¡¼ Friend of the ESU Email address: _____________________________; Phone No. ____________________ Postal address: ___________________________________________________________ I will come to the ESU Party on Saturday, 20 December, 2.00pm to 5.00pm: ¡¼ Yes ¡¼ No I will bring with me to share: Salad (please describe) __________________________________________________ Meat dish (please describe) _______________________________________________ Vegetarian dish (please describe) __________________________________________ Snacks (please describe) _________________________________________________ Bread / rice (please describe) _____________________________________________ Desert / cakes (please describe) ____________________________________________ Chocolates (please describe) ______________________________________________ Wine (please describe) ___________________________________________________ Soft / light drinks (please describe) _________________________________________ Fruit Juice (please describe) _______________________________________________ Fruit (please describe) ____________________________________________________ I would like to donate cash to purchase consumables for the event. Please find my cheque for HK$ ____________ attached. I regret I cannot attend, but I would like to donate the following prize for the raffle: _______________________ and /or cash to purchase a raffle prize HK$ _____________ I regret I cannot attend, but I would like to donate to the ESU in support of its programmes: Cash HK$____________________ (I will send my cheque to the ESU by post, made out to, "The English-Speaking Union (Hong Kong) Ltd".
25 November 2008
	7th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Dr Verner Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Raod, Wanchai (MTR Wanchai Exit C). The Play this time: "English in Three Acts: Teaching Oral English Through Drama" A Tribute to Richard Via Richard Via worked for twenty-three years as an actor, stage manager and director who worked in many countries. In 1976, he published his best-selling book, English in Three Acts. This is a step-by-step methodology for teaching oral English through drama. The key to the success of Richard Via¡¦s approach to teaching oral English is that a play provides one kind of exposure to the natural communicative use of language while the use of English in the preparation of the play provides a second kind. In order to talk you have to talk about something¡K This evening we shall be reading three of Via¡¦s very short plays, Crash, The Set-Up and The Show Must Go On. If there is time, we will discuss the answers to questions relating to the Via method. These questions have been asked by both native and non-native speakers in Hong Kong, India, Japan, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Iraq and the United States. Everyone who wishes to participate in the play-readings will have the opportunity to do so. Light Refreshments will be served. Activity organiser for the ESU: Dr Verner Bickley.
03 November 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Ms Penny Leung, Ms Mei-mei Chan, Miss Patricia Wong and Miss Maggie Lee
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Theme: ¡§Cross-Cultural Communication and Public-Speaking¡¨ You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our guest speakers will be Ms Penny LEUNG (winner of the ESU scholarship to attend a major conference at Oxford in 2008), Ms Mei-mei CHAN (winner of the ESU scholarship to attend the Globe Theatre ¡§course¡¨ in 2008), Miss Patricia WONG (representative of the 2008 Public-Speaking Competition from the Hong Kong Schools Music and Speech Association) and Miss Maggie LEE (representative of the 2008 Public-Speaking Competition from the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups). Come and support Penny, Mei-mei, Patricia and Maggie as they describe their experiences! You could be a winner in 2009!
28 October 2008
	6TH ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 603, The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Raod, Wanchai (MTR Wanchai Exit C). The Play this time: "The Zoo Story" by Edward Albee Edward Albee, who is one of the United States¡¦ most distinguished contemporary playwrights, was born in 1928 and is therefore turning 80 this year. In celebration of this event, the dramatist¡¦s highly original plays - both the shorter one-act pieces with which he began his career, such as The Sandbox, The American Dream, The Death of Bessie Smith and The Zoo Story and the full-length works, such as his most frequently performed drama, Who¡¦s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ¡V are being produced in many countries. A production of Who¡¦s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ¡V a work made famous by the film version that starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton - is being planned by Hong Kong group Theatre Action for autumn 2009. Certainly Albee is one of the most gifted American dramatists in terms of the unusual treatment of his subject matter and the arresting lyricism and power of his dramatic language. His works often have a realistic veneer, but a philosophical-symbolic core, a combination which is very much evident in his first play, The Zoo Story, a deceptively simple allegorical tale about the primitive instincts that lurk just blow the surface of our assumptions of civilized, social behaviour. Fundamentally, The Zoo Story is a long one-act play in which "nothing happens" except conversation between two men ¡V as in Samuel Beckett¡¦s celebrated absurd drama Waiting for Godot - until the encounter takes an unexpectedly violent turn. A man named Peter, a successful publishing executive of middle age and upper-middle income from the fashionable East Side of the city, is comfortably reading a book on his favorite bench in New York's Central Park one sunny afternoon. He is suddenly approached by Jerry, an aggressive, seedy and unpredictable loner, but one who is highly articulate and apparently self-educated. Jerry announces that he has been to the Central Park Zoo and eventually prevails on Peter, who would clearly rather be left alone, to abandon his reading and enter into a conversation. At first, the discussion proceeds in a friendly manner along the lines of social norms, but suddenly Jerry launches into an emotionally over-wrought anecdote that give the first signs of his disturbingly paranoid tendencies¡K Come and join us for this sixth English play-reading programme! Everyone who wishes to participate will have the opportunity to do so. However, those who would like to attend but prefer to listen will also be welcome. Each month, we shall read a different play in English. Participants will be free to suggest plays for the reading group. One of the purposes of the play-reading activity is to encourage fluency and good diction in English. Another is to enable participants to extend their vocal range and find different vocal inflections and modes of vocal expression in their creation of various characters. Discover your latent dramatic talents! Tune in to the performer in you! Join us at this 6th ESU Play-Reading. Light Refreshments will be served.
11 October 2008
	GODS AND GUARDS: TUNG CHUNG WALK WITHIN SIGHT OF THE CHEK LAP KOK INT'L AIRPORT
	Presenter: Led by long-term HK resident and writer, Dr Gillian Bickley
	10am sharp - 12.30pm
	ESU Members HK$160, Non-members $210
	Registration & Short Briefing: 10.00am sharp Venue/Meeting Place: Tung Chung MTR station concourse, outside "paid area" near Exit B (sign directs to Ngong Ping) (To reach here from HK Station, take the Sunny Bay Line to Tung Chung station, which is the end of the line. Otherwise, change to the Sunny Bay Line from elsewhere within the MTR system.) Finish about 12.30pm (approx) at the Fort. You will be guided back to the Yat Tung bus-stop to return to the Tung Chung MTR station. Optional group lunch (shared expense) at local Indian restaurant (near the Fort) for those who wish. Description of the Programme: Walk through part of the Art Walk memorializing Tung Chung¡¦s past, visit the Hau Wong Temple (built around 1730), the Tung Chung Fort (built in 1832) and its related Information Centre. Tung Chung was once a rural fishing village. It changed almost completely when land was reclaimed to construct the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok (opened in 1997), with its related transport and housing infrastructure. But important historical structures, artefacts and sacred trees survive, undisturbed by sleeping dogs, enlivened by singing birds and playing children. LEARN ABOUT HONG KONG & SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW! Mainly flat walking. We will take a brief bus ride to get to the Tung Chung Fort. We twice climb a short flight of steps to cross a main road by a pedestrian footbridge (once there and once back), and there are a couple of short slopes (no more then 20 feet or so in distance); otherwise flat walking. We suggest (laced) walking shoes, suitable for unpaved and possibly muddy paths or moss-covered stone, an umbrella, mosquito, rain & sun protection, drinking water. The organiser disclaims any responsibility for accidents or injuries. Please bring coins or an Octopus card to pay for the bus fare to and from Yat Tung from Tung Chung (c. HK$4.00 (four dollars) each way). Optional lunch: could be as low as HK$60.00 (sixty) each (with one of soft drink, tea or coffee only).
06 October 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Patrick Wood
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Topic: ¡§The Challenges for Mainland Chinese Students Learning English¡¨ You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Young people in China sometimes begin learning English at primary school but all follow English courses through Junior and Senior middle / high school and for the first two years of College education. Yet for many, their speaking, listening and writing skills remain weak. Some students who major in English at University still have weak oral skills. What are the reasons for these phenomena? What are the specific difficulties that students face? What are the roles of native speaking teachers? Mr Wood, who has many years of experience teaching in both Britain and in China and is familiar with the pedagogy, teaching methods and curricula of both Britain and China, will suggest answers to these questions based on ten years¡¦ teaching experience in 5 different universities in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province. Join us for a most interesting and informative evening!
30 September 2008
	5TH ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 603, The Boys` & Girls` Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. The Play this time: "The Children`s Hour" By Lillian Hellman Lillian Hellman (1905-¡¦84) is probably one of the best known English women playwrights of the 20th century. Hellman's adaptation of a true-life story, which she entitled The Children's Hour (1934), shocked and fascinated Broadway audiences and enjoyed a run of 691 performances. The Children¡¦s Hour was Hellman¡¦s first great theatrical success and was followed by stage hits such as The Little Foxes (1939) and her anti-Nazi play Watch on the Rhine (1941). In The Children¡¦s Hour we are introduced to two women who run a boarding school for girls (The Wright-Dobie School) in contemporary (1934) United States. One of their students maliciously spreads rumours ¡V initially among her classmates - about her teachers in order to evade censure for bad behaviour. When she realizes the power and influence she can exercise, especially with her over-credulous and indulgent aunt her sly insinuations and slanderous gossip starts to spread throughout the community with deadly results. The play is in part a cautionary tale about rumour and gossip, but it shows both the best and the worst of human conduct. Muriel Spark¡¦s great 1950s novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (set in Edinburgh in the ¡¥30s) is also worth reading in connection with the themes and settings of The Children¡¦s Hour. When malevolent falsehood hardens into apparently irrefutable fact, as we have seen with the right-wing slandering of Democratic candidate Barack Obama¡¦s background in the ongoing U.S. presidential campaign, fundamentally decent human values are at stake. This analogy is apt, as Hellman was herself a victim of rabid right-wing demagogue Joseph Macarthy¡¦s anti-left ¡¥witch-hunts¡¦ of the 1950s, which resulted in the fracturing of many lives, especially people working in the arts. Come and join us for this fifth English play-reading programme! Everyone who wishes to participate will have the opportunity to do so. However, those who would like to attend but prefer to listen will also be welcome. Each month, we shall read a different play in English. Participants will be free to suggest plays for the reading group. One of the purposes of the play-reading activity is to encourage fluency and good diction in English. Another is to enable participants to extend their vocal range and find different vocal inflections and modes of vocal expression in their creation of various characters. Discover your latent dramatic talents! Tune in to the performer in you! Join us at this 5th ESU Play-Reading. Light Refreshments will be served.
