Иностранный язык (Английский). Практикум

PART I. COUNTRIES, CULTURES, PEOPLE

3. Read the text and answer the question: What recommendations would you give a person who is going to Britain for the first time?

Good Manners

“Thank you” is, perhaps, the most important phrase in English. It is the example of good manners everybody learns when a child. The same is true to other cultures, though the notion of “good manners” differs from country to country. What is accepted as a cultural standard in one society might be regarded as an unacceptable behavior in another. As the English say: “Every country has its customs”.

Fundamentally the basis of good manners is consideration for others, but all civilized societies have added to their basic rule various forms of social observances [зд. условностей] which are expressed by word and behaviour. Different societies have their own expectations of behaviour and their own attitudes towards a whole range of things, such as a family, work, leisure, etc.

It seems important that every person realizes that there is not one fixed or correct way of doing things, but that there are many equally different and valid [зд. приемлемые] ways of living. Visitors to a country should develop understanding and respect for the target culture [культура, которую (они) изучают]. They need to become good observers, sensitive to linguistic and non-linguistic behavior of native-speakers in order to avoid cross-cultural [межкультурные] misunderstandings. The best way to behave in a country you are visiting is to follow the English proverb: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”.

Worth Knowing

•It is normal to shake hands in Britain when you meet someone for the first time. It is not usual to kiss.

•It is not necessary to arrive with a present if you are a paying guest in a British home. On the other hand, your host family will be very impressed if you do!

•Use your host family’s first names only if they encourage you to.

•“How are you?” is not a question about your health, but part of the greeting. You shouldn’t reply: “I’ve got a headache” or “I feel bad”. If you

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wish you will say it later in the conversation, but not when you are greeting a person. When you answer the question “How are you”, it’s polite not only to say “Fine” or “Very well”, but to ask in your return “And how are you?” or simply “And you?” Reply: ‘Thank you’.

Congratulations is used when someone has got engaged, got married, passed an examination, passed a driving test, got promotion, had a baby. ‘Congratulations’ is also used when someone is celebrating a special birthday. The most important birthdays for British people are 18, 21, 70, 80 etc. Special wedding anniversaries are 25th (Silver) and 50th (Golden).

•If you are sitting in British home and you want to leave the room for any reason, your host will expect you to say where you are going - even if it is obvious. If you leave the room without explaining, people think you are ill or upset for some reason. If you listen to your host family, you will almost certainly notice that they always say where they are going when they leave the room - even if they don’t know they do it! Here are some of the things you may want to say: Would you excuse me, I think I’d better go and do my work.

I’m just going to write a few postcards. Even if you are just going to the toilet, you say something:

Excuse me a moment.

Excuse me, I’m just going upstairs. Excuse me, I’ll just go you-know-where.

•Pubs in Britain are not the same as pubs in your country. They are not cafés. If you are with a British friend who buys you a drink, you should offer to buy the next one. It is unusual for each person in a group to order his/ her own drink individually. It is more common for one person to order for everyone.

•It is very important at the end of an evening, that you do not just stand up and announce that you are leaving. If you do that, your host will think that there is something wrong - perhaps he has upset you. British people usually say at least twice that they are going to leave. There is usually ten minutes - or longer - between the two. You can say any of the following:

Goodness, is that the time! I’ll have to be going.

I must be going soon.

I really will have to go now. I really must go.

Usually you use two different expressions - one the first time, one-the second time. The ones with -ing are usually used first and the ones without -ing when you are really ready to go. Here are a couple of useful phrases you may need before you leave: May I call a taxi, please? May I just use the loo before I go?

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PART I. COUNTRIES, CULTURES, PEOPLE

4. Suggestions for oral discussions and dialogues:

1.You have just returned from England and are telling your friends about English customs.

2.Some Russian students have come to London. You tell your Russian friends about English social rules.

3.Say a few words what is acceptable and what is unacceptable in Britain.

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Unit 3

EDUCATION

Цель занятия: формирование системы знаний и представлений об образовании в России, Америке и Великобритании, формирование иноязычной коммуникативной компетенции.

