Education Stages in a person’s education Here are some names that are used to describe the different types of education in Britain. play school/group pre-school ‘mostly play with some early learning rursery school nist! | @-S years old) infant school primary * | ‘basic reading, writing, arithmetic, ar, etc junior schoo! (6l6-12/13) comprehensive school | secondary ‘wide range of subjects in arts and sciences or grammar school (12113-16018) and technical areas sixth form college (16-18) college oF university furtherihigher (18+) | degreesidiploras in specialised academic areas Comprehensive schools in the UK are open to all and are for all abilities. You can only get into a grammar school by competitive entry (an exam). Public schools in the UK are very famous private schools, Colleges include teacher-training colleges, technical colleges and general colleges of further education, Exams and qualifications take/do/sit an exam _resit an exam (take it again because you did badly first time) pass (get the minimum grade or more) / do well in (get a high grade) an exam fail (you do not get the minimum grade} / do badly in (you fail, or don’t do as well as expected / as, well as you wanted) an exam Before an exam it’s a good idea to revise for it. If you skip classes/lectures, you'll probably do badly in the exam. informal; miss deliberately] Some schools give pupils tests regularly to check their progress, The school-leaving exams are held in May/June. In England, these are called GCSEs (age 16) and A-levels (age 18). In some schools, colleges and universities, instead of tests and exams there is continuous assessment with marks, e.g, 65%, or grades, e.g. A, B+, for essays and projects during the term. If you pass your university exams, you graduate / griedsucit/ (get a degree), then you're a graduate /grecl5vt/ and you may want to go on to a post-graduate course. Talking about education In colleges and universities, there are usually lectures (large classes listening to the teacher and taking notes), seminars (10-20 students actively taking part in discussion etc.) and tutorials (one student or a small group, working closely with a teacher). A professor is a senior university academic who is a well-known specialist in his/her subject. University and college teachers are usually called lecturers or tutors. Asking somebody about their country’s education system. What age do children start school at? What's the school-leaving age? Are there evening classes for adults? Do you have state and private universities? Do students get grants for further education? 8B English Vocabulary in Use (Upperintermediate) ES43.1 43.2 43.3 43.4 Exercises Fill the gaps in this life story of a British woman, At 5, Nelly Dawes went straight to {school because there were very few ) schools for younger children in those days. When she was ready to go on to secondary school, she passed an exam and s0 got into her local ss...) school Nowadays her own children don’t do that exam, since most children go to a '*/ school. She left school ‘at 16 and did not go on to ‘education, but she works during the day, then goes to (©) at the local school once a week to learn French. She would like to take up her education again more seriously, if she could get a {or scholarship from the government. Her ambition is to gotoa {8 and become a school-teacher. Correct the mis-collocations in these sentences, can’t come out. I'm studying. I'm passing an examination tomorrow. Congratulations! I hear you succeeded your examination! You can study a lot of different careers at this university. I got some good notes in my continuous assessment this term. She's a professor in a primary school, He gave an interesting 45-minute conference on Goethe. She got a degree in personnel management from a private college. ‘When I was 12, we started having French seminars at school, and I fell in love with the language. ean keNe What questions could you ask to get these answers? 1 No, they have to finance their own studies. 2 There isn’t much difference; it’s ust that one gets money from the government and the courses are free, the other depends on fee-paying students. 3 Well, they learn one or two things, like recognising a few numbers, but most of the time they just play. 4 Because I wanted to be a teacher, no other reason. 5 It's sixteen, but a lot of kids stay on until eighteen 6 I've been revising/studying for an exam. 7 8 9 No, ours are given in grades, you know, B+, C, A, that sort of thing. No, I was ill. I didn’t miss it deliberately. ‘They are exams taken in England at 18 years old, which you need in order to get into university. Make a table for the various stages and types of education in your country, like the table in A opposite. How does it compare with the UK system and with the system in other countries represented in your class or that you know of? Is it possible to find satisfactory English translations for all the different aspects of education in your country? Follow-up: The education system in the USA is a bit different from in the UK. Find out what the following terms mean in the US education system, high-school college sophomore graduate school English Vocobulary in Use (Upperintermediote) 89a Work Some job-titles are found in a wide range of different workplaces. The broad meanings are given here. The right-hand page