01 September 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Ms Fleur Clarke
	6.45pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Venue: The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Topic: "LEARNING ENGLISH THROUGH DRAMA" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our guest speaker, Ms Fleur Clarke, drama expert, will talk about the benefits of learning English through drama, for children in primary and secondary schools. She will introduce activities that can be used with these children and young people and give practical tips to teachers, parents and those interested in helping children/ young people learn or improve their English through drama. The emphasis is on fun in learning. Join us for a most interesting evening!
26 August 2008
	4th ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Dr Mike Ingham
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. The Play this time: "An Inspector Calls" By J.B. Priestley This popular play has been revived many times since its first performances just before World War One. Priestley implicitly attacked the snobbish British class system of the day and called for a fairer, socially responsible society in this play, a work that many critics consider to be his dramatic masterpiece. (Priestley was also a successful novelist) The play enjoyed a long run in an outstanding and award-winning production in London¡¦s West End in the 1990s. It is regularly set for study by various drama and literature examination boards, probably because its themes remain relevant today, despite the great social transformations that have taken place since Priestley wrote it. The play seems as relevant today (particularly in the light of recent incidents) to our own Hong Kong society as it is to contemporary societies elsewhere. An Inspector Calls ¡V Plot Summary On an evening in early April 1912, we join Arthur Birling, his wife Sybil, their daughter Sheila and son Eric in the drawing room of their home just after dinner as they celebrate Sheila¡¦s engagement to Gerald Croft, son of Sir George Croft. The Birlings are a relatively prosperous, nouveau riche family who live in the industrial town of Brumley in the British Midlands. The tranquil celebration is suddenly interrupted when Edna, the parlor maid, announces the arrival of a stranger, Police Inspector Goole. The Inspector has come to the Birling home as part of an inquiry into the death by suicide that day of a desperate young woman. As the Inspector¡¦s investigation unfolds, we discover how the life of the dead woman had become intertwined with the Birling family members and observe how these revelations affect each of them. Come and join us for this fourth English play-reading programme! Everyone who wishes to participate will have the opportunity to do so. However, those who would like to attend but prefer to listen will also be welcome. Each month (except July), we shall read a different play in English. Participants will be free to suggest plays for the reading group. One of the purposes of the play-reading activity is to encourage fluency and good diction in English. Another is to enable participants to extend their vocal range and find different vocal inflections and modes of vocal expression in their creation of various characters. Discover your latent dramatic talents! Tune in to the performer in you! Join us at this third ESU Play-Reading. Light Refreshments will be served.
04 August 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Simon THAM
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Topic: "The Teaching of Reading" Venue: The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our guest speaker, Mr Simon Tham, Member of the ESU (HK) Executive Committee and Chief Curriculum Development Officer of the Education Bureau, will talk about how to motivate young children to read to improve their English. Parents and teachers could use strategies like reading aloud, story telling, shared reading, guided independent reading and home reading. Demonstrations on reading aloud and story telling will be given, and participants will have the opportunity to practise these strategies. Join us for a most interesting evening!
07 July 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr William Ng
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, FREE FOR NEW MEMBERS
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. Topic: "Achieving Work-Life Balance" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Mr William Ng, an occupational psychologist and experienced management trainer, will lead a discussion and offer insights based on research material on this important topic. Questions will be raised on:- - What do we mean by work/life balance? - How are corporations/organizations dealing with this? - What is the balance between the type of work and amount of work versus the activities pursued in one's personal life? - How do individuals achieve a sense of well being? Do join us on July 7th for what promises to be a most stimulating discussion.
24 June 2008
	3rd ESU PLAY-READING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Dr Verner Bickley
	7.00pm - 9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. The Play this time: ¡§The Admirable Crichton¡¨By J.M. Barrie ¡§The Admirable Crichton¡¨ differs markedly from what is, perhaps, J.M. Barrie¡¦s most famous fantasy play, ¡§Peter Pan.¡¨ It can be regarded as an attack on the existing class-structure and as exposing the perceived injustice of the master/servant distinction. Lord Loam and his upper class friends are shipwrecked on a Pacific island. The social order is inverted as Crichton, the butler (servant) takes charge and keeps the party safe and well until help appears. During the party¡¦s ordeal, Lord Loam is forced to serve as a kind of handyman. When the party is finally rescued, the positions are reversed and Crichton is, once again, obliged to serve as butler. He accepts this loss of stature as being part of the natural social order. But is it? Come and join us for this third English play-reading programme! Everyone who wishes to participate will have the opportunity to do so. However, those who would like to attend but prefer to listen will also be welcome. Each month (except July), we shall read a different play in English. Participants will be free to suggest plays for the reading group. One of the purposes of the play-reading activity is to encourage fluency and good diction in English. Another is to enable participants to extend their vocal range and find different vocal inflections and modes of vocal expression in their creation of various characters. Discover your latent dramatic talents! Tune in to the performer in you! Join us at this third ESU Play-Reading. Light Refreshments will be served. Activity organisers for the ESU: Dr Mike Ingham; Dr Verner Bickley.
18 June 2008
	ESU SPECIAL SEMINAR ON TEACHING THE EXAMINATION ESSAY FOR IELTS AND BEYOND!
	Presenter: Mr Robert Lewis
	6.30pm - 8.30pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. The seminar will focus on how to write a successful essay for an English examination such as the IELTS. Our speaker, Mr Robert Lewis, M.A. Applied Linguistics, B.Ed., is a certified IELTS Examiner. He has had over twenty years of experience teaching at secondary, primary and adult levels in Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Hong Kong. He is the author of Exam Essays, available at www.text2write.com and he has also published in various academic journals. Many students have great difficulty in writing a competent essay for their examinations. Mr Lewis will explain the differences between a successful and less competent essay and suggest some strategies for more effectively teaching essay writing to students. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
11 June 2008
	"THE OLYMPIC GAMES: TRIUMPHS & TRAGEDIES OVER THE YEARS"
	Presenter: Dr Verner Bickley
	6.45pm - 8.30pm
	ESU Members HK$88, Non-Members HK$110
	A joint event with the Helena May. ESU members please register through the ESU! Place: The Blue Room, The Helena May Institute, 35 Garden Road (the colonial-style building, opposite the American Consulate). Please enter at the main entrance on Garden Road and turn left and left again into The Blue Room. ESU members and friends are invited to a talk by Dr Verner Bickley. The talk is arranged by The Helena May Institute for its members. As a member of the Helena May Institute herself, Dr Gillian Bickley is able to facilitate ESU members to attend as her guests. The talk begins at 7.00pm. Q & A session from about 7.50 to no later than 8.30pm. Drinks available, 6.45pm (one drink each is included in each registration fee). Booking Closing Date & Time: noon, Friday, 6 June 2008. Cancellations are not possible, but substitutions are always welcome. (Please advise Venni Tam in writing.) Copies of Dr Bickley's new book, "Forward to Beijing: A Guide to the Summer Olympics (with a short history of the Games)" will be available for sale to those who attend the event.
02 June 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Rodney Jones
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Topic: "Non-Verbal Communication: The Secrets of Body Language" Venue: Room 602, The Boys` & Girls` Clubs Association of HK, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Dr Rodney Jones is an Associate Professor of English and Communication at City University of Hong Kong. He has published widely in the areas of discourse analysis, computer mediated communication, health communication and English language teaching. In all societies and cultures, non-verbal communication by gestures, facial expressions and head or eye movements may add emphasis or various shades of meaning to a face-to-face discussion. In his talk for the ESU, Dr Jones will discuss ways in which human beings can communicate with each other effectively without the use of words. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
27 May 2008
	ESU PLAYREADING PROGRAMME
	Presenter: Dr Michael Ingham
	7.00pm-9.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25
	Venue: Room 602, The Boys` and Girls` Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. "The Play`s the Thing..." ESU Play-Reading Evening: Tuesday, May 27th The Play this time: "The Importance of Being Earnest" By Oscar Wilde "The Importance of Being Earnest is above all a universe of words¡K.the play is a verbal opera ¡¥in which the characters are determined by the kinds of things they say, and the plot is nothing but a succession of opportunities to say them.¡¦. But there is more to it than this. The ability to control language dictates reality, and Wilde¡¦s speakers are always conscious of their epigrammatic expression." Come and join us for our second English play-reading programme. We will be reading Oscar Wilde¡¦s famous play, ¡§The Importance of Being Earnest.¡¨ Everyone who wishes to participate will have the opportunity to do so. However, those who would like to attend but prefer to listen will also be welcome. Each month we shall read a different play in English. Participants will be free to suggest plays for the reading group. One of the purposes of the play-reading activity is to encourage fluency and good diction in English. Another is to enable participants to extend their vocal range and find different vocal inflections and modes of vocal expression in their creation of various characters. Discover your latent dramatic talents! Tune in to the performer in you! Join us at this second ESU Play-Reading. Light Refreshments will be served. Activity organisers for the ESU: Dr Mike Ingham; Dr Verner Bickley.
05 May 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley, Professor of English Literature at Hong Kong Baptist University for 22 years; Honorary Research Fellow, Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for new ESU Members
	Venue: The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Have you ever offended anyone? Have you ever been offended? Do you know why? Dr Gillian Bickley will talk on this delicate subject. Business letters, e-mail messages, face-to-face conversations, table etiquette (not just how to hold knife and fork or chop-sticks but what you say and to whom); telephone calls; all can cause offence. Dr Gillian Bickley will give examples with explanations and suggestions as to how to avoid giving and taking offence. Bring your own examples to share. Give your own feedback and comments to the examples that others bring. If you have time, please send us your examples by email in advance and Dr Gillian Bickley will discuss these along with her own examples in her talk. Please make clear who the participants in the communication were and also what form the communication took (e.g. spoken at a party, written in an email message), etc. Please sign your examples and please state clearly if you do not wish your name to be mentioned. Understanding different cultures is a good beginning. But how many different cultures are there? Are they simply national differences? Or are there more differences than this? Does each profession have its own code of politeness? Does politeness vary from context to context? All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
02 May 2008
	LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	5.00pm - 7.30pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Venue: Staff Canteen, HSH Campus, HK Baptist University. Our specialist autor and scholar, Dr Gillian Bickley, will listen to your questions(s) and offer you tailor-made individual advice on your English language problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. If you need more time, please request a double session. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 (9am-12noon) or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com.
