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Exercise 12. Read the text to have a general understanding and get ready to explain what

“educating yourself for the future” means.

EDUCATING YOURSELF FOR THE FUTURE

§1 In the past, Americans have been led to believe that a college education assures them of a good job. (1) … rapidly changing occupational and social conditions, (2) … , there is no longer any guarantee of the future value of a college degree. Ten or twenty years ago, college graduates could pick and choose from a variety of careers, but today’s college graduates have much more competition for higher-status career openings.

§2 The situation is not so bleak as it might seem, however. Unemployment among college graduates is significantly lower than among high school graduates.

§3 (3)… a college degree still has considerable value, one thing is clear – college graduates must take a more aggressive approach to educating themselves for the future. There are several ways to do this. (4)… , instead of viewing college as the end of your educational experience, you should view it as a basis for experimenting with future educational possibilities.

§4 “For education the lesson is clear: its prime objective must be to increase the individual’s ‘cope-ability’ – the speed and economy with which he can adapt to continual change… It is no longer sufficient to understand the past. It is not even enough to understand the present, (5)… the here-and-now environment will soon vanish. You must learn to anticipate the directions and rate of change. You must, (6) … technically, learn to make repeated, probabilistic, increasingly long-range assumptions about the future”. (Alvin Toffler, 1970:403)

§5 Educating yourself for the future also means being prepared to enter an occupation for which college has not specifically trained you. One study of college graduates found that most liberal arts majors – English, psychology, art, sociology, history – who are now employed as managers are generally quite satisfied with their jobs. You must also be willing to retrain and to enter an entirely new occupation, such as moving from a bank teller to a computer operator or computer programmer.

§6 (7)… , pre-career experimentation is advisable. Sometimes people find a job in their chosen work setting other than the one they are trained for to be more interesting. The best time to find out which position you’d actually prefer, however, is before you invest two or three years getting specialized skills. Volunteering your time in a work situation similar to the one you think you’d like would be helpful. (8)… perhaps you could obtain a summer or part-time job doing this type of work.

§7 (9)… , educating yourself for the future should also include the nonworking side of life. As formal schooling has increasingly become linked to employment, people have come to believe that educational activity not directly associated with their future careers is a waste of time. But current trends suggest that you should pursue hobbies and other interests that are not directly related to your career. (10)… , people in modern societies are spending fewer hours on the job. (11)… , many people retire at an earlier age than their grandparents or parents. Finally, careers have become so specialized that people may develop only a narrow part of their abilities and interests. (12)… , it would be wise for you to begin developing aspects of your personality that are not related to the type of work you expect to be doing while you are at school. Many high schools, colleges, and universities sponsor noncredit courses and seminars in personal development, photography, art, literature, alternative lifestyles, and the like for those no longer

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in school. Use these offerings as a means for pursuing longstanding interests or for developing new ones.

Exercise 13. Read the words in the box. Translate them. Read through the text again and then choose from the box the best word or expression to fill each of the spaces.

Exercise 14. Find English equivalents in the text.

1.постоянные изменения

2.предвосхитить направления и скорость изменений

3.исчезать

4.социальные условия

5.личностное развитие

6.желательно

7.выпускники вузов

8.иметь хобби

9.образовательный опыт

10.потеря времени

11.мудрый, разумный

12.первичная цель

13.ценность

14.факультативы

15.обязательное школьное обучение

Exercise 15. Ask different (general, alternative, special) questions to the §§ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Exercise 16. Translate §§ 6, 7 in written form.

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Unit 2. SYSTEMS OF EDUCATION IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Exercise 2. Give appropriate translation to the proverbs and remember them:

1.Spare the rod and spoil the child.

2.Still waters run deep.

3.The ends justify the means.

4.There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

5.You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

6.When the cat’s away the mice will play.

Exercise 3. * Make up a small proverbs-based dialogue.

Exercise 4. Write down the time and dates you hear.

Lead-in

Exercise 5. Study the list of words and word combinations and match them with the definitions

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Exercise 6. Look through the chart describing the postsecondary education in most countries. What does ECTS abbreviation mean? Does this chart correspond to the degree structure in Russia? What do you know about the degrees in Russia?

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Exercise 7. Choose one of the texts about the systems of higher education in different countries and fill in the table after the text. Get ready to present your results to other students.