exercises will help you work out more precise meanings. director (member of the board of a company) executive /ig'zekjat.v/ (important person who makes big decisions) administrator (person who runs the office day-to- day) clerk /la:k’ (ordinary office worker) skilled worker (trained to do specific tasks, e.g. building a computer) _unskilléd worker (doing a job that needs no training) labourer (does hard, physical work) receptionist (visitors must check in with ehem) Public relations officer (gives information to the press, TY, ete. about the company) safety officer (makes sure machines, etc. are not dangerous to use) security officer (makes sure thieves/criminals cannot enter) union representative (looks after the staff's interests) economist (expert in financial matters) personnel officer (takes care of administration for new and existing employees) sales assistant (sells goods to the public) education officer (organises training, classes, etc. for employees) research- worker (investigates and develops new products) supervisor (makes sure workers are doing their job properly) Here are some professions (jobs that require considerable training andlor qualifications) and trades (skilled manual jobs requiring on-the-job and other training). lawyer dentist hairdresser mechanic architect /askitckt) priest farmer vet librarian physiotherapist (fiziou'Geropisi/ __child-minder police officer accountant engineer_—scientist_ chef ei) firefighter civil servant tailor/dressmaker —designer—builder carpenter plumber Collocations of words connected with work It’s not easy to get/find work round these parts. I've been offered work / a job in Paris. ‘What d'you do for a living? I'm in publishing/banking, ete. Ie’ hard to make a living as a freelance writer. [earn enough money to live comfortably] She's not prepared to take on that job. {suggests ‘having personal responsibility"] to do shift-work or to work shifts [nights one week, days the next week] to be on flexi-time [flexible working hours] | hours of work to work nine-to-five [regular day work] to golbe on strike [industrial dispute] to get the sack [thrown out of your job] to be fired {more formal than ‘get the sack’s often used as a direct address: ‘You're fired!"] to be made redundant [thrown out, no longer needed] to be laid off [more informal than ‘made redundant’] not working to give up work [e.g. in order to study] to be on / take maternity (woman) or paternity (man) leave [before/after the birth of a baby) to be on / take sick leave [illness] to take carly retirement [retire at 55] to be a workaholic [love work too much] her useful to be promoted [act higher postion] } Fale to apply for a job [fill in forms, ete.] 90 English Vocabulory in Use (Upper.intermediate)RDEEEEEEEEDEEE EEE! ings are 44.1 nings. i 10 fic ining) cm) y) et > staff's of rch- sare ons) 44.2 ( ber is. sy) 44.3 f work 444 ‘ing 44.5 ful 44.6 Exercises Which of the job-titles in A opposite would best describe the following? 1 The person who represents the workers’ interests in disputes with the management in a factory, 2. A person who has a high (but not the highest) position in a company and whose job it is to make important decisions. 3 An important person in a company who sits on the board. 4 A worker whose job requires no special training, for example, an office cleaner 5 A person generally in charge of the day-to-day organisation of a company/department. 6 The person who makes sure there are no risks of accidents from machinery, etc. 7 A person whose job it is to keep an eye on the day-to-day work of other workers. 8 A person who does hard physical work. 9 The person who handles applications for vacant posts. 10 The person who gives out information to the press for a company. 11 The person who makes sure all the doors and windows have good locks on them. 12. The person you first speak to when you arrive at a company as a visitor. Using the expressions in C opposite, say what you think has happened / is happening. EXAMPLE I'm not working nows the baby’s due in 3 weeks. S's on maternity lat. 1 Lost my job. They had to make cutbacks. 2. He's enjoying life on a pension, although he’s only 58, 3 One week it six-to-two, the next it’s nights. 4 ‘They've made her General Manager as from next month! 5 6 7 I was late so often, I lost my job, 1 get in at nine o'clock and go home at five. Your trouble is you are obsessed with work! Whose job do these things belong to? EXAMPLE bucket ladder leather window deaner 1 board overhead projector chalk 4 make-up script microphone 2 scalpel mask forceps 'f>:seps/ 5 tractor plough barn 3 fax machine filing cabinet stapler 6 sewing machine scissors needle Would you call the following a trade, a profession or an unskilled job? vet 3 plumber § electrician 7 cleaner 9 refuse collector /'vef juz! 2 chef 4 architect 6 dressmaker tailor 10 lawyer Fill in the collocations. Pd love to {°) a job in journalism, but it’s not easy without qualifications. Since Ihave to earn a £) somehow, I'l have to get (©) wherever I can find it. I've been {4 some part-time work editing a typescript for a book, but Pm not sure I want to it s, Think of five people you know who work for a living. Can you name their jobs in English? If you cannot, look them up in a good bilingual dictionary, or in a thesaurus. English Vocabulary in Use (Upperintermediate) 91