EDUCATION
STUDYING AND EXAMINATIONS
1
in small groups, discuss these questions.
• What kind of student are you? Do you study steadily throughout the year or do you try to cram everything before exam times?
• How do you study? Do you prefer to study alone or in groups? Do you like to study for long periods of time or in small chunks? Do you have any special tips that you could suggest?
2 <St' Listen to tne radi° programme and answer the following questions.
• What is the secret of being a good student?
• What is the difference between a prepared student and an unprepared student?
• How does a prepared student study?
• How should an unprepared student study?
• What is the danger of study groups?
3 ^IE8* Listen t°tne radio programme again and finish the sentences below. Then explain their meaning.
1 There is only one issue facing students, and ,
2 ...students everywhere are busily...................
3 You can't expect.............................................
4 .. .there must be more.....................................
5 / cannot stress enough...................................
6 .. .you should always be..................................
7 .. .everybody pools their..................................
8 Of course, you're always at............................
9 ...you are relying.............................................
10 And for all you students out there, good...................
EDUCATION
185
UNIVERSITY
"| Role play
Possible roles: Barbora's sister her parents
a recruiter from a large computer company
a friend who studies philosophy school counsellor.
Situation:
Barbora is in her second year at a large American university. After trying out a few subjects, she has decided that she really wants to major in philosophy. She has taken a few introductory courses and is fascinated by the subject. The only problem is that she is worried about whether or not she will be able to find a job when she finishes college. Although part of her tuition is being paid by a small scholarship, Barbora is paying for most of her education through student loans, and she will owe quite a bit of money when she finishes university. Her older sister recently graduated in computer programming and immediately found a well-paid job, and has been urging her to "get real" and study something that will lead to a "real career". What should she do?
2 Would you like to be a student at an American university? What problems do you think you could come up against? Is it easy to stay away from home for such a long time? How would you put up with the new environment? The following is an excerpt from International Student Guide to Living & Adapting at Eastern Michigan University describing four stages every student has to go through. They are referred to as: Humor Stage, Home Stage, Honeymoon Stage and Hostility Stage. Read the text and insert the right title for each paragraph.
Why am I so unhappy here?
There are many reasons for you to be unhappy, even if you had been planning to come to the U.S. for a very long time. You may be experiencing culture shock - every international student experiences it at least once, and maybe more often than that, during his or her stay. Cultural adjustment usually happens over many months in 4 stages:
/_: students usually are very happy and excited
to be in the U.S. They enjoy all of the new things and are confident.
2_: students become frustrated and angry at
the same things that made them happy during the honeymoon stage. They don't like the food, the people, the school, their apartment, or the unfamiliarity. They miss their family and friends a lot. This is the stage that most people call "culture shock".
3_: students begin to relax and realize that they
will like some things; about the new culture and won't like other things. They often think that their cultural and language mistakes are funny instead of frustrating.
4_: students feel comfortable in the new culture,
even though they still may not like certain things.
It's important to remember that sometimes you can go back to a stage several times (you may experience the hostility stage a lot) or you may pass right through a stage in a very short time. The important thing to remember is that the hostility stage is not permanent. Talking to other international students may help, and so might keeping a diary. The internet has many places where you can write to people and tell them your problems. It may also help if you talk to an American student who has been to your country.
188 * Topic-based Vocabulary •
Read the text and fill in the following expressions:
catered
admit
degrees
tuition further appointing
only raise mature
compared
entrance
grants
Universities and Higher Education Colleges
There are 89 publicly-funded universities in the UK, counting the Universities of Wales and London as single institutions and including the Open University and 65 other higher education institutions. The University of
Buckingham is the 1_independent university.
There are about 3,000 private colleges providing both
higher and 2_education. Some 300 further
education colleges also offer higher education courses.
Universities and most other higher education institutions enjoy complete academic freedom,
3_their own staff and deciding which students
to 4______, what and how to teach, and which
5_to award. Most first-degree courses last
between two and four years.
