Vocational Education

Part 1

(A passage from the article.)

As well as academic subjects improve students' minds and prepare them for college, a lot of high schools in the United States offer vocational courses. These prepare students for particular jobs. At different high schools in California, students can learn how to become cooks and waiters in hotels and restaurants or mechanics and salespeople in garages and service stations. The courses are available to high school students during the day as part of their normal school program. In the evenings they are also available to other people, who are not at school. Gene Abbott runs a course in automotive repair at San Rafael High School. He teachers his students how to repair cars. He gives some lessons in a classroom, but most of the course takes place in the workshop. It's a practical course, so students learn by doing as well by studying.

Part 2

Australia Plans Big Expansion in Vocational Training

By GEOFFREY MASLEN

MELBOURNE

The Australian government will spend $750-minion (U.S.) over the next three years on post secondary education and (raining programs 10 create an extra 120.000 places for students

The plan was announced by the Prime Minister, Paul Healing, as part of an ambitious $1.7 billion spending package to try to revive the nation's ailing economy.

Mr. Keating said Inc federal gov­ernment would lake over full financing of "technical and further education"—known here as TAFE —from the states to create an ex­panded system of vocational-edu­cation institutes. The plan repre­sents a shift in government empha­sis away from higher education to what the Prime Minister called "the weak reed" of technical and vocational training.

Australia's tape system is the larger of (he two post secondary ed­ucation sectors and now enrolls nearly a million students. It pro­vides para-professional, technical and technological diplomas and certificates. But TAFE- colleges are a stale responsibility, and they have been left behind in the huge expansion of the federally support­ed higher-education system over the past 10 years.

Mr. Keating said the federal government would allocate more than $525-million between 1993 to 1995 to upgrade the technical and fur­ther education system and insure a sustained increase in students’ participation. An immediate infu­sion of about $30-million would create an additional 10.000 vocational-training places starting in July.

Severe Overcrowding

An extra Sl5-million would be al­located to new construction at uni­versities over the next 12 months to be matched by $20-million from the institutions themselves. Most universities experienced severe overcrowding last year and have had to cut back on enrollment this year despite a huge surge in student demand.

Under the new plans, state and territory governments will retain responsibility for TAFE management and administration, while the federal government will take over the control and functional support for the sector.

Vocabulary:

expansion - расширение;

vocational training - профессиональное обучение;

 extra - дополнительный;

to announce - объявить, заявить, сообщить;

ambitious - честолюбивый, амбициозный;

spending -  расходы;

package - пакет;

to revive - возрождать, оживлять, восстанавливать;

ailing - нездоровый, больной;

to take over - сменять, идти на смену;

shift - здесь: сдвиг, изменение;

emphasis - акцент, подчеркивание;

to provide - обеспечивать;

weak reed -???? 

to enroll - зачислять (студентов);

responsibility - ответственность, обязанность;

huge - огромный;

to support - поддерживать; здесь: финансировать;

to allocate -  выделять, распределять (финансах);

upgrade - подъем;

to insure - обеспечивать;

sustained - длительный, устойчивый;

increase - расширение, увеличение;

immediate - немедленный, безотлагательный;

infusion - здесь: вливание;

severe - суровый, серьезный, сильный, жестокий (о конкурсе)

overcrowding - переполнение;

to match - здесь: дополнять;

to cut (back) - сокращать;

enrollment - набор (студентов);

surge - резкое увеличение;

demand - требование;

to retain - удерживать, сохранять.

Ex 1:Find in the text equivalents to these words and phrases:

мастерская, заниматься на курсах, повар, официант, ремонтировать, механик, профессиональные курсы, старшеклассник, вести курсы, предлагать, продавец, доступный, обычная программа, станция техобслуживания, совершенствовать.

Ex2:. Find equivalents to the following words and phrases.

профессиональное образование; испытывать огромное переполнение; немедленное

вливание; сохранить обязанности; выделить финансы; согласно новым планам;

за следующие три года; оживить/восстановить нездоровую экономику;

после-школьное образование; создать дополнительные места; сдвиг; зачисление

студентов; система высшего образования; будет дополнено;

поддерживаемый/субсидируемый/финансируемый государством; обеспечить

долгосрочное увеличение; испытать; сократить; за последние десять лет.

 

Ex3:. Answer the following questions.

1. What for is the Australian government going to spend $750 million (U.S.)

2. over the next 10 years?

3. What are $ 1.7 billion allocated for?

4. What are the two post=secondary education sectors in Australia?

5. How many students do they enroll now?

6. What does TAFE mean?

7. Who are TAFE-colleges finenced (supported) by?

Ex4:. What do these phrases mean?

1. academic subjects;

2. vocational courses;

3. a course in automotive repair;

4. a practical course;

5. high school.

Ex5:.

1. Discuss vocational courses for schoolchildren in Russia.

2. List the skills that these courses train and the jobs that they prepare students for.

Ex6:. Answer the questions.

Which five of these subjects are the most important at school nowadays?

Which five of these subjects are the least important at school nowadays?

Social studies, history, computer studies, peace studies, business studies, science, foreign language, religious education, geography, art, technical subjects, mother tongue, home economics, mathematics, economics, woodwork/metalwork, physics, chemistry.

Ex7:. Correct the mis-collocations in the following sentences. The words to replace them: lecture, take, university, profession, pass, teacher

1. I can't come out. I'm studying. I'm passing an examination tomorrow.

2. Congratulations! I hear you succeeded your examination!

3. You can study a lot of different careers at this university.

4. She is a professor in a primary school.

5. He gave an interesting 45- conference in Goethe.

6. She got a degree in personnel management from a private school.

Note: A professor is a senior university academic, not an ordinary teacher. University and college teachers are usually called lecturers or tutors

Ex8: Answer the questions

There are first degrees (where you are called a "Bachelor of..."),

post-graduate degrees (where you are called a "Master of..." or "Doctor

of...") and medical degrees. What do you think the following letters mean?

a/ BSc b/ BEd c/ MSc d/ MD

e/ BA f/ MA g/ MPhil h/ PhD