Higher educational establishments of Great Britain

 

The structure of higher education in Great Britain is very complex. Five types of institutions – 45 universities, teachers’ training colleges, ten colleges of advanced technology, technical colleges and art colleges – are the main sources of full-time higher education. There is also a small number of specialized colleges such as the College of Aeronautics and the National College of Agricultural Engineering.

A university consists of a number of faculties: theology, medicine, arts, philosophy, law, music, natural sciences, economics, engineering, agriculture, commerce and others. The universities grant their own degrees. The normal duration of a first degree course is three years, at the end a bachelor degree is awarded on the results of examinations. B.A. or B.Sc. stands for Bachelor of Arts or of Science. A master degree is usually awarded after a further year or two years study. M.A. or M.Sc. denotes Master of Arts or Master of Science. The highest degree is the Doctor of Philosophy awarded for research and the submission of a theses. A person studying for a degree at a British University is called an undergraduate, one who has taken a degree is called a graduate.

The two oldest universities in England are Oxford and Cambridge. These date from the Middle Ages. Each consists of largely self-governing, residential colleges. The teaching is based on the tutorial system as well as lectures. Each student has a tutor who requires him to write essays and papers on the subjects he is studying and give them to him regularly about once a fortnight for correction and discussion.

Oxford and Cambridge have a special role in England as seminaries of the ruling class. Selection of students is mainly in the hands of independent colleges having special ties with the public schools. The child of wealthy parents goes from private preparatory school to public school, from which a road leads to the universities, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The whole system operates with very little public control, though some children from state schools are admitted. But the cost of education is so high that not many can afford entering these universities.

With the advance of industrialization in the 19^th century and the growth of manufacture, technicians and scientists were needed. The older universities did not produce them. Therefore, science classes were set up in industrial centres and they developed into either technical colleges or the “Modern Universities” (London, Durham, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, etc.). They were based more on the mass lecture system than were Oxford and Cambridge. These modern universities were built generally in the middle of the large industrial towns, either in light stone which quickly turned grey or in red brick. Thus the term “redbrick universities” arose.

There is no single body or organization responsible for the planning and development of higher education as a whole in Britain. Every university is autonomous and responsible only to its governing body. The regulations differ from university to university. While there are similarities between the “redbrick universities”, they all differ greatly from Oxford and Cambridge. In most universities students have their own “unions” which are the centres of cultural and recreational activity.

 

Vocabulary exercises:

I. Pronounce correctly:

University, graduate, status, medicine, tutorial, residence, essay, individuality, centre, science, technology, century, to go, to open, home, note, goal, offer, college, sophomore, competitive, accommodation.

II. What is the English for?

Педагогическое образование, политехнический институт, колледж высшего образования, степень, выпускник, аспирант, бакалавр, магистр, дальнейшее обучение, исследовательская работа, студент дневного отделения, лектор, практические занятия.

III. Translate into Russian:

To enter the university, to be admitted, to graduate from the university, to study at …, to get a degree, main sources of full-time higher education, the Local Education Authority, to receive grants, to grant a degree, to pay for accommodation, to depend on one’s income, a graduate, competitive exams, on the results of examinations, a course in teacher training, a tutorial system, to require to write essays and papers on the subject, to receive a grant.

IV. Give the English equivalents of the following word combinations and expressions:

Получить высшее образование, студент последнего курса, окончивший высшее учебное заведение, оканчивать педагогический институт, присуждать степень бакалавра по результатам экзаменов, удостоить ученой степени магистра, выпускники Оксфорда и Кембриджа, плата за обучение, быть в состоянии платить за обучение, обеспечивать жильем и обучением, у каждого студента есть свой преподаватель (руководитель группы студентов), главные предметы, студенты получают задания раз в неделю, колледжи, где учатся и живут, краснокирпичные университеты, университеты состоят из нескольких колледжей, в каждом университете имеются различные студенческие общества, Оксфорд и Кембридж – независимые университеты.

V. Make 5 sentences using the following word combinations:

To make progress, to be good at, to be lucky, to join smth., to get a mark in (a subject), to make mistakes, to do homework, to go in for, to take an exam, to master the language, a tutorial, to live away from home.