22 April 2008
	"THE PLAYS THE THING..." THE FIRST ESU PLAY-READING EVENING
	Presenter: Activity Organisers: Dr Mike Ingham, Dr Verner Bickley
	7.00pm-9.00pm
	HK$75 ESU members, HK$90 Non-members, HK$25 Students
	Venue: The Boys¡¦ & Girls¡¦ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai ¡§All the World¡¦s a stage and all the men and women merely players; each man in his time plays many parts¡K¡¨ (William Shakespeare, As You Like It) ¡§Speak the speech I pray you as I pronounced it to you trippingly on the tongue¡K¡¨ (William Shakespeare, Hamlet) The ESU will inaugurate a new activity for members and non-members in April ¡V English play-reading. Everyone who wishes to participate will have the opportunity to do so. However, those who would like to attend but prefer to listen will also be welcome. Each month we will read a different play in English. Upcoming plays will be taken from a list including: The Admirable Crichton (J.M. Barrie) The History Boys (Alan Bennett) Noises Off (Michael Frayn) Dangerous Liaisons (Christopher Hampton) M. Butterfly (David Henry Hwang) My Mother Said I Never Should (Charlotte Keatley) Abigail¡¦s Party (Mike Leigh) An Inspector Calls (J.B. Priestley) Pygmalion (G.B. Shaw) The Real Inspector Hound; Dirty Linen (Tom Stoppard) The Sisters Rosensweig (Wendy Wasserstein) The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) The Glass Menagerie (Tennessee Williams) Participants will also be free to suggest plays for the reading group. The first play, however, will be selected by the ESU for the inaugural session. We can use the play-reading group as a platform to try out Hong Kong plays in English or new works. One of the purposes of the play-reading activity is to encourage fluency and good diction in English. Another is to enable participants to extend their vocal range and find different vocal inflections and modes of vocal expression in their creation of various characters. There is no doubt that participants will develop their command of English lexis and collocations and pick up idiomatic phrases and expressions. In addition, they will become acquainted with a range of critically acclaimed plays in English. Plays may be available on the internet, or where they are unavailable, we will try to ensure that they can be purchased in a local bookshop. Discover your latent dramatic talents! Tune in to the performer in you! Join us at the ESU play-reading evenings¡K Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (copies of the play will be available) Our first play, Pygmalion (12 characters) by George Bernard Shaw is a masterpiece of early 20th century drama. Written in 1912, it was first presented in English in 1914. In 1956, a musical based on Shaw¡¦s play was performed in New York under the title, My Fair Lady. This musical was followed by a highly successful film version that was given the same title. The film, My Fair Lady, was therefore a version of a musical play that was based on Shaw¡¦s, Pygmalion. Shaw¡¦s play was a version of the ancient Greek legend of Pygmalion and Galatea! In Shaw¡¦s adaptation, the linguistic expert, Professor Henry Higgins, accepts a bet that he can transform a young flower seller into a refined young lady (Liza) by improving her manners and changing the way she speaks. In the process he falls in love with Liza. But does she fall in love with him? Social Gathering and Light Refreshments At each meeting there will be a short social gathering. One of the major aims of the play-reading group is to stimulate social interaction among participants and members of the Hong Kong ESU. Some light (very light!) refreshments will be available.
12 April 2008
	THE STANDARD CHARTERED HK ENGLISH PUBLIC-SPEAKING CONTEST
	Final preparations are now being made for the English-Speaking Union¡¦s International Public-Speaking Competi-tion to be held in London from Tuesday 6 May to Friday 9 May, 2008. The first such competition was held in 1981 and included speakers from three countries. Since then the competition has expanded and in 2007 thirty-four countries took part. As usual, the ESU in Hong Kong is ¡§partnering¡¨ with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups in the organization of the Standard Chartered Hong Kong English Public-Speaking Contest. The first such Contest was held in 2004. Over 600 students from 100 secondary schools and 8 universities took part in that year. In 2007, well over 1,000 students participated and many more have enrolled for the competition in 2008. The winner of the Standard Chartered Competition will represent Hong Kong at the competition in London. The Grand Finals and Awards Ceremony will be held from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, 12 April in the auditoria of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine.
08 April 2008
	LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	5.00pm - 6.30pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Venue: Staff Canteen, HSH Campus, HK Baptist University. Our specialist autor and scholar, Dr Gillian Bickley, will listen to your questions(s) and offer you tailor-made individual advice on your English language problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. If you need more time, please request a double session. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 (9am-12noon) or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com.
07 April 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Ms Karen Cheung, Mr Patrick Li and Miss Carol Wong
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	HK$75 ESU members, HK$90 Non-members, HK$25 Students, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Venue: The Boys` & Girls` Clubs Association of HK Room 602 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. Theme: "Public-Speaking and ESU Scholarships" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Patrick won an ESU scholarship to attend the Globe Theatre ¡§course¡¨ and Karen won an ESU scholarship to attend a major conference at Oxford in 2007. Carol, winner of the Standard Chartered HK English Public-Speaking Contest (co-organised by the ESU (HK) and the HK Federation of Youth Groups), represented Hong Kong at the ESU International Competition in London. Patrick, Karen and Carol will be sharing their experiences. All are welcome to join what are sure to be most informative and interesting presentations.
31 March 2008
	ESU SCHOLARSHIPS 2008
	Applications are now invited for two ESU Scholarships (in addition to those available for participants in the HKFYG/ESU Public-Speaking Competi-tion and the HKSMSA Public-Speaking Competition). The dates for interviews in Hong Kong are to be confirmed but they have been set tentatively at 5.30pm on Wednesday, 9 April for the Oriel Scholarship interviews and 5.30pm on Tuesday, 27 May for the Globe Theatre interviews. Both interviews will be held at the ESU¡¦s office in Kornhill. These dates and times are to be confirmed. International Relations Conference 27 July-2 August 2008. Oriel College, Oxford. The average age of participants in this important Conference is 30-35 but people as young as 22 fit in well. Young people of all professions take part, but the majority tend to be lawyers, journalists, teachers/university lecturers. It is not recommended that under-graduates should participate. The Conference will deal with a variety of issues relating to International Relations. It will cover International Relations, British Institutions, the Developing World and International Trade and Industry. Each session will take the form of a short lecture followed by a comprehensive discussion involving all the delegates. There will also be a visit to a performance of Shakespeare¡¦s Hamlet (who was not terribly good at relationships!). The speakers will include The Lord Watson of Richmond CBE, Chairman, CTN Communications; Ralph Land CBE, Chairman of the Russo-Britain Chamber of Commerce; Mark Simmons, MP, Shadow Minister for International Development; Professor Alan Lee Williams OBE, Director, The Atlantic Council and Mr William Fell CMG, British Airways Risk Adviser. The deadline in Hong Kong for application for this scholarship is Wednesday, 9 April 2008. Shakespeare¡¦s Globe Theatre Seminar for Teachers. 10-16 August 2008. Candidates should be teachers of English or Theatre who (preferably) have experience of teaching Shakespeare and are non-native English speakers. Participants will be introduced to Globe Education¡¦s approaches to teaching Shakespeare to students of all ages and will meet and work with Globe Theatre staff and Globe Education practitioners. The deadline in Hong Kong for application for this scholarship is Wednesday, 28 May, 2008.
25 March 2008
	The ESU World Members Conference 15th to 18th September 2008
	Let¡¦s All Visit Bonny Scotland! All ESU members are cordially invited to participate in the ESU World Members Conference to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland from the 15th to the 18th September 2008. Before the Conference (Friday morning, 15th September) and after the Conference (Friday 19th September and Saturday, 20th September) it will be possible to enjoy: - A Panoramic City Tour and Edinburgh Castle - The former Royal Yacht Britannia - Rosslyn Chapel (featured in the movie, The Da Vinci Code) - Glamis Castle and St Andrews (famous for its golf) - Loch Lomond and the Glengoyne Distillery - In the Footsteps of Sir Walter Scott - Culzean Castle and Robert Burns Country The speakers at the conference will include: The First Minister of Scotland. Lord Hunt (ESU Chairman). Lord Alan Watson (Chairman Emeritus - recently in Hong Kong). Mr William R. Miller (Chairman, ESU of the United States). Professor David Crystal (famous linguist). He will speak on ¡§The English Language.¡¨ Sir Richard Dearlove (ESU alumnus). Sir John Bond (ESU alumnus and former Chairman of HSBC). Professor Ronald Carter. He will speak on ¡§Using English as a Foreign Language.¡¨ Professor Sheila Dow. Dr Elizabeth Cumming. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen. He will speak on ¡§The Future of the Transatlantic Relationship.¡¨ Sir Christopher Meyer. He will speak on ¡§The Place of the ESU in the Modern World.¡¨ Sir Robert Worcester. He will speak on ¡§Getting English Talked About, Not Just Talked.¡¨ Shami Chakrabarti: He will speak on "Cultural Diversity within an International Organisation.¡¨ The Conference will be enriched by a Photographic Competition, featuring entries from ESUs around the world. A Commemorative Yearbook is also in preparation. Registration will be cheaper if done before 15 May 2008. Postal Booking and Credit Card Booking Forms may be obtained from Venni, the ESU Administrator. Tel: 2186-8449. Fax: 2110-1991. E-Mail: esuhk@netvigator.com.
