My School

My School 

Exercise 1.1. Now you are first-year students. You passed your entrance exams thanks to the knowledge you gained either at school, or at a vocational school or at a technical college. Speak on the educational institution you studied at before entering the university. Present information on:

the type of school you studied at;

the place it is situated;

the age you began to attend it;

compulsory and optional courses there were at your school in chemistry, in drawing, in history, etc.;

the language teaching was carried out;

how many times a week you had your lessons of English;

your favourite subjects and why;

the entrance exams you passed before entering the university;

what you like and what you don´t like about your school. 

Exercise 1.2.

a) Complete the texts with the words from the list.

boarding schools; private schools; state schools; head; uniforms; mixed; nuns; pupils; priests.

In a typical school system in many countries, there are two kinds of schools: ¹   , which are run by thte government, and ²     . Private schools are often stricter than state schools, and in many of them the ³   (schoolchildren) have to wear ⁴    .

Both state and private schools are often ⁵    (for boys and girls) or are for boys or girls only. There are also some schools, usually private, where the pupils sleep at school, which are called ⁶   .

The ‘boss´ of a school is called the ⁷    (teacher). In some religious schools there are also ⁸    (women) and ⁹    (men) who work as teachers.

b) Explain the difference between the following notions:

a primary school / a secondary school

a state school / a private school

your exams / your marks

a pupil / a student

do an exam / pass an exam

c) What do you call …?

the qualification you get when you finish university

the parts of the school year

a school for children under three

a school where pupils live and sleep

the work scientists do at universities. 
 

US Education: school

K-12 

In the U.S., K-12 means "kindergarten through twelfth grade (the last year of high school)" for public schools [free education]. In most states, school is compulsory [you have to go] from age 6 to 16, and most children follow this route in school: 

Approximate age                                          Kind of school 

3 or 4    Some  go to nursery school (not compulsory).

    Most  children start kindergarten (compulsory in some states, optional in

             others), which is the first year of elementary school (usually kindergarten

             and grades 1-6). At age 6, all children must attend first grade.

10, 11, or 12 Some  children go to middle school, grades 5-8 or 6-8. Those who

             don't attend [go to] middle school go to junior high school, grades 7-9.

   Students go to high school / secondary school (grades 9-12 or 10-12).

             Regular high schools offer academic and vocational programs.

             Vocational high schools offer training for a job, e.g., auto mechanic,

             beautician. Specialized high schools are for students with special

             interests, e.g., music, business.

   They  graduate [finish school successfully] and get a job or go to college

             for higher education. Those who leave school without graduating are

             called dropouts. [They drop out of school.] 
 

Note:

• Students go to school and go to college to study (not go to the school / the college). In the U.S., go to college can mean university, college, or community college.

• There are also private schools and parochial [religious] schools. Neither is free, and some can be expensive.

• Some  states now have charter schools [public schools that parents can choose to   send their children to] as an alternative to traditional public schools. Parents   and teachers in charter schools have more freedom to choose the curriculum. 

A school schedule 

Class schedules and courses can be very different from state to state, and even from school to school. However, certain core subjects [most important areas of study] are taught in most schools, e.g., reading/English, writing, math [an abbreviation of mathematics], science, and social studies [the study of society, including history, politics, and economics]. A schedule for one day in a typical high school might look like this:

8:00   Science 

8:55   Math 

9:50   English

10:45  Elective(music, art, etc.)

11:40  Lunch

12:30  History 

1:25  PE [physical education] / Computers 

2:20  Foreign language 

Note: Some  words in English that end in -s look plural, but in fact they are singular, e.g., mathematics, politics, physics: "Physics is my favorite subject." 

Exercise 1.3 Here are some school subjects, but the letters are mixed up. What are the subjects?

Example: TREPCUMOS       ...computers....

1. TAHM

2. IRTHOSY

3. CNECSEI

4. NISGEHL

5. RAT

6. SIMCU 

Exercise 1.4 How  much can you remember? Try to answer these questions or complete the sentences without looking at the opposite page.

1. What  does K-12 mean?    kindergarten through twelfth grade

2. At what age do children go to nursery school?

3. At what age do they start elementary school?

4. Which  year of elementary school is compulsory in some states but optional in

    others?

5. When  students go to high school, it could be a regular school or a

   ................................ school or a ................................ school.

6. Can you name  at least four core subjects taught in schools?

7. Which  of these schools is free: parochial, private, public?

8. What  type of school comes between elementary school and high school? 

Exercise 1.5  What about you and Russia? Answer these questions.

Did you go to nursery school? kindergarten?

Do most children start elementary school / primary school at the age of 5?

Is the high school system similar to or different from the system in the U.S.?

How  many  subjects did/do you study in high school?

What was your favorite subject? your worst subject?

How  many  classes did/do you have every day?

Did you attend public school or private school?

Until what age do students have to stay in school?

Are there a lot of high school dropouts? 

Exercise 1.6 Complete these sentences with the correct word or expression.

1.  When   she was a child, she lived in a small town and  went................................

    with only fifty other students.

2.  After I................................ from high school, I went................................ and

    studied art history.

3.  He wanted  to  finish school, but he needed to  get a job and support his family.

    That's why he  ................................ of school at 16.

4.  They  didn't have to send their children to kindergarten  because it wasn't

    ................................ in their state. 

Exercise 1.7   The next unit is about college and higher education. Can you think of six subjects you can study at a university that you do not usually study at school (K-12)? Write down your answers. 