SYSTEMS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

System of Higher Education in Great Britain

The autonomy of higher-educational institutions is strikingly pronounced in Great Britain. Its universities enjoy almost complete autonomy from national or local government in their administration and the determination of their curricula, despite the fact that the schools receive nearly all of their funding from the state. Entry requirements for British universities are rather complicated. A student must have a General Certificate of Education by taking examinations in various subjects. The greater the number of "advanced level" passed, rather than "ordinary level" passed, the better his / her chances are of entering the university of his / her choice. (Britain has a centralized admissions bureau to which candidates for admission are able to give their choice of universities in an order of preference.) This selective admission to universities, combined with the close supervision of students through a tutorial system, makes it possible for most British undergraduates to complete a degree course in three years rather than the standard four years. Great Britain's academic programs are more highly specialized than their European continental counterparts. Most undergraduates follow an "honors" course (leading to an honors degree) in one or, at the most, two subjects, while the remaining minority of students takes "pass" courses that cover a variety of subjects. Great Britain's model of higher education has been copied to varying degrees in Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, and other former British colonial territories in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.

System of Higher Education in the USA

The system of higher education in the United States differs from its counterparts in Europe in certain ways. In the United States, there is a nationwide assumption that students who have completed secondary school should have at least two years of university education. Hence, a great number of "junior colleges" and "community colleges" have sprung up to provide two years of undergraduate study and confer associate degrees for successful completion of two-year programs, in contrast to the traditional universities and colleges, where a majority of students complete four years of study for a degree and where substantial numbers go on for one to three years of postgraduate study in a "graduate school." Universities that provide four-year study courses are either privately funded foundations or are state or city foundations that depend heavily on the government for financial support. Private universities and colleges depend largely on tuition charges levied on students. The individual state governments fund the nation's highly developed system of state universities, which ensure the provision of higher education for the vast majority of those willing and academically qualified to receive such education.

In the American system, the four-year, or "bachelor's," degree is ordinarily obtained not by passing a "finals" examination but rather by the accumulation of course "credits," or hours of classroom study. The quality of work done in these courses is assessed by means of a continuous record of marks and grades in a course transcript. The completion of a certain number (and variety) of courses with passing grades leads to the "bachelor's" degree. The first two years of a student's studies are generally taken up with prescribed courses in a broad range of subject areas, along with some "elective" courses selected by the student. In the third and fourth years of study, the student specializes in one or perhaps two subject fields. Postgraduate students can pursue either advanced studies or research in one of the many graduate schools, which are usually

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specialized institutions. At these schools students work toward either a "master's" degree (which involves one to two years of postgraduate study) or a doctoral degree (which involves two to four years of study and other requirements).

Systems of Higher Education in France and in Germany

The France and Germany have systems of higher education that are basically administered by state agencies. Entrance requirements for students are also similar in both countries. In France an examination called the baccalauréat is given at the end of secondary education. Higher education in France is free and open to all students who have passed this examination. A passing mark admits students to a preparatory first year at a university, which terminates in another, more rigorous examination. Success in this examination allows students to attend universities for another three or four years until they have attained the first university degree, called a licence in France.

Basic differences, however, distinguish these two countries' systems. French educational districts, called académies, are under the direction of a rector, an appointee of the national government who also is in charge of the university in each district. The uniformity in curriculum throughout the country leaves each university with little to distinguish itself. Hence, many students prefer to go to Paris, where there are better accommodations and more cultural amenities for students. Another difference is the existence in France of higher-educational institutions known as grandes écoles, which provide advanced professional and technical training. Most of these schools are not affiliated with the universities, although they too recruit their students by giving competitive examinations to candidates who possess a baccalauréat. The various grandes écoles provide a rigorous training in all branches of applied science and technology, and their diplomas have a somewhat higher standing than that of the ordinary licence.

In Germany, a country made up of what were once strong principalities, the regional universities have autonomy in determining their curriculum under the direction of rectors elected from within. Students in Germany change universities according to their interests and the strengths of each university. In fact, it is a custom for students to attend two, three, or even four different universities in the course of their undergraduate studies, and the majority of professors at a particular university may have taught in four or five others. This marked degree of mobility means that schemes of study and examination are marked by a freedom and individuality unknown in France.

Each of these countries has influenced higher education in other nations. The French, either through colonial influence or through the work of missionaries, introduced many aspects of their system in North and West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Far East. In the 1870s Japan's growing university system was remodeled along French lines. France's grandes écoles have been especially copied as models of technical schools. German influence has come about through philosophical concepts regarding the role of universities. The Germans were the first to stress the importance of universities as research facilities, and they also created a sense of them as emblems of a national mind. The doctoral degree, or Ph.D., invented in Germany, has gained popularity in systems around the world.

Higher Education in Russia

Higher education in Russia is characterized by direct state administration. The schools of higher learning are divided into universities, where humanities and pure sciences are taught;

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institutes, where single fields are taught (e.g. law, medicine, and agriculture); and polytechnic institutes, where subjects similar to those in the institutes are taught but with a broader scientific foundation. Another distinction of the Russian system is that it greatly extends the educational network by offering a broad array of carefully prepared correspondence courses. Many students are thus able to proceed part-time with their education while holding fullor part-time jobs. Students are admitted to higher-educational institutions on the basis of competitive examinations. The duration of studies for a first degree ranges from four to six years, with five years being the average. The curriculum consists of compulsory, alternative, and optional subjects. Candidates for a degree must take examinations in two or three basic disciplines related to a chosen specialty. At the conclusion of a first-degree course, all students receive the same diploma, but students with the best results are awarded a "distinction." Most institutions organize graduate schools for postgraduate studies, which are likewise concluded by a set of examinations.

