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5.Choose the correct word in the sentences. Use the remaining words in sentences of your own:

1.The school is thought highly innovative in that it implements a system of continuous (tests, assessment, finals) to determine grades.

2.One could hear the sounds of lively (debate, talk, argument) coming from the room where the philosophy class was being held.

3.My brother, who wants to join the clergy, has just entered a (seminary, university, college).

4.It was inevitable that the (seminar, lecture, tutorial) would be well attended as it was given by the renowned professor, Kurt Reimann.

5.There’s no way I’ll be able to come. I’ve got to hand in a two thousand word (assignment, project, essay) on the Russian Revolution by Monday afternoon.

6.Stephen was caught (copying, plagiarising, stealing) from his fellow student’s test paper and was expelled.

7.For tomorrow, please read this short original (article, text, excerpt) from Dicken’s Hard Times and be prepared to discuss it in class.

8.If you’re really interested in applying, ask the University to send you a (syllabus, prospectus, curriculum) for the upcoming year.

6.Look at the cartoon. Which class does it show? Think of as many types of classes as possible:

Decide for which classes the items in the list would be needed. Talk about what they would be used for.

compass / easel / abacus / theatrical prop / art supplies / globe / lab skeleton / test tube / reference books / musical score / glass slide

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7. Look at the study methods in the list. For which of the tasks (1-10) is each method best suited?

revising / cramming / highlighting / editing / note-taking / summarizing / proof-leading

1.Preparing for an end-of-term exam.

2.Isolating information from its context.

3.Checking and improving on a piece of work.

4.Condensing information for a quick access.

5.Recording information during a class/lecture/seminar.

6.Keeping your knowledge fresh in your mind.

7.Re-organising an essay/composition.

8.Organising material into manageable units.

9.Ensuring a piece of written work meets all formal requirements (format, word-count, etc).

10.Making important information stand out.

Work in pairs and discuss the following:

1.Which of the stated study methods do you use?

2.What do you usually use them for?

3.What other methods do you use?

4.How much time do you spend studying?

5.Do you usually study alone or with classmate? Why?

6.Are exams a fair means of assessment?

8.How to prepare for an exam? Read the text.

How To Overcome Exam Anxiety

Do you feel like your mind freezes during exams? Do you find yourself thinking “I really can’t do this”? Does your heart race fast or do you find it hard to breathe during exams?

Most people feel anxious when taking an exam, but research shows that some people are more likely to suffer from exam anxiety than others. So why is this? And what can you do to calm your nerves?

What is exam anxiety?

Exam anxiety is the experience of feeling an intense moment of fear or panic before and/or during an exam or assessment.

There are two types of anxiety

Low anxiety: students who experience low anxiety may feel a little nervous about an upcoming exam but are still able to focus their attention on their studies or the questions asked during the assessment. Usually low anxiety students are not struck with intrusive thoughts or feel debilitated by the exam.

High anxiety: students who experience high anxiety show an immediate anxiety reaction when exposed to the feared test situation. They attempt to avoid

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the situation by not showing up to the exam, or may endure it but with extreme fear. High anxiety can tip some into a sense of panic: “I just really can’t do this!”

Students with either high or low anxiety can respond to tests in different ways. But research shows that managing anxiety effectively can actually help with exam performance.

The challenge is to recognise when your anxiety has increased past an optimal level so that it starts to impact your ability to complete the exam - this is a high level of anxiety.

Some physical responses of high anxiety include a speeding heart, damp hands, shortness or rapid breath, and feeling queasy.

The physical response is usually experienced in high levels of anxiety when the “fight or flight” response is triggered. This is how our bodies respond to a perceived threat – and while uncomfortable, it is not harmful.

When anxiety is (and isn’t) useful

Anxiety can be useful in certain situations – for example, if you are in danger ( jumping out of the way of a car). It can also help to increase our attention to the threatening event and improve our response.

But it is not so helpful when the threat we are faced with is cognitive, like an exam.

The thoughts involved in exam anxiety usually include negative thinking about performance (also known as worry) and/or the physical reaction to thinking about the upcoming exam: “I’m going to fail”, “I quit”, “My heart is leaping out of my chest and I can’t focus.”

