Education in Australia

In Australia most children (1) … primary school from the age of five. Only two per cent of children of primary school age are (2) … at home. Some children who go to school also take up extra activities such as learning to play a musical instrument or dancing, and they go to (3) … classes for these and for school (4) … they find difficult or particularly interesting, such as languages, mathematics or computing. Ninety-five per cent of the population go on to secondary school, but a much smaller percentage (5) … the final year of secondary school examinations and complete a university (6) … . At the moment university (7) … and graduates make up less than a third of the total population. Australian universities are modern and well-equipped. Most teaching is by a combination of (8) … , tutorials and practical classes. The humanities courses like History and Philosophy, usually involve a lot of extra (9) … in the library. To become a primary or secondary school (10) … , it is usually necessary to study at a university for three years or more.

1. A attend B assist C go

2. A brought up B educated C trained

3. A personal B private C particular

4. A matters B courses C subjects

5. A succeed B pass C approve

6. A degree B curriculum C career

7. A pupils B trainees C students

8. A lectures B conferences C talks

9. A lectures B reading C training

10. A lecturer B professor C teacher

Ex. 7. Complete the spaces by finding one word which fits in all three sentences.

1. 1. When we had finished acting, the teacher gave us all a … out of ten. 2. Elka has only been in the office for three months, but already she has really made her … . 3. The teacher told Jeremy off for making a … on Emma’s notebook.

2. 1. I’ve virtually … any ambition I ever had of becoming a teacher. 2. I … out of college after one term and went traveling around the world instead. 3. On police advice, Mr. Bortelo has … the charges he brought against his neighbours.

3. 1. The project has had some … of success. 2. She’s doing a … at Exeter University. 3. To a large … it is parents who should take the blame.

Ex. 8. Discuss which of these words and phrases have similar meanings, or are used in similar situations. In some cases there are various ways of linking them. Underline one word in each list which seems to be the odd one out and is NOT connected with education or training.

1. award grant loan prize reward scholarship

award → grant → scholarship grant → loan prize → award

Reward is not connected with education, unless discussing its rewards or pleasures.

2. certificate degree diploma doctorate licence reference testimonial recommendation;

3. article assignment composition dissertation essay paper report thesis;

4. comprehensive school grammar school gymnasium junior school kindergarten law school medical school nursery school primary school secondary school

5. BA bachelor BSc doctorate first degree MA Master’s MSc PhD;

6. credits grades marks numbers scores;

7. continuous assessment evaluation examination questionnaire study test;

8. class conference lecture seminar study group;

9. apprentice contestant freshman graduate participant schoolchild; post-graduate pupil student trainee undergraduate;

10. academic year financial year half-term holiday semester term vacation;

11. correspondence course degree course race course evening course part-time course sandwich course distance learning course;

12. associate professor business associate coach don instructor lecturer professor teacher trainer tutor.

Ex. 9. Give the English equivalents of the following words and phrases.

Cредняя школа, начальная школа, детский сад, класс, общеобразовательная общедоступная средняя школа, частные школы, диплом (свидетельство, ат­тестат об окончании средней школы), абитуриенты, дистанционное обуче­ние, степень бакалавра, пропускать занятия, присуждать степень, практиче­ский уклон, пригодность, отбор учеников, профилирующий предмет, дости­жения в учебе.

Ex. 10. Translate into English.

1. Преподавание в младших классах строится таким образом, что учебный материал проходится, в основном, в классе, и детям почти не задают до­машних заданий. Упор делается не на то, чтобы школьники запомнили как можно больше сведений, а на то, чтобы они научились самостоя­тельно мыслить, анализировать, сопоставлять факты.

2. В программы средних школ включены предметы, обязательные для всех учащихся, а также дополнительные, которые изучаются факультативно – по выбору.  По ряду предметов учащиеся старших классов сами выби­рают учебный материал. Учащимся предоставлена возможность выби­рать между техническим и гуманитарным уклоном. Обучение в таких школах завершается сдачей государственных экзаменов на аттестат зре­лости.

3. Дистанционное обучение – метод образования для людей, желающих удобным и доступным способом получить образование для карьеры, по­вышения квалификации, или просто для себя. Следует отметить, что в престижных университетах мира существует стойкая оппозиция дистан­ционному обучению как полноценной замене традиционной очной формы. Дело в том, что проблемы начинаются с самого основного – иден­тификации студента. Кто сидит за персональным компьютером и сдает экзамен – сам студент или его приятель-отличник – проверить пока не представляется возможным. Поэтому дистанционные программы зачас­тую включают в себя и обязательную очную сессию, в ходе которой сту­денты сдают экзамены на месте.

IV. Study the following information on the changes throughout the educational system in Great Britain in the 1990s.

Politics and Education

Changes in educational policy in Britain have frequently been the result of political decisions or changes of government. For example, the Labour government which came to power in 1964 immediately encouraged the spread of comprehensive schools and the abolition of selection at eleven. In the 1980s and 1990s the Conservatives made radical changes throughout the education system. Labour continued to change parts of the system from 1997 onwards.

Schools in 1988

1. State schools controlled by local authorities.

2. Local authorities decide school budgets, including books, teachers’ salaries, and cleaning.

3. Children go to the school whose “catchment area” they live in. This is usually, but not always, the nearest school to their home.

4. All pupils study religion (the only subject required by law).

5. Schools assess children’s progress by their own internal tests.

Conservative Government Changes

1. Primary school children study English (and Welsh in Wales), maths, science, history, geography, art, music and physical education. Secondary-school pupils study a modern language up to the age of sixteen in addition.

2. Parents choose the school their children go to.

3. All children are assessed by national tests at the ages of seven, eleven, fourteen and sixteen.

4. Each school is responsible for its own budget, deciding whether to spend it on books, salaries or other services.

5. Parents vote on whether to make their school independent of local authority control and receive money from central government.

Schools in 2004

1. All schools are inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).

2. Results of inspections are publicly available and are used by parents to choose their children’s school.

3. Schools follow a national curriculum including compulsory literacy and numeracy lessons.

4. All children are tested at “Key Stages” by Standard Assessment Tests (SATS).

1. Define the following: abolition, assessment, catchment area, local authority.

2. Which subjects in the British National Curriculum have you studied in your own school system?

3. Match each government change with a feature of schools in 1988.

4. Find the outcome in 2004 which resulted from each of the government changes.