Unit 1 higher education in Britain

· Focus: Education (general notion); basic vocabulary

· Higher Education in Britain (general overview)

· Grammar focus: Present/Past Simple Active

· Skills focus: Reading for specific information to know about the systems of higher education in the UK; learning basic vocabulary and developing speaking skills

Educationis the process by which a person’s mind and character are developed through teaching various subjects at school, colleges, institutes and universities. Universityis an institution where students study for degrees and where academic research is done.

1. Look atthese expressionsuseful for university students, then fill the gaps with one of these words in the box. Look up unknown words in the dictionary and in the vocabulary below (Text A):

place revise exerciseheart classes diploma year private grades

VERB	EXPRESSIONS
do	do (= study for) a degree in Management; do (= take) an exam/an (1)………………….; do (= carry out) an experiment; do (= carry out) research; do (= study) maths, history
gain	gain a good degree / education; gain experience
get	get a good education; get information/ advice; get a (2)……… at university; get into university; get a grant; get good / bad marks / (3)……………...; get a good report; get a degree / certificate / (4)………………….
have	have good knowledge of marketing strategies; have (5)……………. lessons
go	go to university / college / evening (6).......
make	make progress; make a mistake
study	study Mathematics / notes / a diagram; study for a test/ an exam / a degree
take	take a course/an exam; take notes (while listening or reading); take a break from studying; take a (7)....... off to travel
teach	teach a lesson/ a class; teach English / media studies; teach at a school /college / university
Others	attend classes /a private language school / university carry out research into.., cheat inan exam copy from someone else, give a lecture/ a talk learn a poem by (8)..........................; memorize the facts, pay attention (in class) prepare / (9)... for an exam

2. Underline the correct word in each of the following sentences using the chart above to help you.

1 She got / took a good report from her teachers.

2 They said she had done / made progress in all subjects.

3 She had done / made very few mistakes in her tests.

4 She is well-behaved and pays / gives attention in class.

5 She always takes / does notes when the teacher talks.

6 She likes physics and enjoys doing/ making experiments.

7 She hates being disturbed when she is revising/ reading for an exam.

8 She feels a bit nervous when she has to sit / revise an exam.

9 She wants to get/ go into university.

10 When she gets/ takes her degree, she wants to go abroad.

3. Try to memorize the verb expressions in task 1 and compare with their phrasal verb equivalents.

Phrasal Verbs

 

to get down to smth	to start work on smth that needs a lot of time and energy
to get on with	to make progress
to brush up on smth	to study or practice to get back the skill that has been lost
to fall behind smb	to fail to keep level with others
to catch up with smb	to reach the same standard
to drop out	to leave, withdraw from a course of instruction
to look through	to read, examine quickly
to go through	to examine in detail

4. Replace the underlined words with phrasal verbs.

1. She is making good progress with her studies.

2. Many students find it difficult to start doing their work.

3. I feel that I fail to keep level with others with my studies but I don’t know how to reachthe same standard as other students.

4. If you want to go to Britain, you should practice your language –you haven’t used it for seven years.

5. As I left university without any degree, I thought I was a failure.

6. John quickly examined the lines in search of familiar questions. Not having found a single one that he knew anything about, he examined the first question in detail.

5. When studying at a university, you should know people you’ll deal with or titles of teaching staff members and positions they occupy.

Match the definitions below with one of the words given in the box. Find the words in the vocabulary (Text A).

graduate rector director of studies dean undergraduate group-mate tutor professor lecturer

 

1. Someone who is still at a university studying for their first degree.

2. Someone who has successfully completed their first degree.

3. Someone in the same group as you at a university.

4. Someone who teaches at a college or university.

5. Someone responsible for teaching a small group of students.

6. Someone in charge of a university.

7. Someone in charge of a faculty.

8. Someone with the highest academic position in a university.

6. Work in pairs. Discuss these questions:

1. How long is the academic year?

2. Did you take entrance examination?

3. What grades did you get at the entrance exams?

4. What faculty do you study at?

5. Who is in charge of your faculty?

6. How many lectures do you have a week?

7. Do you think higher education should be free of charge? Why?

Who do you think should pay?

