- •Unit 5 education
- •1. Answer the following questions.
- •2. Speak in class what you feel when:
- •3. Match the English idioms in the left column with their Russian Equivalents in the right column. Illustrate the meanings of the English idioms by your own examples.
- •4. Translate into English.
- •5. Translate the proverbs into Russian and comment upon them.
- •6. Translate the following quotations and comment upon them.
- •7. Write an essay on one of the following topics.
- •Education
- •1. Correct the mis-collocations in these sentences.
- •Education: debates and issues
- •1. Complete the collocations by filling in the missing words according to the meaning given in brackets.
- •2. Change the underlined words, using more formal and more appropriate word from a. Make any other changes that are necessary.
- •3. Which words or expressions from b mean …
- •4. Match the words on the left with the definitions on the right. The words refer to people involved in education. Use a dictionary if necessary.
- •Cramming for success: study and academic work
- •1. Correct the wrong usage of words to do with written work in these sentences.
- •2. Here are some idiomatic expressions about studying and exams. Use the context to guess what they mean and choose the right answer.
- •3. Answer these questions.
- •Home education
- •1. Find the synonyms in the text.
- •2. What do we call:
- •3. Fill in the blanks using the following words in the necessary form.
- •4. Discuss the following questions.
- •How to pass exams
- •1. Discuss the following questions in groups
- •2. Read the list below and tick the things you should do when preparing for an exam, and write a cross next to the things you should avoid.
- •6. Match the following phrases from the text with the definitions below.
1. Correct the mis-collocations in these sentences.
1. I can’t come
out. I’m studying. I’m passing
taking an
examination tomorrow.
2. Congratulations!
I hear you succeeded
did well in
your examination!
3. You can study
a lot of different careers
subjects
at this university.
4. I got some
good notes
marks in
my continuous assessment this term.
5. She’s a
professor
teacher in
a primary school.
6. He gave an
interesting 45-minute conference
lecture on
Goethe.
7. She got a
degree in personnel management from a private college
university.
8. When I was 12,
we started having French seminars
lessons at
school, and I fell in love with the language.
Education: debates and issues
A Opportunity, equality, etc.
Read the text and note the phrases and collocations in bold.
All education systems may ultimately be judged in terms of equality of opportunity1. This is not the same as the debates over selective2 versus comprehensive3 schooling4. It is rather a matter of whether everyone has the same opportunities for educational achievement or whether elitism5 of one sort or another is inherent in6 the system. League tables7 for schools and colleges may actually help unintentionally to perpetuate8 inequalities, while claiming to promote the raising of standards. Inevitably, league tables divide the world into good and bad, success and failure, resulting in a two-tier system9, even if that is only how the public perceives10 it. The ability of the better-off11 parents and well-endowed12 schools to push children towards the institutions at the top of the league may, in the long term, have the effect of depressing13 opportunity for the less well-off14 or for children from home environment that do not provide the push and motivation to excel15.
1 when everyone has the same chances
2 pupils take exams for entry
3 everyone enters without exams
4 education received at school
5 when you favour a small, privileged group
6 existing as a basic part of something
7 lists of schools or colleges from the best down to the worst
8 make something continue forever
9 a system with two separate levels, one of which is better than the other
10 sees, considers
11 richer
12 receiving a lot of money in grants, gifts from rich people, etc.
13 reducing
14 poorer
15 achieve an excellent standard
B Other debates and issues
example sentence |
meaning of words in bold |
Some people think we should return to an emphasis on the three Rs. |
reading, writing and arithmetic, the traditional, basic skills |
Literacy and numeracy are skills no one can afford to be without. |
- the ability to read - the ability to count / do basic maths |
Curriculum reform is often done for political reasons rather than for good educational ones. |
changes to the educational programme, e.g. the national syllabus |
Nowadays, lifelong/continuing education is an issue, and creating opportunities for mature students is important. |
- education for all ages - adult students older than the average student |
Special needs education is expensive because class sizes need to be small or one-to-one. |
- education for children who cannot learn in the normal way, because they have some disability - one teacher and one pupil, not a group |
He was unhappy at his new school because the older boys were bullying him. |
frightening or threatening |
‘Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.’ (US President John F. Kennedy)