2. Ex.8. Role Play.

Imagine that one of you is the Minister of Education and you are interviewed by students of our county and of England. Make a list of questions and suggestions.

3. Ex. 9. Now you are a student at university and answer the following questions.

1. How did you enter higher education institution?

2. Can you explain what a good education is? Have you a general idea about it?

3. What subjects are included in the first year curriculum?

4. What subject is the most interesting; the one you think the most important; the one you find the most difficult? Why?

5. Was it easy for you to get accustomed to the university system of lectures and seminars after the system of classes and home tasks? Which are more useful in your opinion: lectures or seminars?

6. What can you say about higher education system of our country?

Ex.10. The press conference. “A village school is about to close”

Answer the questions:

1.What can you say about schooling in rural areas?

2.Do you have cases of school closures in these areas?

3.What do the teachers and parents do about such closures?

Ex. 11. Read an extract from the newspaper article.

“On Tuesday the country education committee is expected to vote for the closure of the 26- pupil primary school which has stood in the center of the village for more than a century. Parents gathered outside the schoolhouse, angry that they are having to contest again a proposal defeated three years ago. The reasons advanced by councils are both economic and educational. They argue that the educational and social development of children in small schools can be held back because of lack of stimulation and competition. And mixed aged classes, which are a feature of small schools led to lower achievement. Parents argue that a good teacher can provide a rich curriculum in a small.”

Half of the group are parents, the other half are the journalists. ”Parents” , imagine a definite identity for yourselves; for example your job, role in the village, number of children etc. Journalists, you should write down questions to ask the parents so that you can find out more.

Ex. 12. Write down the newspaper article reporting the Council’s decision a few weeks after the press conference.

Срсп 3. Higher education in great britain

Some aspects of British University Life

There are more than forty six universities in Great Britain. The biggest University all of all modern English universities is London University. The oldest English universities are Oxford and Cambridge.

Oxford was founded in the 12^th century as aristocratic University and it remains aristocratic to the present day. The cost of studies is very high. Students have to pay for everything for using books, libraries, laboratories, for taking examinations, etc.

Oxford’s organization is very complicated. In fact the University is a collection of Colleges. There are 32 colleges in Oxford: 27 colleges for men and 5 colleges for women. Each college is a world of its own which gives its students a specialized training in arts, law, medicine, science, etc.

The largest college has500 students, the smallest college 100 students.

The university is an administrative center which arranges lectures for all students of the colleges, holds examinations and gives degrees.

Of the full-time students now attending English Universities their 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. Oxford and Cambridge have a tutorial system of education and this is one of the ways in which Oxford and Cambridge differ from other English Universities. Every student has a tutor who plans his work and discusses it with the student after he has done it. Every student must see his tutor. They discuss student’s work, papers, which every student has to write and to submit to his tutor.

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 student. Their 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 student for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

The academic year in England has three terms; each term lasts from eight to ten weeks. Terminal exams take place at the end of autumn, spring, summer terms. Final exams take place at the end of the course of studies. If a student fails an examination, he may be allowed to take the exam again. 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 B. A. after three years of hard study ,and an M. A. at the end of five years.

Ex.1.Make up a list of topical vocabulary.

Ex.2.Supply answers to the following questions:

1.How many universities are there in London?

2.What is the oldest university in London?

3. When was Oxford university founded?

4. What colleges does it consist of?

5. What system of education have Oxford and Cambridge?

6. What advantages has this system?

7. What is the percentage of men and women students in British Universities? (of

students studying arts subject and sciences?)

8. What is a graduate?

9. What is a duration of terms and vocations in British Universities?

10.What do the abbreviations B.A; B.Sc; M.A. and M.Sc. stand for?

11.When can these degrees be received by a student?

Ex.3.How similar is university education in your own country? Answer these questions.

1. Do you need to pass examinations before you can go to university?

2. Do some students get a grant to study at university?

3. Is the tuition free if you go to university?

4. Do most students go to university at the age of 18 or 19?

5. Do more students go to university in your country than in Britain?

6. Do most degree courses last three years?

7. What is your equivalent of the British BA or BSc?