More young people are entering higher education than
ever before - about one in three, as 6_to one in
eight in 1979. More recent universities and colleges
have 7_increasingly to 8_students and
those without traditional 9_qualifications.
Higher education institutions are mainly funded by
central government 10_paid through the Higher
Education Funding Council and from tuition fees.
British students usually have their 11_fees paid
for them by their local education authority. Many institutions also receive funding for research from Research Councils, charities, and industry. Universities and higher education colleges are also known to 12_finance from the private sector.
University
higher education
college
Oxbridge
entrance examination / admission to be admitted to to study humanities
science
law
medicine dentistry computer science at technical university at business school at School ot Economics to concentrate / focus on
to change schools campus assembly hall dining hall lecture hall library
halls of residence / hostel (GB) /
dormitory (US) to apply for a scholarship to be eligible for lo get a grant / financial aid loan
to enrol (GB)/ enroll (US) enrolment academic year term / semester (US) to take a course
student / undegraduate
professor
to lecture / read
chancellor (GB) / president (US) dean
department head tutor
teaching assistant (T.A.)
credit
paper
to graduate from_with honours
to get a degree in st to have a degree in st bachelor master
BA, BA (Hons), MA, PhD, BSc graduation ceremony
• EDUCATION • 189
EDUCATION - PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
| The expressions in the left columu are used as euphemisms when talking about education. Match them with their meanings in the right column.
1	backward	a	developing early
2	education welfare manager	b	someone who returns to class after years
3	special pupil	c	a truancy officer
4	special school	d	cooking and housekeeping
5	home economics	e	entry to a university without previous examination
	late developer	f	pupil suffering from a mental or physical
6			abnormality
7	mature student	9	poor scholar
8	less prepared	h	very dull
9	not a great reader	i	naughty or stupid
10	precocious	i	illiterate
11	open access	k	school for special pupils
12	maladjusted	I	of inferior attainment
			
|| Compare the following extract with your experience of the educational system in your country. Are there any differences? Give a talk about your attitude to this problem and suggest ways of tackling it.
The American educational system is based on the idea that as many people as possible should have access to as much education as possible. This fact alone distinguishes the U.S. system from most others, since in most others the objective is as much to screen people out as it is to keep them in. The U.S. system has no standardized examinations whose results systematically prevent students from going on to higher levels of study,
as the British and many other systems do. Through secondary school and sometimes in post-secondary institutions as well, the American system tries to accommodate students even if their academic aspirations and aptitudes are not high, even if they are physically (and in some cases mentally) handicapped, and even if their native language is not English.
(From Gary A/then: American Ways. Reprinted with permission of Inlercullura! Press, inc., Yarmouth, ME. Copyright 1S88).
The following adverbs are typically connected with the verbs TO STUDY and/or TO LEARN. Match them with the appropriate verb.
13 by heart
14 thoroughly
15 in detail
16 from experience
17
18
19
20
gradually fast
conscientiously by doing
IV
Read the text below and fill in the following expressions.
BEYOND     FOR     IN     WHOSE     DURING     OF     FROM     AND     IN CONTRAST TO BY
21_the United Kingdom, public school, also called independent school, is one of a relatively small
a fee and independent 23_
the
group of institutions educating secondary-level students 22_
state system as regards both endowment 24_administration. The term "public school" emerged in the 18th
century when the reputation of certain grammar schools spread 25_their immediate environs. They began
taking students 26_parents could afford residential fees and thus became known as public, 27_
local, schools. By the late 20th century the term "independent school" was increasingly preferred 28_the
institutions themselves. The typical great public school - such as Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Westminster, Rugby,
Shrewsbury, or Charterhouse - evolved 29_an institution founded by a single benefactor 30_the
late European Middle Ages or Renaissance.
190 ' Topic-based Vocabulary •