VI. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

1. When the University of London was founded its main task was to hold examinations and to grant degrees to the students from any institution situated anywhere in the British Empire.

2. In 1900 an Act of Parliament permitted the University of London to provide lecture rooms, museums, laboratories for both teaching and research.

3. To be in residence at Oxford means to live and study and to have meals in some college.

4. Teaching in the University is provided by professors, lecturers and tutors.

5. What is the difference between a residential and a non-residential college?

6. The duration of the study course in colleges and universities is different.

7. The lecture will be held in the Library of foreign languages. The lecturer will speak about the problems of tuition in Great Britain.

8. Tutorials in foreign languages are conducted by experienced tutors.

9. High qualification is required from teachers working in this educational establishment.

VII. Fill in the blanks with a suitable word or word-combination:

1. One can become a … after three years of hard study and a … at the end of five years.

2. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge are … institutions and they mainly use a …method which brings the … into close and personal contact with the student.

3. The colleges in the University of London mainly give instruction by means of ….

4. He couldn’t … entering this university because the cost of education was very high.

5. Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as ….

6. … in Russia is free of charge.

7. A university … will leave the university with the Degree of Bachelor of Arts or Science.

8. What organization is … for planning and development of higher education in Great Britain?

9. The recommendations are … on a written final examination and the student’s work during the course.

10. Of … now attending English universities three quarters are men and one quarter women.

Full-time students, tutor, residential, colleges of advanced technology, lectures, to afford, to base, to graduate, tutorial, Master of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, tuition, responsible

VIII. Translate into English using the Vocabulary Notes:

1. После окончания политехнического института или университета студент получает степень бакалавра.

2. Степень бакалавра в политехническом институте не соответствует университетской степени.

3. Курс обучения в университете длится 4 года или больше.

4. Студенты получают стипендии для оплаты стоимости учебников, жилья и питания.

5. Поскольку занятия продолжаются целый день, студенты работают по вечерам.

6. Колледжи предлагают курсы подготовки учителей и технические курсы.

IX. Translate into English using new words and word combinations:

Основными учебными заведениями Великобритании, дающими высшее образование, являются университеты, педагогические колледжи, технические и гуманитарные колледжи. Университеты состоят из ряда факультетов: теологического, медицинского, философского, юридического и других. После трехгодичного курса обучения присуждается степень бакалавра гуманитарных или естественных наук. Для того чтобы получить степень магистра, нужно учиться еще год или 2 года. Высшей степенью является степень доктора философии.

Старейшие университеты Англии – это Оксфорд и Кембридж. Они используют систему индивидуального обучения. Отбор студентов проводится самими колледжами, которые имеют связи с частными школами. Плата за обучение в этих университетах очень высокая, и не многие могут оплатить за обучение. В XIX веке с развитием промышленности появились так называемые «современные университеты». Обучение в них основывается главным образом на лекциях.

X. Translate the text into English:

Все английские университеты, за исключением Оксфордского и Кембриджского, – новые университеты. Лондонский университет состоит из ряда колледжей и других учебных учреждений. Университет имеет обычно факультеты и отделения. В английских университетах имеются естественные и гуманитарные факультеты. Факультеты возглавляются профессорами. Профессора и преподаватели читают лекции студентам. Они также занимаются со студентами в группах.

Все университеты принимают мужчин и женщин. Университеты предоставляют студентам общежития. В Англии имеется много различных колледжей. Колледжи есть внутри университетов. Имеются также технические и учительские колледжи. Тот, кто хочет стать учителем, учится три года в учительском колледже. В университетах студенты изучают различные предметы. В Англии есть колледжи мужские и женские.

XI. Fill in the blanks with necessary prepositions:

Oxford dates … the Middle Ages, it was founded … the 12^th century as an aristocratic university. Now the University consists … 32 colleges: 27 colleges … men and 5 colleges … women. Each college is an autonomous body governed … its own laws. Selection … students is mainly … the hands … independent colleges having special ties … the public schools … which a road leads … the universities.