Impact of high anxiety on performance

Research has shown that people who experience high levels of anxiety in exams can also see their performance decline in evaluation situations.

These people tend to perceive exams as threatening and respond with intense emotional responses, making it difficult to focus on the task at hand.

Assessment situations also evoke worry responses that interfere with effective performance on cognitive and intellectual tasks. This then impacts on the person’s chance of performing their best on the exam.

Exam anxiety may also interfere with your ability to show your academic and cognitive capabilities.

So, how can I cool my exam nerves?

If you identify high anxiety in yourself, you can learn ways to manage it so that it doesn’t take over your exam performance.

The skills you find most helpful in managing your exam anxiety will vary depending on what triggers may be contributing to your high levels of anxiety.

If students experience high levels of anxiety before an exam, they should engage in self-care strategies during this time by keeping an eye on sleeping through the night, nutrition, exercise, and implementing a few relaxation routines.

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Students sometimes forget these small steps as they can feel consumed by the fear of the exam.

Relaxation training

Psychologists and well-being teams at school have a range of techniques to help manage test anxiety – and can also recommend ways to improve your study skills.

The goals of the techniques are to help students understand the nature of their anxiety so that they can cope more effectively with upcoming evaluations. This may include behavioural intervention that aims to teach relaxation training like mindfulness.

Mindfulness is where a student tries to focus on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting their anxious feelings, thoughts, and physical reactions.

Relaxation training can be used alongside a process of systematic desensitisation – this is where a person visualises a scene while completely relaxed, and the mental image evokes some of the feelings of the real scene.

The idea is that if you learn to relax while visualising yourself taking the exam, you can also learn to be relaxed while actually taking the exam.

Support through special consideration

Some students who experience high levels of anxiety (intense panic or fear about an exam that results in them being unable to do the test) can access additional support through special consideration at their school.

This varies based on the individual needs of the student. But some students may need access to a separate room to complete exams, regular breaks during the exam or more time.

To access this type of consideration, get in touch with your school’s wellbeing team or a psychologist (see resources below) to help develop an individualized plan for you during the exam season.

Learning to work through your exam anxiety can have a number of positive effects including:

•Improved academic performance.

•Reduction in stress and distress.

•Increased sense of control and confidence.

•Decreased frustration.

Tips for coping with exam anxiety

When getting ready for exams try to:

•Prepare ahead of time by working on sections of the content each day.

•Use practice exam papers as an opportunity to manage anxiety.

•Identify your anxiety early by noticing your physical responses.

•Try replacing unhelpful thoughts with more encouraging self-talk by challenging your worried and negative thoughts.

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•Practice focusing your attention on the task at hand (mindfulness), rather than getting tangled in your anxiety and thinking of the “what if?”

•Learn a few skills for reducing your physical reactions of anxiety.

•Remember good self-care: pay attention to your sleep, nutrition, exercise, relaxation routines, and reach out for social support.

9.Listening. Track 6. BBC Learning English, 6 min English “How to prepare for an exam?”

Students up and down the UK are busy revising for exams. Alice and Rob consider which study techniques are effective – and which aren’t – including Rob’s suggestions to sleep with his textbook under his pillow and singing in the shower.

What is “This week’s question”?

_______________________________? Is it…

a)_________?

b)_________?

c)_________?

You can hear the right answer at the end of the programme. What are the definitions of the Vocabulary items?

revise critical neurons retrieve

distributed practice cramming elaborate conceptual

10.Work in pairs, discuss the above given tips on “How to prepare for an exam”. Which of them do you agree with? Which of them do you use? Can you give any advice on how to prepare for an exam to your group mates?

11.Listening. Track 7. You will hear a radio report about ways to get into a British university. (Upstream Advanced, p. 172)

Before you listen discuss the following in pairs:

1.What is the procedure for going to university in your country? How difficult/easy is it?

2.Is there a way for older people (e.g. over 30 years old) to go to university in your country?

How are the following words connected with university entry?