В результате изучения темы студент должен:

–знать терминологию по теме занятия;

–уметь применять на практике лексику, необходимую для беседы с англоязычным партнером; работать в паре;

–владеть навыками диалогической речи, необходимыми в межличностном и межкультурном общении на иностранном языке (ОК-2).

Актуальность темы: знание базовой лексики необходимо для эффективного межкультурного и межличностного общения на иностранном языке.

Теоретическая часть

▪ Education in Russia

There are some pre-school institutions in Russia such as nursery school, kindergarten. Some children between two and five attend them and receive education in nursery classes.

Secondary education is mandatory in Russia. Children start school at the age of 6 and finish at 17. As a rule, a child attends the school located in the neighbourhood. However, there are also so-called “special” schools, offering more in-depth studies of the major European languages (English, French, or German), or the advanced courses in physics and mathematics.

The first stage of education is elementary school for grades 1 through 4. The second is secondary school for grades 5 through 9. After graduation from secondary school, students are given the choice of either continuing to attend the same school (high school; grades 10 and 11), or entering a vocational schools or trade school. Both vocational school and trade schools are meant to provide one, along with the certificate of secondary education, with a number of useful skills (e.g., those of an electrician, technical, or computer operator). One attends the former for two years and the latter for three or four.

Having completed one’s secondary education, one can either become part of work force or go on to college (“institution of higher learning”). There are universities and so-called “institutes” in Russia.

To be admitted to an institution of higher education, one has to pass a series of oral and written tests.

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PART I. COUNTRIES, CULTURES, PEOPLE

Entry to higher institution is quite competitive. Some college departments (philologist, foreign languages-especially English, law, journalism) have dozens of applicants for one prospective student’s position. The same is true of medical and theatre institutes.

Higher education in Russia is partly free of charge or paid. In our country there is a three-stage higher education. The first stage is Bachelor of Science. The period of teaching is 4 years, and then two kinds of education go: Specialist and Master of Science.

College students with good grades were rewarded with a modest stipend. All institutions of higher learning were subsidized by the government.

Вопросы и задания

1.Read and translate the text.

2.Answer these questions:

1)What are the stages of compulsory schooling in Russia?

2)Do children in Russia have to pay for education?

3)What subjects do pupils study at school?

4)What can young people do after finishing the 9-th form?

5)What subjects do young people study at technical schools and at col-

leges?

6)What is higher education in Russia characterized by?

7)What kinds of higher institutions are there in Russia?

8)What do higher education institutions in Russia require for admis-

sion?

9)What is the period of teaching in higher institutions in Russia?

10)What degree does high school lead to?

3. Read and translate the text.

The North-Caucasus Federal University

The North-Caucasus Federal University was founded as the result of a merge of the three universities located in the Stavropol Region – the North-Caucasus State Technical University; the Stavropol State University, and the Pyatigorsk Humanities-Technological University.

This institution is not only rated as one of the largest educational institutions of the region yet it also is a unique site for numerous scientific and innovation projects, the leading arena for intercultural dialogue both within the region and beyond, and is a leading force contributing to the sustainable regional development through educational, cultural, and scientific links both within the NCFD and with the neighboring countries.

By the year 2021 the NCFU shall become the largest academic institution for higher education in the North-Caucasus Federal District.

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The NCFU is moving ahead being a driving force for the scientific and academic potential of the North Caucasus at the same time serving the basis for the economic development as well as an arena for intercultural dialogue both among the various local ethnic groups and foreign ones.

The aims and objectives of the new institution are reflected in the NCFU Development Program for the years 2012-2021, and the priority streamlines here include: industrial progress in the NCFD through supplies of newer advanced technologies in nanomaterials, fundamental medicine, biomedical and pharmaceutical achievements, food technologies and food safety, engineering, oil & gas exploration and processing.

Improved NCFD infrastructure through newer energy-efficiency and en- ergy-saving methods, geo-informational technologies, telecommunication systems, construction and transportation & logistic network development builds up the recreational potential of the NCFD including tourism, hospitality business, promoting biological diversity, environmental technologies and rational use of natural resources.

