- •Язык профессионального общения:
- •Starter activity
- •Reading one
- •Moral Re-armament: History and Challenges
- •1. Give definitions of the following words and word-combinations, make use of a dictionary. Reproduce the situations they are used in the text.
- •Reading two Britain’s Moral Crisis
- •Starter activity
- •Reading one What Makes People Volunteer
- •Speech activities
- •Reading two
- •Nurse Nicky Nears Her Peak of Fitness
- •Reading one Who Uses Drugs and Why?
- •2. Check and compare your answers with your partner. Language Focus
- •Reading two
- •Europe: Drugs – Adapting To New Realities
- •Reading three
- •They're toking up for algebra class. Teenagers need incentives to keep it clean
- •Reading four
- •Partnering Against Trafficking
- •Discussion
- •Imagine you are the head of a Charity Fund. Write a report about the charity activities your fund is performing. Functional vocabulary
- •Phrases related to the topic
- •Speech Functions Bank
- •I. Interrupting People
- •Reading One Status of Women
- •Status of women and girls around the world: facts and figures (provided by the Global Fund for Women)
- •Violence
- •Insert prepositions or particles where necessary.
- •Reading two Schoolbooks and the female stereotype
- •Reading One The Qualities to Look for in a Wife
- •Reading two What’s wrong with marrying for Love
- •Reading three
- •I’m your Equal, Partner!
- •Is your relationship out of balance? Scared to stick up for yourself? It's time for a change
- •Imagine you are having a row with your male partner/husband. Work in pairs and try to make it up with the help of the Five r’s.
- •Reading One Careers and Marriage
- •1. Explain the meaning of the word combinations used in the text:
- •3. What practical tips for having a stable and fruitful marriage were given in the text? Discuss them in pairs. Reading two They'll Never Go Home Again
- •1. Answer the questions:
- •Reading three The Frustrated Housewife
- •Insert a preposition or a particle where necessary.
- •Interview several working and staying-at-home mothers about their attitude to the problems raised in the text. Present the findings of your questionnaires in class and analyse the results together.
- •Role-play. Discuss the problem.
- •General Discussion
- •Phrases related to the topic
- •I. Asking for and Giving Opinions
- •2. Use appropriate language from the boxes above to ask for and give opinions in the following situations.
- •2. Explaining and Justifying
- •1. Make the following into statements explaining and justifying using the language from the box above.
- •2. Use appropriate language from the box above to make statements explaining and justifying in the following situations.
- •1. Asking for Clarification
- •2. Giving Clarification
- •1. Make the following into questions and statements asking for and giving clarification.
- •2. Ask for and give clarification in the following situations.
- •1. Make the following into statements of agreement and disagreement using the language in the boxes above.
- •Reading one Censorship Debate
- •Insert particles or prepositions where necessary. Translate the sentences into Russian/Belarusian.
- •Reading two bbc Chiefs Order Tough Curb on tv Sex and Violence
- •Reading three
- •Is Film Censorship Necessary?
- •Insert particles or prepositions where necessary. Translate the sentences into Russian/Belarusian.
- •Reading four Censorship – What and by Whom?
- •Insert particles or prepositions where necessary. Translate the sentences into Russian/Belarusian.
- •Reading two
- •Public Concerns
- •Did he follow this pattern? ________
- •Reading three Paying the Price for News
- •Functional vocabulary
- •Phrases related to the topic
- •The power of the media Speech Functions Bank
- •I. Expressing Preferences
- •II. Talking about likes and Interests.
- •Starter activity
- •Reading one Ten Ways to find the best schools
- •Bruce Kemble. News Week. 2002 Language focus
- •A Whitehall checklist;
- •Speech activities
- •Reading two Slimmed-down School Curriculum Aims to Free Quarter of Timetable for Pupils Aged 11 to 14
- •Reading three High-Stakes Games
- •Reading four
- •5 Times More Florida Kids to Repeat Third Grade State's New Policy Links Promotion to Reading Test Scores
- •Reading one Why Parents Choose to Opt out of State System
- •In the following sentences use the right particle with the verb to put:
- •Reading two
- •Reading three The City – as- School
- •Imagine that a friend of yours is considering sending his/her child to a non-government school (institute) you are working in. Write a letter either encouraging or discouraging him/her.
- •Reading one Survey Results Detail What Top Entry Level Employers Want Most
- •Reading two Employers Still Prefer Traditional Degrees Over Online Learning, Study Finds
- •Insert prepositions or particles where necessary.
- •In groups of 3 or 4 prepare and stage a debate on the prospects of online learning. For more ideas read the supplementary texts and visit the relevant web sites.
- •Reading three Two in Three Trainee Teachers who Qualify 'Are not up to the Job'
- •Functional vocabulary
- •Phrases related to the topic
- •Speech Functions Bank
- •1. Asking for More Detailed Information
- •1. Make the following into questions or statements asking for more detailed information using the language in the box above.
- •2. Use appropriate language from the box above to ask for more detailed information in the following situations.
- •2. Making Comparisons
- •1. Make the following into statements of comparison using the language in the box above.