A-levels / skill shortage / formal qualifications / finance assistance

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Listen to the recording and fill the gaps (1–8) with a word or short phrase:

University applicants can choose from tens of thousands of (1) _______________. Students may take either A-levels or (2) _______________ or a mixture of both. Others may study full-time for (3) _______________ to obtain HND.

Students with poor A-level results may do a (4) _______________.

The new Hospitality degree combines academic study with (5) _______________.

(6) _______________ students should contact admissions staff directly. Return-to-study courses are available at (7) _______________ education colleges.

(8) _______________ is a way of obtaining funding for university study and opportunities for work experience.

Discuss in pairs if you think it is important for universities to offer vocational courses as well as academic ones?

12. Listening. Track 8. You will hear a recorded telephone message playing on a university newsline service. Write in the missing information in the gaps (1–8). (Upstream Advanced, p. 172)

Dramatic Arts – course code changes: eg course: (1) ____________

Old code: DA 170

New code: (2) ____________

Paper-based class schedule – error on p. (3) ____________

Professor Connolly, not Punter, teaches (4) ____________

No grades by post from next Autumn – refer to University (5) ___________

See your (6) ____________ for general transcript info.

Cost of permit for parking on (7) ____________: 1 month – £8, 9 months – (8) ____________

13.Discuss the following questions together.

1.Apart from being essential for certain careers, what is the importance of good education?

2.How can governments make sure that everyone has access to good education?

3.What makes a good teacher?

4.How much of a say should parents have in their children’s education?

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ADDITIONAL READING

EDUCATION IN ENGLAND

Education in England is overseen by the United Kingdom’s Department for Education and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Local government authorities are responsible for implementing policy for public education and state-funded schools at a local level.

The education system is divided into stages based upon age: Early Years Foundation Stage (ages 3–5), primary education (ages 5–11), secondary education (ages 11–18) and tertiary education (ages 18+).

From the age of 16 there is a two-year period of education known as ‘sixth form’ or ‘college’ which typically leads to A-level qualifications (similar to a high school diploma in some other countries), or a number of alternative qualifications such as BTEC, the International Baccalaureate or the Cambridge Pre-U.

England also has a tradition of independent schooling and Home schooling; legally, parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.

Higher education often begins with a three-year bachelor’s degree. Postgraduate degrees include master’s degrees, either taught or by research, and the doctorate, a research degree that usually takes at least three years. Universities require a Royal Charter in order to issue degrees and all but one are financed by the state via tuition fees, which cost up to £9,000 per academic year for English, Welsh and European Union students.

History of English education. Until 1870 all schools were charitable or private institutions, but in that year the Elementary Education Act 1870 permitted local governments to complement the existing elementary schools in order to fill any gaps. The Education Act 1902 allowed local authorities to create secondary schools. The Education Act 1918 abolished fees for elementary schools.

Legally compulsory education

Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged 5 to 18, either at school or otherwise, with a child beginning primary education during the school year he or she turns 5. Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are entitled to 600 hours per year of optional, state-funded, pre-school educa-

tion. This can be provided in ‘playgroups’, nurseries, community childcare centres or nursery classes in schools.

The age at which a student may choose to stop education is commonly known as the ‘leaving age’ for compulsory education. This age was raised to 18 by the Education and Skills Act 2008; the change took effect in 2013 for

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16-year-olds and 2015 for 17-year-olds. State-provided schooling and sixthform education are paid for by taxes.

All children in England must currently therefore receive an effective education (at school or otherwise) from the first ‘prescribed day’, which falls on or after their fifth birthday to the last Friday in June of the school year in which they turn 18 (formerly 16). The leaving age was raised in 2013 to the year in which they turn 17 and in 2015 to their 18th birthday for those born after 1 September 1997. The prescribed days are 31 August, 31 December and 31 March. The school year begins on 1 September (or 1 August if a term starts in August). The Compulsory stages of education are broken into a Foundation Stage (actually covering the last part of optional and first part of compulsory education), four Key Stages, and Sixth Form (which covers the last 2 years of Secondary Education).