Socio-humanitarian development implying better methods for investigating ethnic, cultural, social, demographic, and political processes and intercultural communication; keeping up the role of the Russian language as the official language of the country, and maintaining the Russian civil identity in the North Caucasus.

The development of economic & financial institutions and management system in the NCFD; legal public control over the economy and social services as well as promotion the development of a civil society based on strong and reliable democratic traditions for authority development and functioning.

The North-Caucasus Federal University comprises ten institutes and two branches (Pyatigorsk and Nevinnomyssk):

Institute of Humanities;

Institute of Mathematics and Natural Sciences; Institute of Life Sciences;

Institute of Law;

Institute of Economics and Management;

Institute of Education and Social Sciences; Institute of Oil and Gas;

Institute of Information Technologies and Telecommunications; Institute of Construction, Transport and Engineering;

Institute of Electric Power Engineering, Electronics and Nanotechnologies.

These divisions all together comprise 94 departments.

Today the NCFU employs 1743 highly competent teachers most of them holding high scientific degrees.

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PART I. COUNTRIES, CULTURES, PEOPLE

The University can boast of 27 scientific schools and 47 research fields. Besides, the University offers training within 223 areas. The training at the Bachelor’s and Master’s courses is available both full-time and part-time (free and paid tuition modes are offered).

Apart from conventional classes the NCFU is offering its student numerous opportunities for self-training and a special mention to be made here is the Scientific Library of the North-Caucasus Federal University that is rated among the best ones in Russia with a stock of over 2.5 mln units. Special pride is taken in the unique collection of rare books where the oldest of them dates back to the 17 Century.

The North-Caucasus Federal University has been involved into international collaboration with universities and centers from 15 countries worldwide (Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine) and is still rapidly expanding the number of its foreign partner institutions thus offering its students another option both to expand their academic skills and intercultural competence.

4.Answer these questions:

1) When was NCFU founded?

2) How many institutes does it have?

3) What can you say about student’s social life?

4) Where can they have a rest during winter and summer holidays? 5) How do students spend their free time?

5.Read and translate the texts.

British Schools

All British children must stay at school from the age of 5 until they are 16. Many of them stay longer and take final examinations when they are 17 or 18. There were different types of state secondary schools and at the age of 11 children went to different schools in accordance with the results of the tests.

State schools are divided into the following types:

Grammar schools. Children who go to grammar schools are usually those who show a preference for academic subjects, although many grammar schools now also have some technical courses.

Technical schools. Some children go to technical schools. Most courses there are either commercial or technical.

Modern Schools. Boys and girls who are interested in working with their hands and learning in a practical way can go to a technical school and learn some trade.

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Comprehensive schools. These schools usually combine all types of secondary education. They have physics, chemistry, biology laboratories, machine workshops for metal and woodwork and also geography, history and art departments, commercial and domestic courses.

There are also many schools which the State does not control. They are private schools. They charge fees for educating children, and many of them are boarding schools, at which pupils live during the term time.

After leaving school many young people go to colleges of further education.

Some Aspects of British University Life

Of the full-time students now attending English Universities three quarters are men, and one quarter women. Nearly half of them are engaged in the study of arts subjects such as history, languages economics or law; the others are studying pure or applied sciences such as medicine, dentistry technology, or agriculture.The University of London, for instance, includes internal and external students the latter coming to London only to sit for their, examinations. Actually most external students at London University are living in London. The colleges in the University of London are essentially teaching institutions, providing instruction chiefly by means of lectures, which are attended mainly by day students. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, however, are essentially residential institutions and they mainly use a tutorial method which brings the tutor into close and personal contact with the students. These colleges, being residential, are necessarily far smaller than most of the colleges of the University of London.

Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges of technology and agricultural colleges, which prepare their students for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

The three terms into which the British University year is divided are roughly eight to ten weeks. Each term is crowded with activity and the vacations between the terms - a month at Christmas, a month at Easter, and three or four months in summer - are mainly periods of intellectual digestion and private study.

