EDUCATION IN UKRAINE AND ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

SECTION A
PRE-READING TASKS
1. Scan the texts to understand the main idea.
2. Look up the unfamiliar words in the dictionary.
3. Compile the lexical semantic field of “EDUCATION” based on the vocabulary of the text.

TEXT A. EDUCATION IN UKRAINE

The right to education in Ukraine is guaranteed by the Constitution (Article 53).

Every boy or girl must get secondary education; it means that secondary education is
compulsory in our country. There are state schools where education is free of charge and
private primary and secondary schools where pupils have to pay for their studies.
Every school has a core curriculum and a school curriculum. The core curriculum
includes Ukrainian, Ukrainian Literature, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Geography,
World Literature, a Foreign Language and others. As each citizen of Ukraine has the right
to get secondary education in the mother tongue, there are schools for national minorities
in which pupils study their native language. In most of them all the school subjects are
taught in that language.
After finishing the 9th form of a secondary school young people can go to the 10th
form or to a vocational or technical school. The kinds of secondary educational establish-
ments are lyceums and gymnasiums. They offer programmes giving a profound knowledge in
some field of study. After getting secondary education a school-leaver can start working or
enter an institute, an academy or a university. Many academies and universities have
evening and extramural departments.

TEXT B. EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN

Education in Britain is compulsory and free for all children between the ages of 5-16. About
93 percent of all children are educated in state schools and the rest attend private schools.
Schoolchildren attend a primary school for 6 years (5 to 11 years). When students transfer to
Secondary School at the age of 11, they do not take any examination, but their reports are sent on
from the Primary School.
Most children – over 80 percent – go to a comprehensive school. "Comprehensive" means
all-inclusive. They admit pupils of all abilities. Pupils in all state in schools in England and Wales
study 10 main subjects, among them: English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Art,
Music, Physical Education, Information Technology. Religious education is also taught. Attainment
tests are given at the ages of 7, 11 and 14.
At the age of 16 students sit the exams in as many subjects as possible. Weak students may
only sit for three or four subjects. Better students take ten subjects. At the age of 16 about two thirds
of these pupils leave school and get jobs. About one-third stay on at school until the age of 18,
preparing themselves for higher education.
More ambitious pupils continue to study in the 6th form. They stay on at school for one or
two years to prepare themselves for university. They have only three or four main subjects, which
are necessary to pass the advanced level exams at the age of 18. The school year is divided into
three terms with the intervals between them during Christmas and Easter holidays lasting about two
weeks each and summer holiday which is usually six weeks long. All kinds of out-of-class activities
are part of school life in Britain. Most schools have very good libraries which students use for
reference work.

TEXT C. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF GREAT BRITAIN

The educational system of G.B. is extremely complex and bewildering. It is very difficult to
generalize particular types of schools as schools differ from one to the other. The department of
education and science is responsible for national educational policy, but it doesn't employ teacher or
prescribe curricula or text books.
Each school has its own board of governors consisting of teachers, parents, local politicians,
members of local community, businessmen and sometimes pupils. According to the law only one
subject is compulsory. It is religious instruction.
Schooling for children is compulsory from 5 to 16, though some provision is made for
children under 5 and some pupils remain at school after 16 to prepare for higher education.
The state school system is usually divided into 2 stages (secondary and primary).The
majority of primary schools are mixed. They are subdivided into infant schools (ages 5 to 7), and
junior schools (ages 7 to11). In junior schools pupils were often placed in A, B, C or D-streams,
according to their abilities. Under the pressure of progressive parents and teachers the 11+
examination has now been abolished in most parts of the country. There are several types of schools
in G.B. Grammar schools provide an academic cause for selected pupils from the age of 11 to 18.
Only those children who have the best results are admitted to these schools. They give pupils a high
level of academic education which can lead to the university.
Technical Schools offer a general education with a technical bias and serve those pupils who
are more mechanically minded. The curriculum includes more lessons of science and mathematics.
Secondary modern schools were formed to provide a non-academic education for children of lesser
attainment. The curriculum includes more practical subjects. Comprehensive schools bring about a
general improvement in the system of secondary education.

