Exercise 2. Discuss the following.
1. What is the role of education in modern society? Has it changed a lot with a course of time?
2. What are current reforms in the system of higher and further education aimed at?
3. Why is it necessary to develop creative thinking? What are the ways of achieving this goal?
4. Do you agree that reforming the system of education we shouldn't forget our national interests and values in education?
Text 2
Exercise 1. Read the text.
Unified state exam
This type of examination was adopted in the early 2000. It is a test which is passed at the end of the 11th form. It consists of three parts: part A contains tasks where the student has to pick out the correct answer out of several, in part B the correct answer should be written in one word, and no variants are given, and in Part C the student has to write the full solution (as in mathematics) or a composition (as in literature). The answers are written on special blanks, digitally scanned, with parts A and B being checked automatically by the computer software.
An excellent score ranges, depending on the subject, from 65 (mathematics) to 90 (foreign language) out of 100. What's good for students of 11th form is that now they do not have to pass both their final school exams and entrance exams at a university. The score of several subjects is summed up, this total score is the basis of accepting a student at a university. Students now also have a chance to apply at several universities and choose one after they get to know if their score is enough to enter this or that university.
U.S. – style entrance exam takes hold in Russia
In 2009, the E.G.E., or Unified State Exam (the Russian version of the American SAT), in Russian language and math became mandatory for high school graduation and college entrance. Students who are planning to enter college choose a third test according to their planned major.
President Dmitri A. Medvedev is a strong supporter of the test as a part of his modernization plan and an effort to fight fraud and bribes. He said in a television interview in August 2009 that the E.G.E. is "A) directed against corruption; B) it makes the testing process much more transparent".
Mr. Medvedev and other officials, including Sergei B. Ivanov, the first deputy prime minister, also praised the test as a "social lift" that gives students from the provinces a fair chance to enter prestigious universities.
But there are opponents to the experiment. Sergei Mironov, chairman of the Federation Council, Russia's upper chamber of Parliament, said last month that the E.G.E. "experiment is playing a negative role" and that Interior Ministry statistics showed that corruption in education doubled in 2009.
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Academics and parents say that they see an overall drop in education standards, embodied by the E.G.E.'s multiple-choice tests, which are the polar opposite of the oral exams and essays that were the basis of the Soviet testing system.
"We see that students can do brilliantly on the E.G.E., but they come here and don't know a lot", said Yevgenia Petrova, who has taught at Saratov State University for nearly 50 years. At State Educational Institution Educational Centre No.109, students are preparing for the E.G.E. and they are not at all opposed to it. "The idea is not bad", said Maria Zamyatina, 15. "It just needs improvements".
(adapted from the International Herald Tribune)
Exercise 2. Discuss the following.
1. What is the idea of implementing Unified State Exams?
2. What is the positive and negative feedback concerning the school exam system in Russia?
3. Can knowledge and skills be evaluated by testing system?
4. Do you agree that the quality of education is slipping?
5. What improvements to the exam system would you advise?
Text 3
Exercise 1. Read the text.
How much would you pay for a university education?
University students in England currently pay £9,000 a year tuition fees; this money pays for the students' education and doesn't cover living costs such as rent, food or books. When these other costs are considered, the average English student leaves University with £44,000 of debt.
The left-wing Labour party has just announced that if it wins the General Election in May, the £9,000 tuition fee will be reduced to £6,000 per year.
University fees is an important subject in British politics. The last General Election in 2010 was won by the right-wing Conservative party. One of the first things they did was increase university fees to £9,000 per year. Before 2010, university fees were £3,250 per year.
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University students in England start to repay their student debt when they find a job after they graduate. If they do not find a job that pays more than £16,910 per year, they do not have to repay their loan.
Interestingly, university fees are different in different parts of the UK. Scottish students who study at a Scottish university do not have to pay tuition fees at all. In Wales university fees are £3,810 per year and in Northern Ireland they are £3,805. English students currently pay three times more than students in other parts of the UK.
(www.easyenglisharticles.com)
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