08 March 2008
	"THREADING THE GOLDEN NEEDLE": COLONIAL HK HERITAGE WALK
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	10.15am Sharp - 1.00pm (approx)
	HK$160 (ESU Members), HK$210 (non ESU Members)
	Start: 10.15am sharp Finish: 13.00pm (approx) Optional dim sum lunch (shared expense) at Jockey Club restaurant for those who wish. Meeting Place: Escalator walkway above Queen's Road Central (i.e. where the Escalator walkway and QRC intersect). Opposite the Seven Eleven Store. This is a joint activity with the Helena May Institute. Numbers are limited. Avoid disappointment and reserve your place early by sending your cheque as soon as possible. Deadline for enrollment: Friday, 29 February 2008. Please make your cheque payable to ¡§The English-Speaking Union (HK) Ltd¡¨ and send to Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza ¡V Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, Hong Kong. Visit significant sites at Hollywood Road, Ice House Street, Lower Albert Road, and the Protestant Cemetery: the Hong Kong early western residents knew! The walk begins with a briefing and ends at the Protestant Cemetery, Happy Valley, with an optional self-paid group dim sum lunch at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Mainly flat walking. You need a shared taxi-fare to Happy Valley. We suggest walking shoes, an umbrella, mosquito protection, water. The organiser disclaims any responsibility for accidents or injuries. LEARN ABOUT HONG KONG & SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW! The date is close to the 146th anniversary of 10 March 1862, when Frederick Stewart, celebrated by his contemporaries as the Founder of Hong Kong Government education (including of course English Language education), taught his first class at the Hong Kong Government Central School (now known as Queen's College), the first school established and fully funded by the Hong Kong Government. English language Government education laid the foundation for Hong Kong's development. Cancellation: We regret, no reimbursements are possible. Substitutions are always welcome.
03 March 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Anthony Tong, former Deputy Director of Education
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	HK$75 ESU members, HK$90 Non-members, HK$25 Students, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Venue: The Boys` & Girls` Clubs Association of HK 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai. Topic: "The Secrets of Learning English" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Mr Anthony Tong was formerly Deputy Director of Education, Hong Kong. Based on his experiences as a teacher of Chinese students learning English both in Hong Kong and on the Mainland, he will share some answers to questions such as the following: - Why do we need to learn English? - Why is it so difficult for some Chinese learners to master the language? - What are commonly less effective approaches to learning English? - What are some of the ways by which learners can learn to master English language skills? After Mr Tong¡¦s presentation he will encourage members of the audience to ask questions (and receive answers) about effective English language learning.
01 February 2008
	Lord Watson will give a talk based on his latest book: "JAMESTOWN: THE VOYAGE OF ENGLISH"
	Presenter: Lord Alan Watson of Richmond, CBE
	6.30pm - 8.30pm
	HK$250 each (members of Britcham and ESU), HK$300 each (non-members)
	Venue: The Harcourt Suite, The Hong Kong Club, Central. ¡§The phenomenal rise in the use of English world-wide is shaping today¡¦s world and that of tomorrow¡K Today English has become the working language of the global village. English and globalisation are interdependent phenomena and as a consequence ownership of English is vested with neither the British nor the Americans. The truth is that English is now owned by neither but belongs to all who use it. By 2030 the largest ethnic group doing so will be the Chinese.¡¨ "Jamestown: the Voyage of English" defines and describes the global significance of the arrival on America's East Coast in 1607 of The Godspeed, the Susan Constant and the Discovery. The year 1607 marks the start of the voyage of English from the language of 4 million inhabitants of the British Isles to its role as today's working language of the global village,used by almost 2 billion people world-wide. Lord Watson has enjoyed a distinguished career in broadcasting, business and politics. He has presented BBC TV's flagship programmes, "The Money Programme" and "Panorama." He is a former President of the British Liberal Party and a member of the House of Lords. He has chaired or chairs companies such as Burson-Marsteller (Europe),CTN Communications and the wine importer Raisin Social Limited. Lord Watson holds a number of directorships and honorary posts at universities in Britain and abroad. He is a visiting Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford and an honorary Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. A key involvement has been his role in the English-Speaking Union, for six years as its Commonwealth Chairman and now Chairman Emeritus of its International Council. Now active in 53 countries (not least Hong Kong!),the ESU promotes "Global Understanding through English", working with thousands of young people, many using English as their second language.
29 January 2008
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	5.00pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Venue: The Helena May, 35 Garden Road, HK. Our specialist autor and scholar, Dr Gillian Bickley, will listen to your questions(s) and offer you tailor-made individual advice on your English language problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. If you need more time, please request a double session. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 (9am-12noon) or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com.
07 January 2008
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Michael Ingham
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	HK$75 ESU members, HK$90 Non-members, HK$25 Students, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Topic: "Hong Kong: A Literary and Cultural Tour with Dr Michael Ingham" Venue: The Boys' & Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong, Room 602, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, HK. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Dr Mike Ingham is a founder member of the English-Speaking Union in Hong Kong, in which capacity he has served on the Executive Committee and conducted several very successful seminars entitled: Presenting with Power. On 7 January 2008, he will be the speaker in the first ¡§Meet at the ESU¡¨ session of the year. His subject will be Hong Kong: A Literary and Cultural History, based on his recent successful book with the same title. The book includes forewords by Lord Christopher Patten and the well-known novelist, Xu Xi. Dr Ingham¡¦s talk, like his book, explores Hong Kong from the somewhat unusual perspective of creative writers, film-makers and other expressive, creative artists and describes how he set about the task of conveying the essence of our real and unreal city through words and some photographic images. This will be an exciting and informative talk which will surely be of interest to all ESU members and their friends. We all live here. Let¡¦s find out a little more about ourselves and where we are! Mike Ingham has B.A. and Masters degrees in European Literature and Linguistics from the University of Oxford and a Ph. D in English Theatre from the University of Hong Kong. After working for several years at the then Institute of Language in Education, Mike joined Lingnan University where he has been teaching English Studies as a member of the English Department since 1999. Before coming to Hong Kong in 1989 he taught in England, France, Italy and Spain. His areas of professional expertise are speech development, literature and drama in education. He is a founder member of Theatre in Action a Hong-Kong based drama group that specializes in action research on more literary drama texts.
22 December 2007
	ESU CHRISTMAS PARTY
	2.00pm - 5.00pm
	Free: Make a donation and/or bring something to share.
	ESU (Is You/Are You) GOING TO COME TO OUR CHRISTMAS PARTY THIS YEAR? WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP? SATURDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2007. We enjoyed a super party last year. Let¡¦s do the same this year! Would any member like to help, as last year? We would like, once again, to have a Lucky Dip, a Raffle and a Quiz and, of course, some festive food and drink! The Party will take place in our office at Kornhill. It will be a bit of a squeeze but good fun nevertheless (no Musical Chairs this year). Come and join us from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday, 22 December at Kornhill. We need help with: Catering. The Lucky Dip (every member to bring something). The Raffle (a good announcer is required). The Quiz (I¡¦ll volunteer to do that). Do please contact Venni if you are willing to help and if you have any ideas for enriching the Party. Best Christmas (and Lunar New Year) wishes in advance. Verner Bickley Chairman ESU Executive Committee
22 December 2007
	ESU CHRISTMAS PARTY
	2.00pm - 5.00pm
	Party Organisers Wanted! As members know, we have scheduled our ESU Christmas Party Party to be held in Kornhill on Saturday 22 December from 2pm to 5pm. We are urgently seeking volunteers to work together as a committee to organise the Party. Do please contact Venni if you can help. ESU (HK) Tel: 2186-8449 (M-F 9am-12noon) Fax: 2110-1991 Email: esuhk@netvigator.com
24 November 2007
	ESU TRAIL- WALK
	Presenter: Led by ESU Member - Mr Byron LEUNG
	2.45pm - 5.30pm
	ESU Members and Students HK$50, Non-Members HK$70
	Place: Pokfulam Reservoir Track Led by ESU Member, Mr Byron Leung, this is the third of a series of ESU Trail Walks. It will provide an opportunity for participants to interact with each other in English whilst enjoying fresh air and stunning views! Suitable for beginners, as well as the more experienced, the Walk will start at the Pokfulam Reservoir and end at the Peak. It will last for about 2 hours. Participants can, after the walk, chill out at any eatery at the Peak. The views are spectacular, including the serene Pokfulam and Lamma Island, as well as the hustle and bustle of the northern part of Hong Kong Island and West Kowloon, etc. Participants will meet Byron at the Hang Seng Bank in the Admiralty MTR Station at 2:45 pm. He will be holding a small, maroon-coloured ESU sign. From there, the party will proceed by taking City Bus no 43X to Pokfulam Reservoir. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know your ESU colleagues and to use English in an informal setting. Please come and join us in the Walk! All are welcome. Donations: HK$50 ESU Members and Students HK$70 Non-Members Participants should please: • bring some water; • wear walking and non-slippery shoes; • bring insect repellent, a hat and sun-block lotion, if required. The ESU disclaims any responsibility for accidents or injuries. To enroll and for further enquiries, please telephone 2186-8449 or fax 2110-1991, or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Web Site: .