Schools and stages

Educational System in England. Below is a table summarizing the most common names of the various schools and stages. Grammar schools are normally state-funded but selective schools, admitting children from 11 years old onward, but there are exceptions such as Manchester Grammar School.

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State-funded schools

St Barnabas Church of England Primary School, Oxford

Some 93% of children between the ages of 3 and 18 are in education in state-funded schools without charge (other than for activities such as swimming, theatre visits and field trips for which a voluntary payment can be requested, and limited charges at state-funded boarding schools.

Allerton High School, a typical former secondary modern school in Leeds, West Yorkshire

Since 1998, there have been six main types of maintained (state funded) school in England:

Academy schools, established by the 1997–2010 Labour Government to replace poorly-performing community schools in areas of high social and economic deprivation. Their start-up costs are typically funded by private means, such as entrepreneurs or NGOs, with running costs met by Central Government and, like Foundation schools, are administratively free from direct local authority control. The 2010 Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government expanded the role of Academies in the Academy Programme, in which a wide number of schools in non-deprived areas were also encouraged to become Academies, thereby essentially replacing the role of Foundation schools established by the previous Labour government. They are monitored directly by the Department for Education.

Community schools (formerly county schools), in which the local authority employs the schools’ staff, owns the schools’ lands and buildings, and has primary responsibility for admissions.

Free schools, introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition following the 2010 general election, are newly established schools in England set up by parents, teachers, charities or businesses, where there is a perceived local need for more schools. They are funded by taxpayers, are academically non-selective and free to attend, and like Foundation schools and Academies, are not controlled by a local authority. They are ultimately accountable to the Secretary of State for Education. Free schools are an extension of the existing Academy Programme. The first 24 free schools opened in Autumn 2011.

Foundation schools, in which the governing body employs the staff and has primary responsibility for admissions. School land and buildings are owned by the governing body or by a charitable foundation. The Foundation appoints a minority of governors. Many of these schools were formerly grant maintained schools. In 2005 the Labour government proposed allowing all schools to become Foundation schools if they wished.

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Voluntary Aided schools, linked to a variety of organisations. They can be faith schools (often the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church), or non-denominational schools, such as those linked to London Livery Companies. The charitable foundation contributes towards the capital costs of the school (typically 10%), and appoints a majority of the school governors. The governing body employs the staff and has primary responsibility for admissions.

Voluntary Controlled schools, which are almost always church schools, with the lands and buildings often owned by a charitable foundation. However, the local authority employs the schools’ staff and has primary responsibility for admissions.

In addition, 3 of the 15 City Technology Colleges established in the 1980s still remain, the rest having converted to academies. These are state-funded allability secondary schools which charge no fees but which are independent of local authority control. There are also a small number of state-funded boarding schools.

English state-funded primary schools are almost all local schools with a small catchment area. More than half are owned by the Local Authority, though many are (nominally) voluntary controlled and some are voluntary aided. Some schools just include infants (aged 4 to 7) and some just juniors (aged 7 to 11). Some are linked, with automatic progression from the infant school to the junior school, and some are not. A few areas still have first schools for ages around 4 to 8 and middle schools for ages 8 or 9 to 12 or 13.

An example of a Grammar School – in Sutton, London

English secondary schools are mostly comprehensive, although the intake of comprehensive schools can vary widely, especially in urban areas with several local schools. Nearly 90% of state-funded secondary schools are specialist schools, receiving extra funding to develop one or more subjects in which the school specialises, which can select up to 10% of their intake for aptitude in the specialism (though relatively few of them have taken up this option). In a few areas children can enter a grammar school if they pass the eleven plus exam, there are also a number of isolated fully selective grammar

schools and a few dozen partially selective schools. A significant minority of state-funded schools are faith schools, which are attached to religious groups, most often the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church.

All state-funded schools are regularly inspected by the Office for Standards in Education, often known simply as Ofsted. Ofsted publish reports on the quality of education at a particular school on a regular basis. Schools judged by Ofsted to be providing an inadequate standard of education may be subject to special measures, which could include replacing the governing body and senior staff.

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