A person studying for a degree at a British University is called a graduate.

B.A. or B. Sc. stands for Bachelor of Arts, or of Science, the first degree. M. A. or M. Sc. denotes Master of Arts, or of Science. One can become a B. A. after three years of hard study, and an M. A. at the end of five years.

6. Answer these questions.

1)What is state schooling in the U.K. characterized by?

2)What are the stages of schooling in the U.K.?

3)At what age do children start to study at school?

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PART I. COUNTRIES, CULTURES, PEOPLE

4)Why do many parents send their children to fee-paying schools?

5)What kind of school-living exams do children take at different types of schools?

6)What is necessary to do for entering a higher educational establish-

ment?

7)What types of higher educational establishments are there in the

U.K.?

8)What courses of study are offered by higher educational establishments?

9)What are the conditions of receiving grants?

10)What are London, Oxford and Cambridge universities famous for?

7. Read and translate the texts.

Schooling in the United States

The United Stales does not have a national system of education. The function of the Federal Department of Education is merely to gather information, to advise and help finance some educational programs. All educational matters are left to individual states. 50 states are free to determine its own system for its own public school.

There are two major types of schools in the USA - public and private, or fee-paying. Four out of five private schools are run by churches, synagogues and other religious groups.

Most schools start at nursery level at the age of 3. Elementary education starts at the age of 6 and continues till 10-11 years. Secondary education is provided from the age of 11-12 years. Intermediate school includes grades 6 through 9 for ages 11 (12) up to 14(15) years. Schools of this stage are called intermediate schools or junior high schools.

A senior high school may include grades 9 through 12 or 10 through 12. Senior high schools in the United States can be classified in 3 major categories according to program. A senior high school may be comprehensive, general, or vocational. A comprehensive school is open to all youths of a community area and offers a broad program of academic, prevocational and vocational education.

A general school is also open, but it offers a more limited program. Extensive program of prevocational or vocational courses and advanced courses in academic studies are usually excluded.

A vocational school is for students of the community who are interested in its specialized area of training and a program of general education.

A specialized school is for pupils with special capabilities who are qualified to concentrate in a particular area of study. It is for the academically, musically, artistically gifted.

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The American secondary school provides the course program of school subjects and a program of extracurricular activities, including organized sports. Most schools publish their own student newspapers; have orchestras, bands, choir, theatre and drama groups, etc.

High school students who wish to attend a college or university go through one of the two standard tests - SAT and ACT. They are given by non-profit, non-governmental organizations.

American Universities and Colleges

Higher education in the United States includes educational programmes which usually require for admission 12 years of elementary and secondary schooling. It is carried on under a number of forms.

The most common type of higher education is the college. It requires for admission graduation from a standard secondary school; its four-year curriculum leads to the bachelor’s degree in arts and sciences.

The American college is known by various titles such as the college of liberal arts, the college of arts and sciences, and the college of literature, science and arts. The college may be the central unit around which the university is organized, or it may be a separate corporate entity, independent from the University.

The University in the United States is an educational institution comprising a college of liberal arts and sciences, a professional school leading to a professional degree and a graduate college (school). A graduate college provides programmes for study and research beyond the levels of the bachelor’s and first professional degree.

The word «university», however, is also used in a broader sense, for almost any type of educational institution offering instruction beyond the level of the secondary school.

Thus in the United States there is some confusion in the use of terms «college» and «university». Some institutions that are in fact colleges of liberal arts have been incorporated in the universities. Some institutions incorporated in colleges are in fact universities with graduate and professional schools.

In addition to colleges and universities there is in the United States a large number of professional schools, separate from Universities. They provide preparation in one or more professional fields, such as law, music or theology. Junior colleges or professional schools do not offer the full fouryear curriculum leading to a degree.

An institute of technology is a degree-granting institution that specializes in science and technology; some of them have graduate study. An institution offering programs of technological study only at the junior college level is known as a technical institution.

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