1 Listen to the following dialogues and read them in pairs.

Dialogue 1

Alfiya Hi, Gulnaz! I haven’t seen you for ages!

Gulnaz Hi, Alfiya! I was in the Netherlands.

Alfiya Cool! What did you do there?

Gulnaz I studied at STOAS University.

Alfiya What did you study?

Gulnaz Different methods in teaching agriculture, especially horticulture.

Alfiya Isn’t it great! Did you like it there?

Gulnaz Oh, yes. It was fantastic! You should go there too.

Dialogue 2

Rustam Mr. Johnson, can you tell us something about education in the USA?

Mr. Johnson Sure, what are you interested in?

Rustam How long does it take to study at the university?

Mr. Johnson It depends on what degree you are seeking: it takes three years to get a Bachelor’s degree and three more years to get a Master’s degree. But you can take more classes a year and graduate earlier.

Rustam I see, do all students live on campus?

Mr. Johnson No, but they are encouraged to do so.

Vocabulary

bachelor ['bætələ]	бакалавр
campus ['kæmpəs]	кампус, университетский городок
degree [di'gri:]	степень
horticulture ['ho:ti,kltə]	садоводство
master	магистр
to encourage [in'kridʒ]	поощрять
to graduate from ['grædʒu,eit]	окончить высшее учебное заведение
tuition fee [tju:'in fi:]	плата за обучение

Pronunciation

2 Practice the following tongue-twister till you can read it very quickly.

A Tudor who tooted a flute

tried to tutor two tooters to toot. Said the two to their tutor,

"Is it harder to toot or to tutor two tooters to toot?"

Oral exercises

3 Group the words according to their meanings.

university teacher credit tutor school vacations instructor professor study lecturer break college exam learn master holidays

4 Read the following information on studying abroad and discuss in groups of four its advantages and disadvantages.

There are both pluses and minuses in studying abroad and it’s up to you to decide.

 Studying abroad during a summer, quarter, semester, or year will give you a fresh perspective on yourself, and the world. 

 By living in a foreign country you will constantly challenge yourself in many new and exciting ways and gain a level of independence you never knew you had. 

 Studying abroad will expose you to diverse people and viewpoints, and you will get to experience a different way of life apart from yours in your country.

 You will be immersed in the language, culture, and people of your host country and will get to experience life as a resident, not as a mere tourist. 

 Today’s competitive job market requires applicants to distinguish themselves, and international education experience is the perfect way to do so.  Having international education experience is an incredible resume booster, as it shows prospective employers you are motivated, independent, and generally more qualified. 

 Additionally, obtaining foreign language skills can make you eligible for all sorts of jobs that you may have otherwise been unqualified for. 

 The main minus is the tuition fee that is rather high in foreign universities. To solve this problem you may either apply for scholarship or grant, or you can take up some part-time job on campus or anywhere else to pay for your studies.  You should also keep in mind that studying abroad means great deal of self-reliance as you’ll have to make plenty of decisions yourself.

 Most libraries don’t provide all the books needed for studies so be ready to spend about $400 each semester on books and photocopying.

 You will also have to rent an apartment in the dormitory or in the city – and that is also rather expensive.