05 November 2007
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Leo HOYE (BA, PGCE TESFL, MAAL, D.Phil, Dip. Hon.), Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong
	6.45pm-8.00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for new ESU Members
	Topic: "Understanding Images: How We Read Them" Venue: LG02, Hoi Oi Chow Building, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Guest speaker: Dr Leo HOYE (BA, PGCE TESFL, MAAL, D.Phil, Dip. Hon.), Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, and a Senior Consultant with Kaiser Consulting, Germany. Dr Hoye, a versatile educator/researcher in Pragmatics, English grammar (modality), and Intercultural Communication, (specializing in negotiation skills), has worked with governmental and other agencies in: France, Italy, Denmark, Romania, Czech Republic, Poland, and Chile. There is considerable scholarship in the fields of art history, art criticism, aesthetics, the philosophy of art and so forth, which focuses on what pictures (photos, fine art, advertising copy, illustrations, etc.) ¡V images ¡V ¡¥mean¡¦ and how we can interpret them and understand them formally, sometimes also in terms of our response to same. In this talk, Dr Hoye proposes to take a slightly different and complementary perspective, where the focus is not on the imminent properties of images but on the way they are used ¡V as items in auction catalogues, as propaganda posters, as advertising media ¡V in terms of a wide variety of contexts where the dynamics of the image, its users and the contexts of use can be seen to synergise and lead to the production of new meanings. This perspective is primed by Pragmatics ¡V not a too technical concept, yet one Dr Hoye fully intends to explain in the talk. So, leaving you with the mystery of that term, we invite you to come to the talk ¡V and to ¡V well ¡V bring some images of your own that we can talk about! All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
25 October 2007
	WANCHAI WALK
	Presenter: Mrs Linda Lui, local resident and HK writer & historian, Dr Gillian Bickley
	10:00am sharp-12:00 noon (approx)
	ESU Members HK$160, Non-Members HK$210
	Begins with a briefing at the MTR Exit B2 (Southorn Playground), street level. We will look at the old and new "Wedding card streets" and visit the Wanchai Environmental Resources Centre, housed in a heritage building. (It once was the oldest Post Office on Hong Kong Island; and some of the original furniture from this part of its history is still used, adapted for different purposes.) We will continue to nearby Stone Nullah Lane, where we will look at the Blue House and, if possible, we will briefly visit a practitioner at a traditional Chinese medicine clinic there. We will then visit the handsome recently renovated Pak Tai Temple, the St James' Settlement and Tai Yuen Street, where the walk will end. Those who wish can join together for lunch at a nearby Chinese Restaurant. The cost of this is additional to the donation for the tour and will be shared among those who join the lunch party. This is a joint activity with the Helena May Institute. Numbers are strictly limited. Please avoid disappointment by reserving your place early. Send your cheque to the ESU office as soon as possible. Deadline for enrollment: Monday, 22 October 2007. Please wear walking shoes and protection against rain if you judge it necessary. This is planned as mainly flat walking. Nevertheless, please walk carefully. The ESU disclaims any responsibility for accidents or injuries. You may like to bring a mask to wear in the Pak Tai Temple, if incense makes you uncomfortable.
19 October 2007
	LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Mr Reginald Hunt and Dr Gillian Bickley
	6.00pm - 8.00pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Venue: Room 510A, Kornhill Plaza - Office Tower, 1 Kornhill Road, HK. (Taikoo MTR Exit A2) ESU (HK) friend, Mr Reginald Hunt and/or our specialist autor and scholar, Dr Gillian Bickley, will listen to your questions(s) and offer you tailor-made individual advice on your English language problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. If you need more time, please request a double session. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 (9am-12noon) or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com.
15 October 2007
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Peter Sidorko, B.Math, MAppSc (Lib & Info Mgt), DipIM-Lib NSW and Ms Suzanne Ensom, Assistant Director of the ESU in Edinburgh, Scotland
	6:45pm-8:00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members $90, Students $25, Free for new ESU Members
	Venue: HK Park Sports Centre, Activity Room (1), G/F, 29 Cotton Tree Drive, Queensway, Hong Kong. Topic: ¡§The Changing Nature of Scholarly Publishing and the Growth of Electronic Information" Guest speaker: Mr Peter SIDORKO, B.Math, MAppSc (Lib & Info Mgt), DipIM-Lib NSW. Mr Sidorko is the Deputy Librarian at the University of Hong Kong, a position he has held since 2001. In this role, Peter is responsible for the full range of public services, technical services and technological developments for the entire University Library system which consists of one Main Library and six branch libraries, a staff of approximately 240 and a collection in excess of 2.4 million volumes. Peter is also a member of the University¡¦s Knowledge Team, a group charged with fostering greater integration of technology into the University¡¦s academic activities. We shall also welcome another guest at this October meeting, namely Ms. Suzanne ENSOM, Assistant Director of the ESU in Edinburgh, Scotland. Ms. Ensom is the recipient of the 2007 Thyne Travelling Scholarship which was ¡§established for the furtherance, encouragement or improvement of relations and friendship and mutual knowledge and understanding in the English-speaking world¡¨. During her travels, Ms. Ensom will visit ESUs in eight countries and will discuss the educational and cultural programmes offered in those countries. She says that the two aspects of the ESU that she finds most interesting are the benefits of educational and cultural programmes in aiding personal development, and the international nature of the organisation. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
10 September 2007
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Ken Durran, Vice President of the Palm Beach, Florida Branch of the ESU and Co-Chair, Region¢ä, ESU, USA
	6:45pm-8:00pm
	Donations: HK$75 ESU Members, HK$90 Non-Members, HK$25 Students, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: HK Fringe Club, Fotogalerie Room B, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong. Topic: "The Amazing and Unusual Place. Life in Florida`s Palm Beach (and the English-Speaking Union)" Mr Durran has lived in Palm Beach for sixteen years. He visited Hong Kong frequently in the nineteen-seventies on business and joined the HK Flying Club as a flying member. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
07 May 2007
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Leo Yam, Doctor of Education in Mass Communication
	6:45pm - 8:00pm
	Donations: HK$75 ESU Members, HK$90 Non-Members, HK$25 Students, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: Room G06, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. Topic: `The Power of Speech Communication: to Win Trust and Friendship` You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our guest speaker, Dr Leo YAM, Doctor of Education in Mass Communication; Professional Diploma in Communication and Theatre Arts) at Columbia University, NYC); Master of Science in Speech and Education at University of Wisconsin, will give a talk on the above named subject. Dr Yam is an expert in areas of teacher education, educational technology, interpersonal communication, leadership, communication and management. He has received awards from the East-West Center, Hawaii and the University of Wisconsin which presented him with the Robert De Kieffer Award for Outstanding Leadership in Educational Communications and Technology. Among his many publications are `Education, Communication, Technology?`, `The Power of Oral Communication` and `Communicative Poetry: 300`. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
03 May 2007
	THE 2007 ESU AND GLOBE EDUCATION CULTURAL SEMINAR FOR TEACHERS AT SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE THEATRE
	This exciting one-week course provides teachers with the opportunity to gain insights into the crafts involved in creating a production for the famous Globe Theatre, built very close to the site of the 16th century Globe in London. Teachers will attend three of the Globe's productions: "The Merchant of Venice", "Othello" and "Love's Labours Lost". They will meet and work with members of the Globe Theatre company responsible for design, direction, movement, music, text and voice to explore how productions at the Globe are conceived and mounted. Delegates will also have the opportunity to discuss the place of Shakespeare in their classrooms in Hong Kong. A second round of interviews will be held on Thursday, 3 May from 5.30pm at 3/F The British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Please call 2186-8449 or 6970-7430 for an appointment.
13 April 2007
	ESU SCHOLARSHIPS
	ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION SCHOLARSHIPS Applicants for the following English-Speaking Union Scholarships are invited to attend meetings of the ESU (HK) Scholarships Committee, as follows: International Summer Conference 15-21 July 2007 Date of Meeting: Tuesday, 17 April, 2007 Time: 5.30-6.15pm Venue: 3/F The British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong. This Conference will be held at Oriel College, Oxford. It will deal with a variety of issues relating to International Relations in today’s world. The aim of the Conference is to give participants the opportunity to expand their knowledge of Britain and to widen their outlook on world issues. It also offers a unique opportunity to make individual contacts with people from various fields, cultures and backgrounds. Four main topics will be covered: International Relations, Law and Government, British Institutions and International Trade and Industry. Young people of all professions take part but the majority tend to be lawyers, journalists, teachers/university lecturers. We would not recommend undergraduates participating. The Scholarship covers all costs while at Oriel College but does not cover travel costs to and from Oxford. An application does not guarantee that applicants will receive a scholarship. The 2007 ESU and Globe Education Cultural Seminar for Teachers at Shakespeare’s Globe Date of Meeting: Tuesday, 17 April, 2007 Time: 6.15-7pm. Venue: 3/F The British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong This one-week course will provide teachers with insights into the crafts involved in creating a production for the Globe theatre. Participants will be introduced to Globe Education’s approaches to teaching Shakespeare to students of all ages, and will meet and work with Globe Theatre staff and Globe Education Practitioners. The scholarship covers tuition, theatre trips and accommodation (breakfast included). It does not cover the cost of travel involved in getting to, or from, the seminar. For enquiries, please contact Tel: 2186-8449 or 6970-7430, Email: esuhk@netvigator.com, Fax: 2913-5164.
10 April 2007
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: One of our Panel of Language Doctors
	6:30pm - 8:30pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central.
02 April 2007
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Ms Patricia WARREN
	6:45pm - 8:00pm
	Donations: HK$75 ESU Members, HK$90 Non-Members, HK$25 Students, Free for New ESU Members
	Topic: ¡§Using authentic children`s stories in the language classroom and in the home and designing activities which focus on meaning and grammar.¡¨ Venue: G06 The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our guest speaker, Ms Patricia WARREN, has worked as a teacher of English since 1986, dealing with a variety of subjects in the field of EFL, including English for Academic Purposes, Business English, English Pronunciation and English for Young Learners. She has taught in the UK, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, Ecuador and China. She completed a Postgraduate Certificate of Education (ESL/EFL) at Manchester University and a Master of Education (Language Teaching) at Exeter University. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Language Centre at HKBU and is the coordinator of the Language Enhancement Programme (English). Her areas of interest are English pronunciation, assessment, and materials development. Ms Warren`s topic will be of particular interest to parents and teachers (who may also be parents!).
20 March 2007
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6:30pm - 8:30pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central.
10 March 2007
	Centre to Cemetery: Colonial Hong Kong Heritage Walk
	Presenter: Led by Hong Kong writer, historian and long-term resident, the ESU's own Dr Gillian Bickley.