- •2. Use appropriate language from the box above to make statements of comparison about the following.
- •3. Making generalisations
- •2. Use appropriate language from the box above to make generalisations about the following.
Reading three High-Stakes Games
Across the country, students, teachers and education officials are playing a game of chicken with testing regimes. In an effort to raise standards, both federal legislation – as embodied in the No Child Left Behind Act – and many state testing systems threaten to penalize students who can’t pass basic tests, along with the schools charged with educating them. After years of preparation, the dates for implementing these high-stakes graduation exams are coming up. Officials have warned that students who fall short won’t receive diplomas or, in some cases, promotion to the next grade level. But if thousands of students fail or look as if they might, will authorities blink?
The answer appears to be “yes”. Last month California postponed implementation of its high-stakes exam for two years. California’s 1999 legislation required that 2004’s high school seniors pass an exam to graduate. Yet as of January about a third of 2004 seniors had not passed the mathematics portion of California’s test, and nearly 20 per cent hadn’t passed the language arts section. These are students who have supposedly been working to meet standards since they were in the eighth grade.
And California is not alone. Of the states that promised a new regime of accountability, only a handful are on track to meet targets. Many states have made their tests easier. Others have lowered the passing scores or delayed phasing them in as a graduation or promotion requirement. Some worry that this might happen in Maryland, where the State Board of Education has just set standards that more than a third of the students who took math and reading tests this year would have failed. By contrast, Virginia is gearing up to enforce results of its tests. Although some of the requirements have been changed − critics say "watered down" − since the launch of the program, the state should be commended for holding fast to the principle of statewide testing.
For Virginia is also proof that high-stakes testing might yield results. Student scores on Virginia's Standards of Learning tests have been improving on a number of fronts since the tests have been administered, and the gap between minority students and others has been narrowing. The proportion of schools meeting state standards in Virginia has risen from 2 per cent to 70 per cent since 1999, revealing a marked improvement in the curriculum.
Testing is never an end in itself but a measure of other factors – the commitment of teachers and of school districts, the willingness of students to work harder. But while a test can be a tool to inspire and an indicator of progress, it works only as long as education authorities take it seriously.
The Washington Post. Friday, August 1, 2003.
Language focus
Which of these verbs would normally be used with each of the nouns below? Translate the word combinations into Russian/Belarusian.
E.g.: to meet – standards, requirements, targets, needs.
Verbs: to implement, to promote, to penalize, to administer, to delay.
Nouns: reforms, ideas, policies, exams, a territory, understanding, (economic) growth, a new product, a student, a company, tests, plans, changes.
Translate the sentences into Russian/Belarusian:
Across the country, students, teachers and education officials are playing a game of chicken with testing regimes.
Of the states that promised a new regime of accountability, only a handful are on track to meet targets.
Other states have lowered the passing scores or delayed phasing them in as a graduation or promotion requirement.
The state should be commended for holding fast to the principle of statewide testing.
Student scores … have been improving on a number of fronts since the tests have been administered, and the gap between minority students and others has been narrowing.
Fill in the gaps with the right particle or preposition where necessary.
… the new Assessment Test the students who cannot read … the third-grade level won’t be promoted … the fourth grade.
They accused the government … not doing enough to promote … the country’s economic growth.
He was promoted … manager … assistant director.
Modern science offers many alternatives that could be phased … a new system of language teaching.
These outdated methods are now being finally phased … .
Simon tried to catch … with his peers.
The new idea is catching … fast.
The curriculum will be revised to help those who fall … with their reading.
The number of overseas students has fallen … drastically.
Politicians want to hold … … power at all costs.
Did they think that their measures would hold … inflation?
The student is very ambitious, don’t try to hold him … .
Some experts claim that retention policies put many children … a disadvantage.
Speech activities
Answer the following questions.
What measures were taken under the No Child Left Behind Act to raise standards in American schools?
Did these measures prove to be successful nationwide?
Do you share the author’s opinion that test scores can be a conclusive indicator of academic progress?
What is your attitude to the system of statewide testing that is being administered in this country as a major entrance requirement? Can it substitute the traditional exams? Yes/No. Why? [Note the breadth of this problem. It has several dimensions, each of which should be addressed in a full answer. Talk to teachers and school-leavers, list their arguments for and against testing. Look out for further debates on this topic in the news media, on radio and television.
Comment on the phrase “Teaching is never an end in itself but a measure of other factors”. (What factors do you think besides those mentioned in the article are implied?).
Group work
Look at the list below of the possible aims of education. In column A put a number 0–5 according to the importance attached to these aims at the school you went to. In column B put a number 0–5 according to what you think the ideal school’s priorities should be.
Aims of Education
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A
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B |
Helping to develop personality and character
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Helping you to do as well as possible
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Showing you how to get on with other people
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Teaching you about what is going on in the world today
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Keeping you occupied
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Teaching you how to read and write well
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Helping you to get as good a job as possible
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Helping you with things you will need to know when you leave school (for e.g. about running a home and managing money) |
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Making school a pleasant place to be in
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When you have finished, compare your conclusions as a class.