IV. Prepare 10 statements on the topic and ask your fellow students to say if they are true or false.

V. Make up an outline of the following topics using the key-words.

1. The UK – a Constitutional Monarchy.

2. The UK Parliament.

3. The Legislative Procedure in the UK Parliament.

4. The UK Government.

5. The System of the UK Elections.

VI. Make a survey of one of the topics (to be done in writing and presented orally in class):

1. The development of so-called British Constitution and constitutional monarchy with facts based on your knowledge of history.

2. The advantages and disadvantages of the British electoral system.

3. The origin, development and present-day character of the Cabinet, the possible reasons for the growth of its powers.

4. The dominating role of the two largest parties in Britain.

5. The new observed tendencies in the political life of contemporary Britain as regards the activities of different parties.

VII. Get ready to debate on the following topics in class:

• The reform of the House of Lords.

• The reform of the voting system.

• The necessity of the monarchy.

Seminar 4

TOPIC: THE UK ECONOMY and WELFARE.

I. Present an outline of the events going on in Britain this week.

II. Make a survey of the newspaper articles on the British economic situation and present a short outline of the discussed issues.

III. Study the lecture on the British Economy, textbooks and Internet sites and supply the key-words for the following topics:

1. The Historical Background of the British Economy.

2. The Current Economic Situation in the UK.

3. The Distribution of Wealth and the Workforce in the UK.

4. Finance and Investment in the UK.

Get ready to speak on the topics in class. Use graphs and tables.

IV. Fill in the following table with the key-words.

Economic region	Main cities and towns	Chief industries	Agriculture
The South Industrial and Agricultural Region
The Midlands
Lancashire and Yorkshire
North England
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland

V. Role-play. Prepare a report on one of the economic regions of the UK using the map. In class present your report to the prospective investors who subsequently initiate a discussion.

VI. Write a newspaper article on the efficiency of the British welfare system.

Seminar 5

TOPIC: The EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM of the UNITED KINGDOM.

I. Present an outline of the events going on in Britain this week.

II. Make a survey of the newspaper articles on the British education and present a short outline of the discussed issues.

III. Comment on the following key-words from the topic: LEAs, DES, public schools, state schools, Chief Education Officer, grammar schools, upper schools, the Education Act, BEd, PGCE, school uniform, 11+ examination, Comprehensive Education Act, Eton, GCE, CSE, GCSE, A-level, O-level, Oxbridge, Redbrick universities, MA, MSc, PHD, BA, BSc, the Open University.

IV. Compile a test of 10 questions with three variants of answers for each. Make sure you cover the following topics:

1. The historical background of the British educational system.

2. The organization of the education in the UK.

3. School education in the UK.

4. Further education in the UK.

V. Сomment on the following:

1. Examine the initial stages of education in Britain – nursery and primary schools. Explain the concept of middle schools as the secondary stage of a three-tire system, commenting on the notorious ‘11+ examination’.

2. Give an account of the structure of secondary education, referring to the main types of school of this category (grammar, modern, technical, special, comprehensive).

3. Examine the nature of independent private and public schools.

4. Give a brief account of the organization of further and higher education, describing the groups of universities.