Audio 3 Gender difference in school development

You are going to listen to some extracts from a radio phone-in, in which members of the public give their views about the current educational performance of boys and girls in Britain.

To get smb to do smth = to make smb do smth

To muck about = to misbehave

A bread-winner = earner of money in a family

To face up to smth – быть готовым встретить что-л.

Nursery education – детский сад

To give credit – отдать должное чему-л.

Equal opportunities – равные возможности

1. What do you think they will say about the difference between boys and girls in how they cope at school?

2. Listen to the recording and note down the main points each caller makes.

3. Summarise each person’s views in two or three sentences. Use the third person singular, the Present Simple tense. You can use the verbs listed below:

• Apologise

• Claim

• Argue

• Deny

• Explain

• Insist

• Promise

• Refuse

• Say

• Suggest

• Urge

• Warn

4. Are girls doing better at school than boys in this country? Why?/Why not?

5. How should the problem of underachievement be solved?

Video 2 British Public School (video)

Before you watch

You are going to watch a film about Rugby Public school. What is a public school? What is special about it?

While watching

Part I

1. Observe the scene. Tick what you see in the video:

   1. the interior of a church

   2. pupils in school uniform

   3. pupils not in school uniform

   4. boys playing a field sport

   5. classrooms with pupils and teachers at work

   6. girls playing a field sport

   7. a dining hall

   8. parents visiting their children

   9. the interior of a school boarding house

   10. the headmaster speaking in front of the building

2. Did you notice any other interesting details about the school?

3. True or false? Listen to the Headmaster. Write true or false.

   1. Public schools are in fact private, independent schools

   2. Pupils can begin at eleven years old, though the main entry is at thirteen

   3. Seventeen percent of the pupils come from abroad

   4. Most parents live about an hour and a half from the school

   5. Few children come from Scotland and other parts of Britain

Part II

1. How many days a week do the pupils have classes?

2. The dormitory. Choose the correct answer.

1. How many people sleep in the dormitory?

6 8 10 12 14

2) What furniture has each boy got?

bed wardrobe bedside table chair drawers

3) When do pupils have to be in their room by?

9.00 9.15 9.30 9.45 10.00

4) When does a senior boy turn off the lights?

10.00 10.15 10.30 10.45 11.00

3. The language laboratory. Tick what you can do in the lab

1. record your own conversations

2. watch videos in a different language

3. use the computers or type in other languages ad write essays

4. correspond with students in different countries

5. watch TV from different countries

6. learn languages such as Russian, German and Latin

Part III

1. How has Rugby changed towards being a school for boys and girls?

2. How is the experience at Rugby different for a girl?

3. What does Catherine consider the main advantage of being at Rugby?

Part IV

1. The image behind the sound. Note down what you see at the same moment you hear these sentences.

1. Catherine: I have to work with my house master and mistress.

2. Catherine: I have to gather everyone up and usher them into the chapel.

3. Amanda: Does the school only aim at academic excellence?

4. Headmaster: Universities now tend to look more at the academic side of things.

5. Amanda: Life at Rugby certainly isn’t all work and no play.

2. Free time. Choose the summary for Catherine and Russell that best represents their comments.

1. The school limits my free time so that I don’t have to think about it.

2. I am in fact pretty bored.

3. We have got plenty of activities to choose from so there isn’t any time to be bored in.

4. It is left to us to decide how we want to spend our free time.

Part V

1. Future plans. Note down what Catherine’s and Russell’s future plans are.

2. Rugbeians should… Tick the items the Headmaster mentions:

1. I’d hate them all to be the same.

2. I want them to be able to work hard.

3. I hope they keep a sense of old and new.

4. They should have a sense of fun.

5. I would like them to have a sense of rebellion.

6. They oughtn’t to take things for grunted.

7. I would like them to come back as parents and visit us.

8. They should try to make the world a better place somehow.

3. If you were head of a school, what advice would you give pupils leaving school today?

After you watch

1. Why do you think there are still more than twice as many boys than girls at Rugby?

2. How important are facilities such as sports centre, drama studio, etc. to the quality of education?

3. Why do you think friendships made at a boarding school are particularly close?

4. Would you like to have studied at a boarding school?

Audio 4

What do the words mean in American high school?

1. These words are all part of American high school culture. Do you know what they mean?

sophomore cheerleader homecoming prom yearbook

2. Listen and note down what the words mean.

3. Can you guess what an “Alpha male” and an “Alpha female” mean?

4. Does our high school culture have any distinct features? If yes, what are they?

Video 3

American schools (VIDEO)

Before you watch:

1. What kind of film do you think we are going to see? Will it be different from the one you saw about British schools? If yes, in what way?

2. What are we going to see about American schools in particular? What are the stereotypes about them?

While watching:

1. Watch the video and note the differences and similarities between British and American schools in respect of:

   1. clothes

   2. security arrangements

   3. relationships between schoolmates

   4. relationships between pupils and their teachers

   5. morality

   6. interests

   7. leisure time activities

   8. physical education

   9. how classes go

2. The image behind the sound. Describe the following:

   • The school grounds

   • The corridors

   • Classes interior

   • The prom hall decoration

   • The prom

After you watch:

1. What is American school closer to – Russian or British one? In what way?

2. Where would you like to have studied?

3. In British school students are still punished with detentions: writing lines, watering plants, or doing other jobs around the school. How was the girl in the movie punished for being late? What penalties were used in your school? What disciplinary measures can be introduced in education?

4. How was the newcomer treated in the film? How were you treated at your new schools? Or how did you treat newcomers?