SECTION B
READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
1. Answer the following questions.

1. What guarantees the right to education in Ukraine?

2. Is a secondary education compulsory in Ukraine? What about education in the UK
and the USA?
3. Is a secondary education free of charge?
4. Are there schools for national minorities in your town?
5. What subjects did you study at school?

6. What is the system of higher education in Great Britain?

7. What does higher education consist of?

8. What can you say about the increase of higher education students’ number?

9. How many Universities are there in Great Britain at present?

10. Who is every university responsible to?

11.

12. +For how many years are university degree courses taken?

13. What does university teaching combine?

14. Where is a traditional feature of Cambridge and Oxford?

15. How many years do first degree courses last?

16. What courses does University offer?

17. Who does the government encourage?

18. Why does the government encourage young people?

19. What do students on first degree receive?

 20. What do parents contribute?

21. What can students take out to help pay their maintenance costs?

2. Read the joke and expand it.

Once a pupil asked the teacher:
“Who were your teachers?”
“I had many teachers, but the real ones were:
Teacher Hunger who has taught me to cook;

Teacher Fear who has taught me to fight;

Teacher Curiosity who has taught me to read;

Teacher Boredom who has taught me to play my guitar and compose songs;
Teacher Loneliness who has taught me to write;
And Teacher Trouble who has taught me to survive”.

3. Complete the following sentences.

1. The post-school education is carried on in ... . 2. Higher education, consisting of degree

and equivalent courses, has experienced ... . 3. Every University is autonomous and responsible
to ... . 4. University teaching combines ... . 5. Universities offer courses in a ... . 6. The government
encourages young people to ... . 7. Parents also contribute the amount ... .

4. Say if the following statements are right or wrong.

1. Part-time and full-time studies are carried on only at Universities. 2. British higher
education consists of degree and equivalent courses. 3. The number of higher education students has
increased recently. 4. Every University is autonomous and responsible to its government body. 5.
There is great difference between various Universities. 6. University degrees are generally being
taken for four years. 7. Lectures and practical classes are traditional for teaching at Oxford and
Cambridge. 8. First degree courses are both full-time and part-time. 9. Universities offer courses in
a broad range of academic and vocational subjects. 10. All students on first degree receive
government grant. 11. Students can take out loans to help pay their maintenance costs.

5. Fill in the blanks with prepositions or adverbs if necessary.

 1. There is a demand ... a better and more democratic system ... education ... Great Britain. 2.
The students of all the groups are responsible ... their dean. 3. The regulations differ ... university ...
university ... Great Britain. 4. Our institute is divided ... various departments. 5. Our university
degree courses are taken ... four or five years ... Ukraine. 6. The students were speaking ... their
forthcoming exams. 7. Women as well as men have equal rights ... education ... our country.

SECTION C
VOCABULARY ARRANGEMENT

1. Match the words in the left-hand column with their Ukrainian equivalents in the right-hand
column.

comparable higher education courses покривати витрати на навчання

to cover tuition зазнати значного розширення
to offer courses мати свободу вибору під час навчання
to combine lectures with practical classes вступати до вищих навчальних закладів з
відривом від виробництва
degree courses значний обсяг після шкільної освіти
to be responsible to governing body відповідні курси, що дають вищу освіту
to enjoy academic freedom поєднувати лекції з практичними заняттями
to enter full-time higher education пропонувати навчальні курси
to experience a dramatic expansion ступеневі навчальні курси
a considerable amount of post - school бути підпорядкованим керівному органові
education

comparable higher education courses відповідні курси, що дають вищу освіту

to cover tuition покривати витрати на навчання
to offer courses пропонувати навчальні курси
to combine lectures with practical classes поєднувати лекції з практичними заняттями
degree courses ступеневі навчальні курси
to be responsible to governing body бути підпорядкованим керівному органові
to enjoy academic freedom мати свободу вибору під час навчання
to enter full-time higher education вступати до вищих навчальних закладів з
відривом від виробництва
to experience a dramatic expansion зазнати значного розширення
a considerable amount of post - school значний обсяг після шкільної освіти
education