	10:15am - 1:00pm
	Donations to the ESU: HK$150 (ESU members); HK$200 (non ESU members)
	Learn more about Hong Kong and share what you know! Begins with a briefing outside The Center, 99 Queen's Road Central. This is a joint activity with the Helena May Institute. Numbers are limited. Avoid disappointment and reserve your place early by sending your cheque as soon as possible. Deadline for enrollment: Tuesday, 6 March 2005. Please wear walking shoes and bring enough cash to share a taxi fare to Happy Valley. This is planned as mainly flat walking (but with an optional loop around one building, built on a steep hill). Nevertheless, please walk carefully along these stepped, uneven and narrow pavements and paths. The ESU disclaims any responsibility for accidents or injuries. You may like to bring a mask to wear in the Man Mo Temple, which is usually full of incense. We will go up the mid-levels Escalator to Hollywood Road. Then we will visit, on foot, various nearby sites. We will continue along Wyndham Street, Ice House Street and Lower Albert Road. We will share taxis to the Protestant Cemetery in Happy Valley and end after visiting the Old Residents' section there. We will book a table at the RHKJC Moon Koon restaurant for 1.30pm. After the tour has ended, those who wish can cross the road from the Protestant Cemetery to have a dim sum lunch together there. The cost of this is additional to the donation for the tour and will be shared among those who join the lunch party. This tour marks the 145th anniversary of 10 March 1862, when Frederick Stewart, celebrated by his contemporaries as the Founder of Hong Kong Government education (including of course English Language education), taught his first class at the Hong Kong Government Central School (now known as Queen's College), the first school established and fully funded by the Hong Kong Government.
27 February 2007
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6:30pm - 8:30pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central.
05 February 2007
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Professor Jeremy WALENN
	6:45pm - 8:00pm
	Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students HK$25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: HK Fringe Club (Fotogalerie, Room B), 2 Lower Albert Road, Central, Hong Kong. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Topic: ¡§Writes and Wrongs - a Talk on Language and Communication¡¨ Our guest speaker, Mr Jeremy WALENN, has had a varied career. He graduated in Law but then taught in primary schools for five years. He changed to teaching English as a foreign language and worked in large language schools in London and Oxford before becoming the Head of the Language Centre at Cranfield University in Oxfordshire. He moved to Hong Kong in 2003 to take up the appointment of English Language Director at the Asia International Open University (Macau). He is an examiner in English language and has travelled extensively in south-east Asia, Europe and South America. He specialises in writing books on testing and examination preparation and has been published widely. He is currently writing a course called the Quality English Programme published by Commercial Press. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation. Brief Report after the Event:- There was a packed house at the ESU (HK) monthly gathering to hear Mr Jeremy Walenn, English Language Director at the Asia International Open University (Macau), speak on "Writes and Wrongs -- a Talk on Language and Communication". All appreciated Mr Walenn`s lively and friendly style, and many questions and comments followed from members and guests alike.
31 January 2007
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: One of our panel of "Language Doctors
	6:30pm - 8:30pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central.
19 January 2007
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6:30pm - 8:30pm
	ESU Members and Students $75, Non-Members $90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central.
08 January 2007
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Ms Lydia LEUNG and Ms Francesca SIN
	6:45pm - 8:00pm
	Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students HK$25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: Room G06, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Theme: ¡§Cross-Cultural Communication¡¨. Our guest speakers will be Ms Lydia LEUNG and Ms Francesca SIN. Lydia won an ESU scholarship to attend a major conference at Oxford. Francesca won an ESU scholarship to attend the Globe Theatre ¡§course¡¨ in 2006. Come and support Lydia and Francesca as they describe their experiences! You could be a winner in 2007!
29 December 2006
	ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
	6:00 pm
	NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of the members of THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION (HONG KONG) LIMITED (¡§the Company¡¨) will be held at its registered office (Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen¡¦s Road, Central) on Friday, the 29th day of December 2006 at 6:00 pm for the following purposes:- 1. To consider and receive the audited Financial Statements of Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2006 together with the Reports of Directors and Auditors. 2. To elect Directors. 3. To appoint Auditors. 4. To transact any other ordinary business of the Company. A shareholder entitled to attend and vote at the meeting is entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and vote in his stead. A proxy need not also be a member. By order of the Board Verner Bickley Director Dated the 4thth day of December 2006.
28 December 2006
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Dr Verner Bickley
	5:00pm - 7:30pm
	FREE
	THE SECOND IN ITS NEW SERIES OF INTERACTIVE OCCASIONS VERNER BICKLEY will read well-known Christmas poems and prose. Participants may ask questions and hear answers. Everyone may bring a favourite Christmas poem, song or carol to talk about. Anyone may ask help with interpreting a passage in English. Anyone from 12 years old to 200 is welcome. FREE Thursday, 28 December, 5.00-7.30pm at Coffee.Book, G/F, 10 Park Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong COFFEE & TEA, WITH MUFFINS, AVAILABLE AT MODEST PRICES Come for the whole time or just drop in for a while! All are welcome! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!" Enquiries to: ESU (HK): 2186-8449 (M-F mornings); email: esuhk@netvigator.com To give us an idea of the numbers of those attending, please complete and return the registration form attached, if possible. Verner Bickley has had cameo roles in films with Jackie Chan, Leon Lai and Jet Li. He has acted and read throughout Asia and the Pacific. He has broadcast for the BBC, Burma Broadcasting Service, NHK (Japan), Radio Malaya and Radio Republik Indonesia. Roles he has played in Hong Kong include Sir Peter Teasle (A School for Scandal), John of Gaunt (Richard the Second), Duncan, Macduff and the Porter (Macbeth) President Rooseveldt (Annie!) and the Judge in Hello Dolly!. He is Chairman of the Executive Committee of The English Speaking Union (Hong Kong). Bus from Central: 12M, 13, 23B; Bus from West HK: 3B, 23B, 23, 40; Bus from South HK: 94, 93A
23 December 2006
	CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR PARTY
	2:00pm - 6:00pm
	Free: Make a donation and/or bring something to share
	Christmas and New Year Party Saturday, 23 December 2006 2.00pm-6.00pm 99 Queen`s Road Central, Room G04
14 December 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: One of our panel of
	6:30pm - 8:30pm
	ESU Members & Students HK$75, Non-Members HK$90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central.
04 December 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr William MAK, President of the Hong Kong Biotechnology Education Resource Centre
	6:45pm - 8:00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students HK$25, Free for New ESU Members
	TOPIC: "DNA AND THE BIOTECH CHALLENGE" Venue: Room G06, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central (the HK Federation of Youth Groups` Leadership 21 Office). Our guest speaker, Dr William Mak, was responsible for setting up the Genome Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong and was its Manager until recently. He is now the President of the Hong Kong Biotechnology Education Resource Centre. In this talk, Dr Mak will take us into the fascinating world of DNA which has changed so much since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. How does the vast amount of information we now have on the DNA drive the rapid development of biotechnology? How will this affect our daily lives? Dr Mak will address these questions in this talk on a most interesting subject. All are welcome to join us!
23 November 2006
	SAY YOUR PIECE!
	Presenter: Expected to be present: Jennifer Wong, Martin Alexander, Gillian Bickley
	5:00pm - 8:00pm
	FREE
	The English Speaking Union (Hong Kong) is delighted to announce a new programme A SERIES OF INTERACTIVE OCCASIONS POETS AND WRITERS will read from their own work. Participants may ask questions and hear answers. Everyone may bring a favourite piece to talk about. Anyone may ask help with interpreting a passage. Anyone from 12 years old to 200 is welcome. FREE The first occasion will be held on Thursday, 23 November, 5.00-8.00pm at Coffee.Book, G/F, 10 Park Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong COFFEE AND TEA AVAILABLE AT MODEST PRICES Expected to be present: Jennifer Wong (poet) Martin Alexander (poet and short-story writer, teacher) Gillian Bickley (non-fiction and short-story writer, poet, university professor) Come for the whole time or just drop in for a while! All are welcome! The only rule is, "Please speak in English!"
21 November 2006
	LEARNING ENGLISH THROUGH DISCUSSING SOCIAL ISSUES
	Presenter: Ms Linda Cooley, B.A. Hons; M.Phil; PGCE; RSA Dip TEFL.
	6:45 - 8:45 pm
	Donations: ESU Members & Students HK$500, Non-Members HK$600
	Dates: Tuesdays, 21,28 November, 5,12 December 2006. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central, Hong Kong. This course provides a unique opportunity for participants to consolidate their English language skills through discussing contemporary social issues whilst, at the same time, developing the skills of understanding and evaluating social issues from different perspectives. The course will build upon, but not duplicate, the very successful course offered in 2005.
09 November 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6:30 - 8:30 pm
	ESU Members & Students HK$75; Non-Members HK$90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central.
06 November 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Gregory James, Director of the Language Centre, HK University of Science & Technology
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	Donations: ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students HK$25, Free for NEW ESU Members
	You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Topic: A FRESH LOOK AT "COMMON ERRORS" IN ENGLISH Venue: Room G06, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. Our special guest speaker, Dr Gregory James, has been director of the Language Centre at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology since its foundation in 1991. After graduating in Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh and training as a teacher at the University of Wales, he joined the staff of the Regional Institute of English in Bangalore, India. After four years at a college in Iran, he returned to Britain, where he read for a PhD in Applied Linguistics, and served on the staff of the Language Centre at the University of Exeter, where he was Tutor to Overseas Students, with a two-year interlude as Vice Principal at the erstwhile Institute of Language in Education in Hong Kong. He currently teaches courses in Critical Thinking, Legal English, and Latin. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
10 October 2006
	ESU Programme - "ENGLISH THROUGH SONGS & POEMS"
	Presenter: Ms Linda Cooley, B.A., Hons; PGCE; RSA Dip TEFL
	6:45 - 8:45 pm
	ESU Members & Studnets HK$500; Non-Members HK$600
	Venue: Suite G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central. Dates: (for four weeks) Tuesdays, 10, 17, 24, 31 October 2006. This course will look at some songs and poems in English to give students the chance to improve various aspects of spoken English, e.g. pronunciation and intonation, by reading aloud. At the same time, part of each lesson will be devoted to discussing the songs and poems to deal with vocabulary and grammar points that arise. The theme will be different from last year's theme.
