7. Read the passage about people in education and choose the correct article a/the. Sometimes there is no need to use any article, so cross out both.
A/The professor is not a/the teacher in a/the secondary school but has a/the highest academic position in a/the university. A/The lecturer is a/the university teacher. Lecturers and professors give a/the lectures. A/The students in Britain usually have a/the tutor who gives them a/the advice and teaches them in a/the small groups. You graduate from university with a/the degree. If you do a/the postgraduate work, you will have a/the supervisor to help and advise you.
8. Check your knowledge. Match the definitions with one of the given words:
| tutor; professor; lecturer; undergraduate; groupmate; supervisor |
– someone who is still at university studying for the first degree;
– someone who is in the same group as you;
– someone who helps and advises postgraduate students;
– someone who teaches at a college or university;
– someone who is responsible for teaching a small group of students;
– someone with the highest academic position in a university.
9. What do you know about schools in Great Britain? Read the passage and fill the gaps with an appropriate word from the list. The first letter of each missing word is given to help you.
| grammar school; nursery school; state school; infant school; play school; primary school; public school; middle school; secondary school; comprehensive school |
A n... or p... is for children aged two to five. A p... includes i... and lasts from the age of 5 to 11. In Britain, at the age of 9 some children go to m... before going to s... . Bright pupils sometimes go to g... after taking an examination, but most children go to a mixed ability c... . A p... in Great Britain is private and parents pay for education. A s... is free.
– Ask your teacher to find out more information about schools in Great Britain.
e.g. What does comprehensive school mean?
– Make true/false statements and ask your partner to comment upon them.
– Compare school education in Russia and Great Britain.
10. Put the following sentences in the correct order to make up a story:
1. Her research is in international law.
2. When she was at nursery school, Maria played and had fun.
3. After finishing her BA, she took a year off.
4. In her infant school she began learning how to read and write.
5. She got into grammar school and did well in all subjects.
6. When she was at junior school, she loved history.
7. She got a place at university to do law.
8. She decided to do postgraduate work.
9. In the sixth form she passed A-levels to get into university.
Work in pairs. Make up the dialogue – interview with Maria. Give some additional information, e.g.:
| You: | What did you do when you were at nursery school? |
| Maria: | Oh, when I was at nursery school, I played and had fun. We had a very kind teacher, her name was Jennifer …………… |
| You: | Did you have to wear uniform at grammar school? |
| Maria: | …………… |
| You: | Could you choose subjects you studied? |
| Maria: | …………… |
11. Would you like to get higher education in Great Britain? Imagine that you apply for vacancy in one of the British universities. Ask your groupmate, 'a British student', about higher education and students' life in Great Britain.
– Ask about different types of universities.
– Find out the entrance requirements.
– Get the information about the process of education (subjects, methods of teaching).
– Don't fail to ask about tuition fees and living expenses.
– Be sure to ask about degree titles.
HIGHER EDUCATION IN RUSSIA
So, you have got acquainted with the British system of higher education. And what do you know about the system of higher education in Russia? Read the text and learn the information about the present day situation in the system of higher education in our country.
Before reading the text study the following words and word combinations and practise reading them.
| distinguished history | выдающаяся, прославленная история |
| transformation | изменение, преобразование |
| to hire staff | нанимать персонал |
| accredited HE institutions | аккредитованные высшие учебные заведения |
| the Ministry of International Affairs | министерство иностранных дел |
| to distinguish | различать, характеризовать |
| natural sciences | естественные науки |
| applied sciences | прикладные науки |
| to acquire status | приобретать статус |
| to be responsible for smth | быть ответственным за что-то |
| local labour market | местный рынок труда |
| free access | свободный доступ |
| to promote | способствовать, поддерживать |
| equity | справедливость, беспристрастность |
| Uniform State Exam | ЕГЭ (единый государственный экзамен) |
| to enroll on a fee-paying basis | принимать, зачислять на платной основе |
| assessment | оценка, аттестация |
| to approve | утвердить |
| compulsory courses | обязательные курсы |
| public defense of a thesis | публичная защита диссертации |
| scientific or applied significance | научное или практическое значение |
The Russian Federation has had a long and distinguished history of education and science. The system of higher education has changed greatly over the last decade and this transformation process continues today. At present an educational institution can choose how to organize its educational process, select and hire its own staff, organize its own research, financial and economic activity to train up-to-date well-qualified specialists and to meet international standards of education.
Higher education is provided by public and non-state accredited higher education institutions. The majority of state institutes of higher education are regulated by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. Some of them are regulated by other state Ministries, such as the Ministry of Health Care, the Ministry of International Affairs and others. At present, there are three basic kinds of higher education institutions.
Universities offer a wide spectrum of programs on all levels of education: undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate. Universities are leading research centers in fundamental fields that combine learning, teaching and research. There are 'classical' and 'technical' universities, which pay special attention to social sciences and humanities or natural and applied (engineering) sciences. Unofficial ratings also distinguish old 'classical' universities and 'new' universities, former pedagogical or technical institutes that have acquired their university status quite recently. Moscow State University is the oldest Russian university. It was founded on the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov in 1755 on Saint Tatyana's Day. And since that time Students' Day is celebrated on the 25th January.
Academies are higher educational institutions that provide higher education at all levels and conduct research mainly in one branch of science, technology or culture (Academy of Mining, Academy of Arts, etc.). They differ from universities only in that they restrict themselves to a single field.