The teaching is based … the tutorial system. Once … a fortnight the student meets the tutor who requires … him to write essays and papers … the subjects he is studying. The tutor tells … his student … the course … reading and … the lectures he must take. … the beginning or end … each term the progress … the pupil … tested … college examinations. The papers are corrected … the tutor who goes through each student’s work … him.

… the last day … the term every undergraduate appears before the head … the college and the tutors speak … his work … the term. At regular intervals, in many colleges once … a week, tutors gather together to discuss their pupil’s work … which they are responsible … the head … the college.

XII. Complete the sentences:

1. The main sources of full-time higher education in Great Britain are ….

2. A university consists of ….

3. At the end of the first degree course ….

4. The highest degree is ….

5. An undergraduate is ….

6. Oxford and Cambridge universities consist of ….

7. The teaching at Oxford and Cambridge is based on ….

8. A tutor requires his students to ….

9. The child of wealthy parents goes from ….

XIII. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the three types of universities in Great Britain?

2. What faculties are there in a university?

3. What degrees do students get after finishing full courses of study?

4. What is B.A.? When is it awarded?

5. What is M.A.? When is it awarded?

6. What is the difference between an undergraduate and a graduate?

7. What is the Doctor of Philosophy awarded for?

8. What grants do students receive?

9. What does the tutorial system mean?

10. Why don’t students have jobs during term time?

11. Why is the university life considered “an experience”?

12. What educational establishments prepare teachers?

13. What are the oldest universities in Great Britain? What system are they based on?

14. Can everybody afford entering Oxford or Cambridge? Prove it.

15. Why did the so-called “Modern Universities” appear?

16. What universities are called “Modern Universities”?

17. What system is the teaching based on at “Modern Universities”?

18. What courses do colleges offer?

XIV. Make up the plan to the text by writing out the key sentences for each point of your plan.

XV. Correct the following statements where necessary:

1. There are no differences between a university and a college. Both pay great attention to scientific subjects.

2. In Britain there are no residential colleges where students can live.

3. Every respectful university has got all the facilities for study and rest: lecture halls, classrooms, a number of laboratories, a gymnasium with open playing fields, students’ clubs and societies.

4. Tutorials are lessons where the entire group discusses the actual problem of the subject.

XVI. Speak on the topics concentrating on the following points (prepare a report (a project, a computer presentation) and a creative task after it) (See Appendix 1):

1. The main types of higher educational establishments.

2. The most famous universities and colleges of Great Britain (in comparison with Russia).

3. Oxbridge (its difference from the Moscow State University).

4. The tutorial system (in comparison with the system of organizing training in the Russian higher educational institutions).

5. Degrees of graduating.

6. Students’ life in the UK (in comparison with our country).

XVII. Learn the dialogue. Make up your own dialogue using topics below and Vocabulary Notes:

Ann: Kate?

Kate: Speaking.

Ann: This is Ann. Hello, my friend. I haven’t heard from you for ages. How are you?

Kate: Oh, hello, Ann. I’m fine, thanks.

Ann: Wonderful. I hear you have passed all your entrance exams with excellent marks. So you are a student now, aren’t you?

Kate: Well yes, and what about you?

Ann: I wasn’t so lucky at the exams, in fact. I got good marks in the main subjects: Physics and Maths.

Kate: Is it difficult to study Mathematics?

Ann: Rather. I spend a lot of time doing my home tasks. You’ve got to work hard to make good progress.

Kate: Do you have time to go in for sports?

Ann: Sure. I joined the university sports society, as I am fond of tennis.

Kate: As for me, I am a member of our English speaking club. I’ve joined our drama society. They say I’m rather good at acting.

Ann: Isn’t it interesting? I should like to see you. Will you invite me to your club?

Kate: Certainly. See you soon.

Ann: So long, then.

Situations:

1. A Russian student and an English student are exchanging information on systems of teacher training higher education in their countries.

2. A student of the teacher training college is speaking with his friend who is going to enter the same educational establishment about its courses of study.

3. Two students of teacher training universities are discussing their university life. One of them is enthusiastic about everything, the other is disappointed with every little thing.