09 October 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr David Bunton
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students aged 14-24 HK$25, Free for New ESU Members
	Venue: 4/F Lecture Theatre, HK Visual Arts Centre, 7A Kennedy Road, Central. TOPIC: "PRIORITIES FOR HONG KONG LEARNERS OF ENGLISH" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our special guest speaker, Dr David Bunton, spent a third of his childhood in Guangzhou and Hong Kong (speaking, forgetting and then re-learning Cantonese) and has worked here since 1972. He taught English for several years in local secondary schools, worked for two years with the British Council on the original NET scheme, then in teacher education at the Institute of Language in Education, and now for the last 12 years at the University of Hong Kong`s Faculty of Education. He used data from his secondary school classes to write "Common English Errors in Hong Kong", first published by Longman in 1989. At HKU he teaches various aspects of linguistics to serving or pre-service English teachers and has a continuing interest in teachers` language awareness. This talk will cover some of the main difficulties that Hong Kong learners have with English pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. It will show how some of these arise from differences between the Cantonese and English languages, and hence which areas are most important for learners or teachers to focus on. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
28 August 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Our Panel of Language Doctors
	6:00 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members & Students HK$75; Non-Members HK$90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central.
09 August 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Miss Joanne Ng and Miss Haratarani Samtani
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	Donations: ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students 14-24 HK$25, Free for New ESU Members
	TOPIC: "PUBLIC SPEAKING" Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Winners of the Annual Public Speaking Competition held in HK will talk about their experience as contestants in the 2006 ESU International Public Speaking Competition held in London. They will also discuss techniques in successful public speaking. This event should be of particular interest to teachers and students. All are welcome.
02 August 2006
	PRESENTING WITH POWER
	Presenter: Dr Mike Ingham
	6:30 - 9:30 pm
	ESU Members & Students HK$300; Non-Members HK$350
	Dates: 2 and 9 Aug 2006 (Wednesdays) Conducted by DR MIKE INGHAM, ESU Executive Committee Member and a Professor of English at Lingnan University. Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. This course is intended for those who wish to improve their presentation skills. Individual strengths and weaknesses will be analyzed and discussed. Participants will be given help in improving their own solo speaking performances, as well as working collaboratively.
31 July 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: One of our Panel of Language Doctors
	6:00 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members & Students HK$75; Non-Members HK$90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central.
17 July 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: One of our panel of Language Doctors
	6:00-8:00pm
	ESU Members & Students HK$75; Non-Members HK$90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central.
05 July 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Jacob CHU, a distinguished phonetician and linguist
	6:45-8:00pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students 14-24 HK$25, Free for New ESU Members
	TOPIC: "WHAT HAPPENS IN PRONUNCIATION?" Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our guest speaker this month is Mr Jacob CHU, a distinguished phonetician and linguist. A graduate of the University of Hong Kong, Mr Chu has achieved postgraduate qualifications in mathematics (Acadia University), exploration geophysics (McGill University), oceanography (Johns Hopkins University) and the Chartered Institute of Linguists. Currently, he is a Lecturer in Mathematics and English at the Tsing Yi campus of the Institute of Vocational Education. Drawing on his expertise as an IPA certified phonetician, Mr Chu will give an overview of British and American pronunciation and then follow this with a comparison of English and Chinese phonetics, based on the difficulties Cantonese speakers encounter in learning English pronunciation, such as enunciating LANGUAGE and EDUCATION. All are welcome.
26 June 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: One of our panel of Language Doctors
	6:00-8:00pm
	ESU Members & Students HK$75, Non-Members HK$90 (donation per single session)
	Consult one of our panel of "Language Doctors" about any language concerns or problems. Each one-to-one consultation will take 15 minutes. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central.
07 June 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Dr Verner Bickley, MBE
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students age 14-24 HK$25, Free for new ESU Members
	Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. Topic: "THE STORY OF BASIC ENGLISH: USEFUL TODAY?" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our guest speaker this month is DR VERNER BICKLEY, MBE, Chairman of the English-Speaking Union in Hong Kong, formerly an Assistant Director of Education and Director of the Hong Kong Government¡¦s Institute of Language in Education. He will tell the story of Basic English and speculate on whether or not it might be useful today, especially for persons who are beginners in the English language. "Basic English is a system of everyday English words used in the regular forms of normal English. It is a selection of those English words which do the most work. It is the smallest number of English words with a general enough covering power, among them, to let a person say almost everything - to say it well enough for her or his general day-to-day purposes in all the range of his or her interests however wide ..." (I.A. Richards and Christine Gibson, Learning Basic English, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1945. Would Basic English be useful today? Is so, why so? If not, why not? All are welcome.
08 May 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Ms May Fung,Project Director of the HK Institute of Contemporary Culture
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students age 14-24 HK$25, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. Topic: "CREATIVE EDUCATION FOR A CREATIVE ECONOMY" You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our special guest speaker this month is Ms May FUNG, Project Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Culture, independent cultural worker (curating, art administration, art education, cultural commentary and art creation). She will throw some light on what a creative economy is and its significance to Hong Kong. She will also highlight the curriculum philosophy and the art in education approach of the brand new Hong Kong Institute of Contemporary Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
25 April 2006
	POETRY LANGUAGE CLINIC - SPECIAL CLINIC FOR POETRY MONTH
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley, Professor Dr Chung Ling, Dr Agnes Lam, Ms Madeleine Marie Slavick; Special appearance: ESU Chairman, Dr Verner Bickley
	6:00 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members: HK$100, Non-Members HK$110, Students age 14-24 HK$25
	Do you sometimes wish that you could ask poets about their poems? What do their poems mean? Where does their inspiration come from? How do they write their poems? How do they learn their poetic techniques? Would you like advice as to how to read a poem? Then this special ESU POETRY LANGUAGE CLINIC is the answer to your prayers. Do join us at the ESU at Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen¡¦s Road, Central, Hong Kong.
22 April 2006
	ESU / ST. JAMES' TRAIL-WALK
	Presenter: Mr Byron Leung
	3:00 - 5:00 pm
	Donations: ESU Members & Students HK$50, Non-Members HK$60
	Led by ESU Member, Mr Byron Leung, this is the second of a series of ESU Trail Walks, this time co-organized with St James¡¦ Settlement. It will provide an opportunity for participants to interact with each other in English whilst enjoying fresh air and stunning views! This Walk will be suitable for beginners, as well as the more experienced, so we invite family members including small kids (6 years or up, to be accompanied by an adult) to join us. The Walk will start at Pokfulam Reservoir and we will walk up to the Peak; it will take about one hour to finish. Participants will meet in Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen¡¦s Road, Central at 3:00 pm for a briefing by Byron. Transportation by coach will be arranged from The Center to the walking track and back to The Center at the end of the walk.
03 April 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Bryan Curtis, Head of the English Programme Service and Head of Radio 3 at RTHK
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students HK$25, Free for New ESU Members
	Topic: "PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING AND THE CURRENT PSB REVIEW" Venue: 4/F Multi-Purpose Room, HK Visual Arts Centre, 7A Kennedy Road, Central. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our special guest speaker, Mr Bryan Curtis, will talk about public service broadcasting and the current PSB Review being done by the HK government. The Review is to last nine months and it is likely to have significant implications for RTHK and broadcasting in Hong Kong. Mr Curtis is currently Head of the English Programme Service and Head of Radio 3 at RTHK. He is also responsible for both Radio 3 and Radio 4. Mr Curtis co-hosts "Backchat", Radio 3`s popular phone-in programme and he regularly hosts "Hong Kong Today." Before joining RTHK in 1999, he served as the News Director of Metro Broadcast. Earlier, he was News Director at ICRT, the sole English-language radio station in Taiwan. All are welcome to join what is sure to be a most informative and interesting presentation.
01 April 2006
	THE STANDARD CHARTERED HK ENGLISH PUBLIC SPEAKING CONTEST
	To assist our young people to develop further the skills of public-speaking in English, the English-Speaking Union (HK) is delighted to cooperate, once again, with Leadership 21 of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups in the organisation of the Third Hong Kong English Public-Speaking Contest, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. The Contest will run from March to May 2006. All full-time students aged between 16 and 20 years are welcome to participate in the Contest. The overall winner will have the opportunity to represent Hong Kong in the Final of the English-Speaking Union`s International Public-Speaking Competition, held annually in London. In 2005, the winner came from Beijing.
30 March 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6:00 - 8:00 pm
	HK$75 ESU Members & Students, HK$90 Non-Members (per session)
	Consult our very own "Language Doctor", Dr Gillian Bickley, about any language concerns or problems. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com. Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central.
07 March 2006
	LEARNING ENGLISH THROUGH DISCUSSING SOCIAL ISSUES
	Presenter: Ms Linda Cooley, B.A. Hons; M.Phil; PGCE; RSA Dip TEFL
	7:00 - 9:00 pm
	HK$500 ESU Members & Students, HK$600 Non-Members
	Dates: (Tuesdays) 7, 14, 21, 28 March 2006. Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen¡¦s Road, Central. This unique course provides an opportunity for participants to consolidate their English language skills through discussing contemporary social issues whilst developing the skills of understanding and evaluating social issues from different perspectives.
06 March 2006
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr Simon Hunt, newly-appointed Director of English Language Services at the British Council
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students HK$25, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS.
	Topic: "A Newcomer`s Perception of English Language Teaching and Learning in Hong Kong" Venue: 4/F HK Visual Arts Centre, 7A Kennedy Road, Central.
02 March 2006
	ESU LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6 - 8pm
	Members & Students $75 per session, Non-Members $90 per session
	Consult our very own "Language Doctor", Dr Gillian Bickley, about any language concerns or problems. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com.
06 February 2006
	ENGLISH THROUGH DRAMA
	Presenter: Ms Linda Cooley, B.A. Hons; M.Phil; PGCE, RSA Dip TEFL
	7:00 - 9:00 PM
	ESU Members & Students HK$500; Non-Members HK$600
	Dates: (Mondays) 6, 13, 20, 27 February 2006 Venue: 4/F Multi-Purpose Room, HK Visual Arts Centre, 7A Kennedy Road, Central, HK (neat St Joseph`s College and the HK Park entrance in Kennedy Rd). A course designed to help Hong Kong teachers who wish to teach one of the Language Arts Modules ("Learning English Through Drama"), suggested in the new senior secondary curriculum and assessment framework. This course provides an opportunity for teachers to improve their oral skills by reading parts in the plays and taking part in discussions. The course will also focus on techniques that teachers can use to improve their students` language skills by exploiting drama activities in the classroom.
10 January 2006
	PRESENTING WITH POWER
	Presenter: Dr Mike Ingham
	6:30 - 9:30 pm
	Members & Students HK$300 Non-Members HK$350
	Conducted by DR MIKE INGHAM, ESU Executive Committee Member and a Professor of English at Lingnan University. Dates: 10, 17, 24 Jan 2006 (Tuesdays) Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. This series of workshops is intended for those who wish to improve their presentation skills. Individual strengths and weaknesses will be analyzed and discussed. Participants will be given help in improving their own solo speaking performances, as well as working collaboratively.
07 January 2006
	ESU TRAIL-WALK
	Presenter: Mr Byron Leung
	3:00 - 5:00 pm
	Members & Students HK$150 Non-Members HK$165
	This is the first of a series of ESU Trail Walks. It will provide an opportunity for participants to interact with each other in English whilst enjoying fresh air and stunning views! Suitable for beginners, as well as the more experienced, the Walk will start at the Tai Tam Correctional Centre and end at Shek O Road. It will last for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. The views are spectacular, including Red Hill Peninsular, Shek O, Tseung Kwan O, etc. Participants will meet Byron at the Hang Seng Bank in the Chai Wan MTR Station at 3:00 pm. He will be holding a small, maroon-coloured ESU sign. From Chai Wan, the party will proceed by taxi to Tai Tam Correctional Centre (about HK$30, to be shared). This is an excellent opportunity to get to know your ESU colleagues and to use English in an informal setting. Please come and join us in the Walk!
16 December 2005
	MEET AT THE ESU (HK)
	Presenter: Mr William Ng
	6:45 - 8:00 pm
	ESU Members HK$75, Non-Members HK$90, Students HK$25, FREE FOR NEW ESU MEMBERS
	TOPIC: "ENHANCING RESILIENCE IN STRESSFUL TIMES" Venue: Room G04, The Center, 99 Queen`s Road, Central. You are invited to join our ESU (HK) monthly gathering! Our special guest speaker, Mr William Ng, Chartered Psychologist, will give his thoughts on how to develop resilience against stress in our daily life. Join us to discuss this important topic and meet ESU members.
10 November 2005
	ENGLISH THROUGH SONGS & POEMS
	Presenter: Ms Linda Cooley, B.A. Hons; M.Phil; PGCE; RSA Dip TEFL
	6:30 to 8:30 pm
	Members and Students HK$500; Non-members HK$600
	Venue: G04 The Center, 99 Queen's Road, Central. Dates: (for four weeks) Thursdays, 10, 17, 24 November, 1 December 2005. This course will look at some songs and poems in English to give students the chance to improve various aspects of spoken English, e.g. pronunciation and intonation, by reading aloud. At the same time, part of each lesson will be devoted to discussing the songs and poems to deal with vocabulary and grammar points that arise.
05 October 2005
	HK HERITAGE DR FREDERICK STEWART WALKING TOUR
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	10am - 1:30pm
	Members HK$160, Non-members HK$165
	Begins with a briefing at The Center, 99 Queen's Road Central (Room G04). The tour will begin with a briefing of approximately 30 minutes at The Center, 99 Queen's Road Central (Room G04). Participants will then proceed up the mid-levels Escalator to Hollywood Road. They will visit, on foot, various nearby sites. The tour will continue along Wyndham Street, Ice House Street and Lower Albert Road (possibly familiar territory, but maybe seen with new eyes?) and will conclude with a visit to Stewart's tombstone in the Protestant Cemetery in Happy Valley. We plan to book a table at the RHKJC Moon Koon restaurant for 1.45pm. After the tour has ended, those who wish can cross the road from the Protestant Cemetery to have a dim sum lunch together. The cost of this is additional to the donation for the tour and will be shared among those who join the lunch party. The Dr Frederick Stewart Hong Kong Heritage half-day walking tour is led by Dr Gillian Bickley, author of The Golden Needle: The Biography of Frederick Stewart (1836-1889). Frederick Stewart, celebrated by his contemporaries as the Founder of Hong Kong Government education (including of course English Language education), first arrived in Hong Kong in February 1862. His job was to establish the first Government funded and Government administered school, teaching the English Language to Chinese boys. „o The Government Central School for Girls, now Belilios Public School (located in Causeway Bay), was established 27 years later, in 1889. „o At the same time, Stewart was to be in charge of all schools in Hong Kong receiving public money. He was twenty-five. This tour will mark the anniversary of Sunday, 29 September 1889, when Stewart died at his home in Arbuthnot Road. Stewart, a Scot, understood the tensions between a home, national or regional language such as Gaelic or Cantonese and a language of administration and wider communication such as English, Mandarin or Latin. He structured the teaching in his Central School (now Queen's College and, like Belilios Public School, relocated in Causeway Bay) so that half the school day was devoted to the Chinese language and the subjects of the traditional Chinese curriculum. The other half was devoted to the English language and the subjects of a modern western curriculum. Proposed by Stewart, the Government school system was opened up to non-Chinese pupils also, who also studied the dual (Chinese and English) curriculum. Contemporaries felt that Stewart's work helped to create a kinder understanding between different groups within the then very new Hong Kong community. Following a change in the direction of his career, Stewart was the first to be appointed from within the Hong Kong civil service as head of the local administration. He had just completed one of several short periods as Acting Governor of Hong Kong, when he died, assuring his friends that he was, "going to a better place". Bad Weather Policy: Courses, Seminars and Activities will be cancelled if a No. 8 or higher tropical cyclone or black storm warning is raised within 3 hours before the start of the course or event. In the case of a walk or other outside activity, the walk or activity will be cancelled if a No. 3 or higher tropical cyclone or amber or black storm waning is raised within 3 hours before the start of the course or event. In the event of a cancellation due to bad weather, the course or event will be rescheduled or registrations may be transferred within 14 days to any other ESU course or event. No refunds will be given.
13 September 2005
	ENGLISH-IN-ACTION PROGRAMME
	6:30 to 7:30 pm
	HK$350 for 4 sessions for ESU members and HK$500 for non-members
	We are inviting participants for new EiA Programme. Interested parties please e-mail the EiA Co-Ordinator Mrs Linda Lui at linda@netvigator.com or contact the ESU (HK) at esuhk@netvigator.com, Tel: 2186-8449.
16 July 2005
	USE THE NEWS!
	Presenter: Ms Valerie Pickard, M.Ed, BA, PGCE
	2:00 - 4:00 pm
	Members and Students HK$500, Non-Members HK$600
	(For secondary school and university students) Dates: Each Saturday afternoon, 16 July, 23 July, 30 July and 6 August, 2005. Venue: 4/F HK Visual Arts Centre, 7A Kennedy Rd, Central (near the HK Park Kennedy Rd entrance). Have you ever thought how useful newspaper articles can be? Not only do they keep you up-to-date but they are also a great way to improve your English. At every session, we will read different newspaper articles in order to improve your reading vocabulary and grammar. Discussions, role-plays and dialogues will also be included. Each participant will also be encouraged to develop regular reading habits and create his or her own portfolio of newspaper articles with commentaries. The course is open to all interested students, although you should be willing to do some reading outside the course sessions.
16 July 2005
	FUN! FUN! FUN! LEARNING ENGLISH THROUGH GAMES
	Presenter: Ms Valerie Pickard, M.Ed, BA, PGCE
	4:00 - 6:00 pm
	Members and Students HK$500, Non-Members HK$600
	Dates: Each Saturday afternoon, 16 July, 23 July, 30 July and 6 August, 2005. Time: 4-6pm Venue: 4/F HK Visual Arts Centre, 7A Kennedy Rd, Central (near the HK Park Kennedy Rd entrance). Tired of textbooks, looking for a change? This course aims at improving your fluency and confidence through participation in a variety of language-rich games. Games exercise the imagination. They involve both learning and acquisition and they help learners to empathize with situations and other people.
20 May 2005
	LANGUAGE CLINIC
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	6:00 - 8:00 pm
	Members HK$75 Non-Members $90 per session
	Consult our very own "Language Doctor", Dr Gillian Bickley, about any language concerns or problems. For appointments and enquiries, please call 2186-8449 or e-mail esuhk@netvigator.com.
15 April 2005
	SAY IT WELL!
	Presenter: Ms Valerie Pickard, M.Ed, BA, PGCE
	6:30 - 8:00 pm
	Members & Students HK$1,000 Non-Members HK$1,200
	Dates: Every Friday, 15 April 2005 to 3 June 2005 inclusive (8 sessions) Venue: 7/F, Workington Tower, 78 Bonham Strand East, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. ¡§Pronunciation is not an optional extra for the language learner, anymore than grammar, vocabulary or any other aspect of the language is. If a learner¡¦s general aim is to talk intelligently to others in another language, a reasonable pronunciation is important.¡¨ (Paul Tench in Pronunciation Skills: English Teaching Series, Macmillan Press, London, 1981.) Come and learn how to improve your pronunciation, come and learn to say it better! Ms. Pickard has an International Phonetic Association (IPA) certificate of proficiency and has taught Chinese learners for more than 14 years.
17 February 2005
	ESU (HK) HERITAGE WALKING TOUR
	Presenter: Dr Gillian Bickley
	10:00 am - 13:30 pm
	HK$150 Members HK$165 non-Members
	Dr Gillian Bickley, author and Hong Kong historian, will lead this Tour to commemorate the arrival in Hong Kong of Frederick Stewart, Founder of Hong Kong Government Education (and the first Principal of the Central School, now Queen's College).
14 January 2005
	WORDS AND THE NEWS
	Presenter: Ms Valerie Pickard, M.Ed., BA, PGCE
	6:45 to 8:15 pm (NEW TIME)
	Members & Students HK$1,000 Non-Members HK$1,200
	Venue: 7/F Workington Tower, 78 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. This is a weekly discussion of current affairs based on the BBC¡¦s Words in the News, which can be accessed on line. The discussions are led by Ms. Valerie Pickard, M.Ed., B.A. The objectives are to provide a weekly forum for discussion of current affairs, to improve English language fluency through discussion and to improve vocabulary, pronunciation and discussion skills. It is still possible to take part in this course. Come and join us!