8. Do you think everyone should get higher education?

9. Would you like to get higher education abroad?

10. What do you know about higher education in Britain?

 

Grammar Focus:

Present simple is used with the following time expressions: usually, often, always, every day/week/month /year, sometimes, at the weekend, in the morning/ afternoon/evening, never	+	-	?
I, you, we, they + V Students do experiments. he, she, it + + V +S (es) He does research.	don’t + V I don’t know French. doesn’t + V He doesn’t attend lectures.	Do you wok? Yes, I do./ No, I don’t. Qu. word + do + subj. + infinitive? does Where does he study? Why do you carry out research?
Who attends classes?
Past simple Time expressions: Yesterday, last month/ year/week, ago, then, when, in 1977 (stated time) 1.The action is finished. 2. One action happened one after another in the past: He stood up and went out.	V+ ED (worked, translated) 2^nd form of the verb (took, went)	didn’t + V He didn’t pass exams last year.	Did you take notes? Yes, I did./ No, I didn’t. Why did you make many mistakes? When did you finish school?
Who did research last year? Who finished school last year?

7. Put the verb in brackets into the past simple or present simple.

1. Last year my friend ________(enroll) in full time course.

2 When _______ «glass-plate» universities (appear)?

3. Anna never _______(make) mistakes.

4. Three weeks ago John seriously ______(be ill) and _____(fall behind) his group-mates.

5. What faculty _______ (do research) in applied mathematics?

6. In the1960s the government _____ (set up) «glass-plate» university and _____(meet) demand for designers and researchers.

II. TEXT A

Vocabulary

academic year – учебный год

semester/term – семестр

director of studies – руководитель научно-исследовательских работ

rector – ректор университета

dean – декан факультета

to be in charge of – ответственный за

to be released by employers – уволен работодателем

unemployed – безработный

massive expansion – сильный рост; значительное увеличение

vocationalcourses– курсы профессиональной подготовки

vocational training – профессиональное обучение;

профессионально-техническое образование

part-time courses – заочно вечернее обучение

full-timeeducation – очное обучение

a university undergraduate – студент университета

undergraduatecourses – базовый университетский курс (амер.);

курс обучения на степень бакалавра

to enroll in – записываться, зачислять

to enlarge intake – увеличить набор, прием

authorize – уполномочивать, разрешать, санкционировать

to award degree to smb – присвоить (ученую) степень

medieval – средневековый

to meet demand for – удовлетворять потребность в чем-либо

plate-glass – зеркальные стекла

Open University – Открытый университет

rather than – скорее чем, лучше чем

local study center– местный образовательный центр

Bachelor of Arts (BA) – бакалавр естественных наук

Bachelor of Science (BS) degree – диплом/степень бакалавра естественных наук

Master of Arts (MA) degree – диплом/степень магистра гуманитарных наук

Master of Science (MS) degree– диплом/степень магистра естественных наук

fee – плата

poorer backgrounds – бедного происхождения/из малообеспеченных семей

prosperous social categories – состоятельные/зажиточные слои населения

ethnic minorities – этнические меньшинства

funding body – орган финансирования

to assess smth – оценивать, аттестовать

funding gap – недостаточное финансирование

maintenance grants – безвозмездная субсидия/ссуда, выделяемая на содержание

loan – ссуда, заем, кредит

scientific and technological community – научно технические кадры

to force smb to do smth – заставлять, принуждать кого-нибудь делать что-либо

1. Do you know that…..

Ox-bridge – the British universities of Oxford and Cambridge

«redbrick» universities – any of the British universities started in the late 19^th century in cities outside London: Manchester and Leeds are redbricks or redbrick universities.

«plate-glass» universities – 7 universities established on the government initiative due to the growing demand for scientific and technological community in the 1960s. The universities are authorized to award degrees. The buildings are quite modern with plate-glass windows.

Higher education is education at a college or university where subjects are studied in great detail and at an advanced level.

Further education is below degree level for people who are older than school age.

Vocational education is education that teaches you to do a particular job.

1. Read the text and give the heading to each part of the text.