EDUCATION: UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE 

2. Our University 

We study at Volgograd State Technical University. It is located in the centre of the city in Lenin Avenue.

Volgograd State Technical University was established in 1930 as an institute for training specialists for tractor and automobile industries. In 1963 the institute became a polytechnic one and in 1995 it got the status of state technical university.

Over the years of its existence the university has educated 50,000 highly qualified specialists in the fields of machine-building, hot metal treatment, chemical technology, transportation, etc., including over one thousand specialists for foreign countries.

In 1993 VSTU introduced a multy-level system of education. Those who have successfully graduated from the university are conferred a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree, Master of Science (MS) degree or qualified as engineers. There are postgraduate and doctoral courses at the university. The university consists of the following faculties: automobile transport, auto-tractor, machine-building, electronics and computer science, chemical technology, economics and business administration (management), construction materials technology, faculty for foreign citizens (applicants and specialists), evening departments in Kirovsky and Krasnoarmeysky districts of Volgograd, preparatory training faculty for applicants. Presently new forms of education have been developed which provide simultaneously two degrees of higher education. VSTU also offers all kinds of education (distance-learning, part-time and special courses) for working people.

The academic year is divided into two terms. Students must attend all the lectures, classes and seminars. They also must take examinations and receive credits in all the subjects they studied during the term. First and second year students study general engineering subjects: mathematics, chemistry, physics, drawing, and descriptive geometry. They also study social sciences and foreign languages. In the third year students begin to study special subjects. The study of theory is accompanied by practical training.

The University contains a large number of seminar and lecture rooms, specialized research laboratories. It has got libraries, students´ dormitories, gymnasiums, a sports camp and a health centre. Every student is guaranteed a grant according to the academic results achieved.

      A high quality of education is provided for, first and foremost, by the teaching staff of professors and instructors. There are 1006 professors and instructors at 66 departments of the university and its subsidiaries, including 80 Doctors of Science, professors; 462 candidates of science, associate professors. There are 22 academicians and correspondence members of Russian Academy of Sciences and other academies.

VSTU is also one of the largest scientific research centers developing fundamental, natural, economic and social sciences and on their basis theoretical and practical work in many applied fields of engineering and technology.

There are many student clubs and societies. Students take part in scientific and engineering work, they also develop their creative abilities in the Student Design Bureau. Every year many students report about the results of their research work at scientific conferences of the university. The best works are published.

Since 1962 the university has regularly trained highly qualified specialists for many European, Asian, African and Latin American countries. Graduates of the university work now in more than 70 countries.

Our University today is the largest higher educational institution in the Low Volga region, a multi-profile school teaching a highly qualified staff for various branches of economy and science. The scientists of the university make a considerable contribution to the development of fundamental and applied science research. A number of scientific schools created at the university are well-known in the country. The graduates of Volgograd State Technical University work at different industrial enterprises, design and research institutes. Many of them have contributed much to the development of industry and science in Russia. 

Exercise 2.1. Answer the questions.

Where do you study?

When was our university founded?

How many faculties are there at our university?

What faculty do you study at?

Why have you chosen this faculty?

What is your future speciality?

What year student are you?

What subjects do you study?

Where can students develop their creative abilities?

What facilities are there at our university?

Where do the graduates of the university work?

Where would you like to work in future? Why? 

Exercise 2.2. A delegation of students and teachers from Cambridge are on a visit to your university. You are asked to tell the guests about it. Present information on:

a) the name of the university;

b) the place it is situated;

c) the departments there are at your university (day-time, evening or correspondence);

d) the time the complete course of studies lasts;

e) the number of students who study at the university;

f) the subjects you study (humanitarian, technical, natural);

g) the equipment the university is provided with;

h) the examinations you take and the grants you receive;

i) the dormitory the students from other towns live in;

j) what you like and what you don´t like about your university. 

3. Student Life 

3.1 At the Lecture 

Bob:  Excuse me, Alec, is this seat taken?

Alec:  No, it isn´t.

Bob: Would you mind moving over one, so my friend and I can sit together?

Alec:  Not at all.

Bob:  Thanks a lot. Do you always attend Professor Petrov´s lectures?

Alec: As a rule I do. I find them very interesting and instructive, besides he is a brilliant speaker.

Bob: Yes, I quite agree with you.

Alec: What do you think of Professor Ivanov´s course?

Bob: Not much.

Alec: Why, what wrong with it?

Bob:  Oh, I don´t know. It´s just that he... Well, because he overloads it with detail. That course he gave on town planning last year. It was just the same – just a load of detail, which you could have got from a book anyway, and more and more technical terms. There was no ...

Alec:  No general overview you mean.

Bob:  Yes. I suppose you could call it that. I couldn´t see the town for the buildings.

Alec:  But you´ve got to have detail in this kind of subject, Bob, and anyway I think he´s good. You take his first lecture for instance – I thought that was very interesting, and not at all over-detailed.

Bob:  But that´s just it, Alec. That´s just what I´m getting at. He starts off all right and engages your interest so that you sit back and think “I´m going to enjoy this. I´m going to get a general idea of the important points in this topic”. When bang! Before you know it you´re up to your neck in minute details and he´s bombarding you with technical terminology and...

Alec:  Oh, rubbish! Now you´re exaggerating. 

Exercise 3.1.1 Answer the questions.

Where do the two students, Bob and Alec, meet?

Where do they study?

What are they going to become?

Whose lecture have they come to listen to?

Why does Alec always attend Professor Petrov´s lectures?