Exercise 8. Work in small groups. Compare the systems of higher education in France, Germany, Great Britain, the USA, and Russia and come up with a comparison chart. Get ready to present your results to other students.

Exercise 9. Read through the passage about tuition and use the correct tense forms of the verbs in brackets.

TUITION

The cost of attending colleges and universities steadily … (increase) since the 1980s. Since private institutions in the United States … (not receive) public funds, they generally … (charge) students higher tuition and fees than do public institutions. In Canada, public and private institutions usually … (charge) comparable tuition and fees because the provincial and federal governments subsidize student costs for both types of institutions.

In the United States, the average tuition with room and board at a four-year public college for instate residents during the 1978–1979 academic year … (be) $1,994. By the 1996–1997 school year, the figure … (reach) $7,331. At private four-year schools, tuition, room, and board nationwide … (increase) from an average of $4,514 to an average of $18,476. In Canada, the cost of higher education … (vary) significantly from one province to another. In the 1996-1997 academic year tuition fees (without room and board) at four-year institutions … (rang) from

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$1,170 in Quebec to more than $2,800 in Nova Scotia. Tuition fees at private four-year colleges and universities in Canada … (range) from about $2,800 to $5,700.

More than 10 percent of full-time college students … (work) full-time to pay for their college education. Most others … (work) part-time to help offset the costs of attending college. However, higher tuition and a decline in the purchasing power of minimum wage jobs … (make) it increasingly difficult for students to pay for college by working part-time. To provide some assistance in financing higher education costs, a number of states … (establish) programs that allow families to prepay college tuition years in advance by purchasing special contracts or tax-exempt bonds.

Exercise 10. Read through the passage about tuition again and find English equivalents to these words and phrases:

1.назначать плату за обучение

2.сопоставимая плата за обучение

3.работать полный / неполный рабочий день

4.возмещать стоимость посещения университета

Exercise 11. Compare the cost of attending colleges and universities in the USA and Canada with that in Russia.

Exercise 12. Before you listen to the student speaking about money for education use the words and phrases in the table to complete the sentences below.

1)difficult but rewarding

2)extra money paid on a loan or bank savings

3)fight

4)getting a better job or salary within a company over time

5)money a student pays to a university

6)money borrowed from a bank or finance company

7)money paid back on a loan

8)money paid for a week’s work

9)regular monthly or annual pay packet

10)work between academic years

Exercise 13. Complete the sentences using vocabulary from the previous activity.

1.We will lend you £3,000, which you will need to repay with .................... of 3% after three years.

2.Paying my fees every year has been a constant .....................

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3.With such a small loan, I don’t know if I’ll be able to pay the .....................

4.I’ve got a good job, but I just wish the work was more .....................

5.When term ends, I’ll have to get .................... just to make ends meet.

6.The .................... is £140 a week, but it’s cash-in-hand, so you don’t pay tax.

Exercise 14. Listen to the student speaking about money for education and decide if the statements about the text are true or false.

1.More than three quarters of all university students in England and Wales borrow money to study.

2.Students tend to buy a house soon after graduating.

3.Paying back a student loan is always voluntary.

4.A degree gives people an advantage when applying for white collar jobs.

5.Graduates often feel their first job doesn’t live up to their expectations.

6.Numbers of British university students began to decline after the credit crunch.

7.Students sometimes break the law to finance their studies.

8.More international students are coming to Britain because the UK currency is weaker.

Exercise 15. Listen to the student once aqain and fill in the gaps in the sentences.

In 2006, the UK government started _______ universities in England and Wales to charge British students _____ _______. As a result, more than _____ of students in England and Wales now ___ ___ a ____ _____ in order to go to university. They use the loan to pay for tuition fees, books and ________ _______. Although _________ on student loans is quite low, it begins as soon as the student receives the loan.

If you start to earn over ______________ a year, the government takes _____________ directly from your ________ ________. Is it any surprise, therefore, that the average British person does not leave their parents’ home until they are ____ years old?

All of the above is beginning to make British people question whether a _________ _______ is really _____ the money. Even before the credit crunch started, the BBC stated, 'The number of British students at UK universities ______ _______ for the first time in recent history... from

_________ million in 2007 to ______ million last year [2008]’

The British universities offer more and more of the _______ ______ to ______ _______ _____

rather than poorer British students.

Exercise 16. Sum up the information that you have heard.

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