Comment on the following education quotes.

1. ‘Who dares teach must never cease to learn.’ John Cotton Dana.

 

2. ‘Good teachers are those who know how little they know. Bad teachers are those who think they know more than they don’t know.’ - R. Verdi.

 

3. ‘Education is not the answer to the question. Education is the means to the answer to all questions.’ - William Allin.

 

4. ‘Experience is a hard teacher because it gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.’ Vernon Law.

5. ‘Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.’ Jim Rohn.

6. ‘Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave.’ Henry Peter Broughan.

7. ‘It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated. ’  Alec Bourne.

8. ‘I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.’  Socrates.

 

TASKS FOR WRITING

Main writing form: Giving Your Opinion

 

In this type of writingthe writer argues a case or expresses an opinion. Very often he or she tries to look at a problem from two sides.

The way ideas are connected is very important here. This is achieved by means of connecting words. Below is a list of connecting phrases which signal the structure of the argument:

 

1. Some people (students, etc) …………………

Others, however, ………….

 

2. There are many reasons why I love (do, study, etc)………………………….

One reason is ……………... Another …………….……………….

On the one hand………….. On the other hand………..........................

But at the same time ……..

 

3. In the first place (firstly) … In the second place (secondly) …………………

 

4. Not only that but …………. What is more………………………..         

More importantly………….

 

5. While it is true to say that ….

I nevertheless ……………………

 

6. On top of hat………………….

Ultimately………………………..

Above all………………………….

All in all ………………………….

 

The following mini-paragraph is an example of the basic structure:

Learning English may be important, but is it not more important to learn other European languages like German, French and Spanish. Obviously, modern civilized society couldn’t exist without the English language for it’s the language of business, technology, research and education. What is more it is spoken by 300 million people all over the world. But at the same time, would it not be disastrous to forget about other languages? So it seems to me that German, French and other national languages are equally important in communicating facts, values and feelings, and that school teachers and parents should encourage children to learn them. 

Now complete the sentences below. Develop them into a paragraph.

1. Students often wonder whether it is worth going to Britain to study English.

I would say it depends on …………………….

Some students ………………………………...

Others, however, ………………………………

All in all, ……………………………………...

 

 

This is an excerpt from the letter a friend of yours wrote to you:

I know the university is my home. But I’ll tell you one thing. I am so worried. I've got to get away from this place. If I leave it my mother will have a nervous breakdown, but if I stay, I will explode … self-destruct! Can you ask me what the matter is? It is my teacher. He's too demanding.  I can never please him, no matter how hard I try. He's a perfectionist and expects the same of others … especially his students. But nobody is perfect. We all have our little flaws (недостатки). He is sometimes so certain. Other students are able to live up to all his high goals and ideals. I've tried to speak to him but, as usual, he turns a deaf ear to anything I say. Talking to him is hopeless. He is absolutely no good when it comes to my personal problems.

 

Write him (her) back. What kind of advice can you give him/her? Try to persuade him/her not to leave the university.

Choose one of the followings topics to describe

a) your current personal interests;

 

b) the subjects you are taking;

 

c) the regulations for students at your University;

 

d) your first day at the University.

 

 

TASKS FOR LISTENING