Institutes are multi-discipline oriented higher educational institutions. They can be independent structural units, or part of a university or academy and usually specialize in one field. However pedagogical institutes are responsible for all spectrum of disciplines taught at schools.
Speaking about Private educational institutions, they offer degrees in non-engineering fields such as business, culture, sociology and religion. Many of the private educational institutions are fairly small and mainly have local importance in their respective region. As a rule they were opened for the professions that were demanded by the local labour market: lawyers, economists and accountants.
The Constitution and the Russian Federation Law on Education guarantee open and free access to higher education on a competitive basis. Applications are accepted from citizens of both sexes who have completed secondary education and passed a competitive entrance examination, which is given by each higher education institution on general subjects. The higher education admissions system presently is undergoing reform. To promote equity of higher education the Uniform State Exam was introduced. Soon all higher educational institutions will use this new system of uniform entrance exams and it will be possible to apply to several higher educational institutions at the same time.
The Law on Education also sets the quota of students, which are financed, from the Federal Budget. Therefore, a certain proportion of top scoring students are awarded free tuition and scholarships from the federal budget to cover their costs. However, the scholarship is very low and only covers minimum expenses. On top of the quotas described above, the universities are free to enroll students on a fee-paying basis and have the right to define the fee for their programme according to the market price and demand.
The academic year lasts ten months from the 1st September to the end of June of the following year. It is divided into two semesters. Almost all courses at the universities and institutes are taught by lectures, tutorials, group learning, project work and partly by computer assisted learning. Students' work during the course is assessed by means of essays, seminar work, reports on practical and project work. Twice a year, at the end of each term, students take final exams.
The government of the Russian Federation has approved three levels of study:
Level I generally takes 2 years of study. This level concentrates on compulsory fundamental courses in the given disciplines. Students holding a Level I qualification may either continue their studies or, if they choose, leave the institution with an intermediate diploma.
Level II takes additional two years leading to a Bachelor's degree. Consequently, this first academic degree entails four years of study.
Level III represents an educational level for the students who receive the Diploma of higher education in special fields after five years of study or the Master's degree after 6 years of study.
After the graduation from the higher educational institutions students can enter the post-graduate course. There are two levels of doctoral scientific degrees: The Candidate of Sciences and The Doctor of Sciences. The Candidate of Sciences is granted after at least a three-year period of guided research and public defense of a thesis. The Doctor of Sciences is the highest academic degree awarded in Russia. The degree requires the completion of a dissertation that includes results of fundamental scientific or applied significance and the content of the dissertation must be based on the original research.
1. Give the adequate Russian variants for the underlined word combinations.
2. Give the English equivalents for the following word combinations and learn them by heart:
государственное высшее учебное заведение; обращать внимание на что-либо; обучать современных высококвалифицированных специалистов; проводить исследования; быть ответственным за что-то; бесплатное обучение; зачислять на платной основе.
3. Find in the text words, which correspond to the following definitions:
– the government department that deals with the Russia's political relationship with other countries and sends diplomats to represent the Russian Federation in foreign countries;
– the group of workers who do the work in an organization;
– the supply of workers in a particular country, area who are ready or suitable for work;
– a person whose job is to control and examine financial accounts of businesses or people;
– the system of laws according to which a country is governed.
4. Explain in English what is meant by:
– Uniform State Exam;
– competitive basis;
– top scoring students;
– non-state accredited universities;
– the Doctor of Sciences.
5. Make up the words of different parts of speech. You can use the following suffixes:
| Noun | -ment, -ence, -tion |
| Verb | -ize |
| Adjective | -able, -ive, -al |
| noun | verb | adjective |
| to educate | ||
| assessment | ||
| to complete | ||
| organization | ||
| independent |
6. Match the beginning and the end of the sentences.
| 1. Higher education in Russia is provided by | a) pay special attention to social sciences and humanities or natural and applied (engineering) sciences. |
| 2. Universities combine | b) is celebrated on the 25th January. |
| 3. There are 'classical' and 'technical' universities which | c) in that they restrict themselves to a single discipline and conduct research mainly in one branch of science, technology or culture. |
| 4. The oldest Russian university was founded | d) in non-engineering fields such as business, culture, sociology and religion. |
| 5. Student's Day in Russia | e) get free tuition and scholarships from the federal budget to cover their costs. |
| 6. Academies differ from universities | f) public and non-state accredited higher education institutions. |
| 7. Institutes are | g) to enroll students on a fee-paying basis. |
| 8. Private institutions have local importance in their region and offer degrees | h) lectures, tutorials, group learning, project work and partly by computer assisted learning. |
| 9. The Constitution and the Russian Federation Law on Education guarantee | i) enter the post-graduate course. |
| 10. To promote equity of higher education | j) on the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov in 1755 on Saint Tatyana's Day. |
| 11. A certain proportion of top scoring students | k) the completion of a dissertation based on the original research. |
| 12. The universities are free | l) learning, teaching and research. |
| 13. Almost all courses at universities and institutes are taught by | m) open and free access to higher education on a competitive basis. |
| 14. After the graduation from the higher educational institutions students receive the Diploma of higher education or the Master's degree and can | n) multi-discipline oriented higher educational institutions. |
| 15. The Candidate of Sciences is the highest academic degree awarded in Russia and it requires | o) the Uniform State Exam was introduced and now it is possible to apply to several higher educational institutions at the same time. |
7. Answer the questions according to the text content. Use such expressions as: