My field of study. Occupation and employment
A) The British System of Education
Stages in a person´s education types of education in Britain age
Play-school, nursery school pre-school 2-5
Infant school, junior school primary 5/6-12/13
Comprehensive or grammar school secondary 12/13-16/18
College, polytechnic, university further/higher 18+
Universities in Great Britain:
Oxbridge – Oxford and Cambridge, founded in the medieval period. Federations of semi-independent colleges known as Fellows. Before 1970 all Oxbridge colleges were mostly for men, now the majority admit both sexes.
The old Scottish universities:
The system of study is closer to the continental tradition than to the English one.
The civic (redbrick) universities:
Usually oriented to technical sciences, in industrial towns and cities.
Campus universities:
They have accommodation and all services for most of their students on site.
TASK
Compare the British system of education to the Czech one. Are there many differences? Which of the systems do you find better and why?
B) Vocabulary connected with study and learning
Alternatives to do and get:
Do an exam sit/take an exam in....
Do research carry out/conduct research, a project
Do a course enrol on/take a course in....
Do a degree/diploma study for/take a degree
Do a subject study/take a subject
Do an essay/assignment write an essay/assignment
Do a lecture/talk give a lecture/talk
Get a degree/diploma obtain/be awarded a degree, diploma
Get a grade receive/be given a grade
Get a qualification obtain a qualification
Get an education receive an education
Exercise: replace the verbs do or get in this paragraph with more interesting words:
I have three daughters. The oldest one did a degree in economics at Birmingham University. She got her bachelor´s degree last year and is now doing some research on taxation in different countries. The second one is doing a course at Newcastle University. She´s doing history. She has to do a lot of assignments. My youngest daughter is still at school. She is doing her school-leaving exams in the summer. She will go to university next year if she gets good grades in her exams. She wants to do sociology and then get a social work qualification. My daughters are all getting a much better education than I ever had.
C) Vocabulary connected with written work for courses, etc.:
Composition could be just 50-100 words, often used to refer to children´s work
Essay longer than a composition, more serious, hundreds or even thousands of words
Assignment a long essay, often part of a course, usually thousands of words
Project like an assignment, but emphasis on student´s own material
Dissertation a long, research-based work, perhaps 10-15,000 words, for a degree of diploma
Thesis a very long, original, research-based work, perhaps 80-100,000 words, for a higher degree (e.g. PhD)
Exercise: Correct the wrong usage of words to do with written work:
1. His PhD assignment was 90,000 words long.
2. Little Suzy did her first dissertation in school today.
3. The teacher gave us the title of this week´s project today. We have to write 1,000 words on the topic “If I ruled the world”.
4. At the end of this course you have to do a 5,000- word thesis.
5. I will do a study of people´s banking habits for my MSc /Master of Science/ composition. It has to be about 12,000 words.
6. I will do the dissertation instead of the two exams, because I like to do work where I can research something that interests me.
Exams:
Take/do/sit/resit an exam
Pass/do well in an exam
Fail/do badly in an exam
Idioms describing people in the classroom:
Teacher´s pet
Top of the class
A know-all
A big-head
A lazy-bones
Exercise: what do we call...
TASK
Which of the idioms characterize you as a student?
D) Vocabulary connected with work
Collocations of words connected with work
Get Find Look for Do
Collocations connected with a living:
Make Earn Do for
Collocations with a job:
Take on Have Look for Get Find Offer Do
Expressions connected with work:
To work shift –work
To be on flexi-time
To work nine-to-five
To get the sack, to be fired, to be made redundant, to be dismissed, to be laid off
To give up work
To be on/take maternity leave
To be on/take sick leave
To be a workaholic
To be promoted
To apply for a job
Exercise:
Fill in the collocations:
I´d love to................................ a job in journalism, but it´s not easy without qualifications. Since I have to earn a ......................................... somehow, I will have to get .................................. wherever I can find it. I have been ..................................... some part-time work editing a typescript for a book, but I am not sure I want to.................................... it ........................................
Using the expressions connected with work, say what you think has happened/is happening:
DISCUSSION
Why did you choose to study sports science?
What do you expect of your studies?
Which qualities do you think sports may help you develop?
What work opportunities have you had?
Have you had any summer jobs?