Schools and Universities in the USA

Read the following text and answer the questions.

National Systems of Education

III. Read, Listen and Discuss

Fill in the blanks with suitable words and phrases from the box.

education secondary-school tutorials subject

theoretical demonstration training educational

teaching aids university term teaching methods

postgraduate teaching lectures

A student at a College of Education in Britain studies 1) __________________ parallel to his special subject courses. An English 2) ______________________ student, who wishes to take up schoolteaching, first of all studies his 3) _____________________ and having obtained a first degree, usually the BA or BSc, takes a 4) _____________________ diploma course at a university Department of Education. This course is exclusively concerned with 5) ________________ him as a teacher, usually as a 6) ______________________ teacher.

The first six weeks of 7) ______________________are chiefly taken up with lectures and 8) ____________________ on the theory of education, 9) ____________________ psychology, the history and sociology of English education, and 10) ____________________. The students are also given a course on the use of 11) _____________________. They are also able to watch 12) ________________________ lessons in various schools. Then their first full-time 13) __________________ practice begins. Next term is also divided between 14) _______________ and practical work. In the summer term there are a few weeks of 15) ____________________ and tutorials, followed by examinations in May.

In the United States, children of four or under may go to nursery school. At the age of five, most American children start kindergarten.

Schools for children from 6 to 13 are called elementary or grade schools (grades 1 – 6 or 1 – 4). Grade schools provide the first six years of free mandatory education in the US.

The school is called "grade" because each year of study is a grade: it goes first grade, second grade, third grade, etc. Children have one teacher each year in grade school. The next stage is secondary school, which is divided into junior high school (grades 7 – 9) or middle school (grades 5 – 8) and senior high school (grades 10 – 12 or 9 – 12). In junior high children still have one teacher for most subjects. The main subjects are English, basic math and history.

Children in high school are called "students". American students pass through several curricula on their way to a high school diploma. Most secondary schools provide instruction in English, mathematics, science, social studies and physical education, but the time allotted to those basic subjects differs from one district to another. Instruction in compulsory subjects is supplemented with a great variety of optional courses called " electives ". Students are guided by "school counselors" in choosing electives. No overall exam is taken in order to graduate. You just have to pass all the final exams given each semester. After finishing the 12th grade students receive a high school diploma. Some students drop out of school earlier and never graduate.

In their last year of high school, students often apply to more than one college or university. Each college or university in the USA has its own requirements for admission. Most colleges and universities require applicants to take a standard entrance exam: the American Collegic Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). SAT must be taken in your senior year in high school. It is given on a certain day in December or January at a local college. The test takes a whole day. There are three parts: Math, English and logic. Every student gets a book with questions. The book is divided into sections, with about 70 questions each. Each of the three subjects has a maximum of 800 points. The lowest score for getting into university is 550.

The University Admission Office takes into consideration:

1. The applicants' high school grades (transcripts),

2. Recommendations from high school teachers,

3. Applicants' scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and ACT,

4. The impression they make during interviews at the university.

The system of higher education in the USA consists of four categories of institutions: universities, four-year colleges, technical training institutions and two-year community colleges.

Depending on the source of financing higher education institutions may be either public (state-supported) or private. The amount of money you have to pay depends on whether you go to a private college or a state university. At a private college the tuition is higher. Overall they are much the same as state universities. The subjects are divided into compulsory and optional. The subject the student specializes in is called a "major". Optional subjects are called "electives". Every student is assigned an "academic adviser" or a "faculty adviser" who will help the student decide on a plan of study based on his/her goals and the requirements for a degree.

Four years of undergraduate study at a university's "undergraduate schools" or colleges lead to a Bachelor of Arts (B. A.) or Bachelor of Science (B. S.) degree. " Graduate schools ", which are part of a university or are separate institutions, offer advanced programs which lead to a master's (M. A. or M. S.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) or Doctor of Education (Ed. D.) degree.

Junior colleges, technical colleges, and community colleges are two-year institutions, usually public, offering technical training and a basic academic program.

Some junior and community colleges award only an Associate of Arts (A. A.) degree without specifying a major. Other junior, technical and community colleges award A. A. degrees to liberal arts students and A. S. (Associate in Science) or A. A. S. (Associate in Applied Science) degrees to students who major in science or practical technology. After receiving an A. A., A. S. or A. A. S. degree, many students transfer to four-year colleges or universities to complete the requirements for a bachelor's degree.

2) Transcribe and pronounce correctly the following words:

mandatory, curriculum, curricula, science, scientific, allotted, scholastic.

3) Find the English equivalents for the following in the text: начальная школа, старшие классы (10-12) средней школы, обязательное бесплатное образование, класс (год обучения), аттестат об окончании средней школы, обществознание, естественные/точные науки, базовые предметы, обязательный, факультативный, условия приема, абитуриент, вступительный экзамен, приемная комиссия университета, табель успеваемости, школьный экзамен на проверку способностей, собеседование, плата за обучение, профилирующая дисциплина, назначать советника (куратора), продвинутые программы, бакалавр, магистр, колледж начального высшего образования, местный колледж, переводиться в вузы с четырехлетним курсом обучения.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29