SECTION D
DEVELOPING WRITING AND TRANSLATION SKILLS
1. Write a short essay about your University: structure, stuff and faculties.
2. Translate the following sentences from Ukrainian into English.
Американці вступають у школу із шести років, хоча більшість навчається в яслах і
дитячих садах уже починаючи із трьох років. Початкові школи американці закінчують в 12-
13 років, а потім переходять у середні школи різних типів. В них вчаться, в середньому, до
18 років. Щоб вступити в американський ВНЗ українцям найчастіше потрібно мінімум рік
провчитися в нашому ВНЗ або на спеціальній підготовчій програмі Foundation в
американському коледжі.
Навчання в США дасть вам сучасну освіту. Є елітні ВНЗ типу Йелю та Гарварду, а є й
невеликі коледжі. Причому іноземці, як показує статистика, віддають перевагу не те щоб
саме їм, але далеко не найвідомішим ВНЗ.

SECTION E
DEVELOPING ORACY
SPEAKING SKILLS
1. Speak on the following saying and proverbs.
 Practice makes us perfect.
 Many hands make light work.
 A good deed is never lost.
 A Jack of all trades is master of none.
 A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy.
 A bad workman quarrels with his tools.
 The hardest work is to do nothing.
 If you want a thing to be done well, do it yourself.
 Не works best who knows his trade.
 Не who doesn’t work, does not eat. 

2. Discuss the following quotations about learning in groups.

QUOTATIONS ABOUT LEARNING
You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating
curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives. – Clay P. Bedford.
 Get over the idea that only children should spend their time in study. Be a student so long as
you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. – Henry L. Doherty.
Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned. – Mark Twain.
You learn something every day if you pay attention. – Ray Le
Blond.
The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to
unlearn what is untrue. – Antisthenes.
Some people will never learn anything, for this reason, because
they understand everything too soon. – Alexander Pope.
Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up
every conceived no tion, follow humbly wherever and whatever
abysses nature leads, or you will learn nothing. – Thomas Huxley.
Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. – Abbe
Dimnet.
I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday. – Abraham
Lincoln.
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. – Chinese Proverb.
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. – Winston Churchill.
I find four great classes of students: The dumb who stay dumb. The dumb who become
wise. The wise who go dumb. The wise who remain wise. – Martin H. Fischer.
No matter how one may think himself accomplished, when he sets out to learn a language,
science, or the bicycle, he has entered a new realm as truly as if he were a child newly born
into the world. – Frances Willard.
Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. – Henry Ford.
I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me. – Dudley Field
Malone.

SECTION F
DEVELOPING LISTENING SKILLS
1. Listen to the dialogue.
- Will you tell me how many types of schools are there in America?
- There are 3 types of schools in America: public schools, private schools and  
home schools.
-Which schools do most students attend, I wonder?
- Well, most students attend public schools.
-Which schools are larger: public or private?
- Public schools, of course.
- It’s interesting to know about home schools!
- OK, parents educate their children at home.
- Please, when do children begin their education?
- At the age of 6.
- John, what subjects do the students study?
- Oh, they study almost the same subjects as you do.
- Could you tell us when your school day begins?
- At 8 o’clock.
-What is your first lesson, I wonder?
- Well, our first lesson is a homeroom period.
- I’d like to know what a “Homeroom period” is!
- You see, at homeroom period the class teacher finds out who absent is and  informs us about
events at school.
 - John, where do you have lunch?
 - At school cafeteria.
 - How long does your each class last?
 - 45 minutes.
 - What do you do after school, please?
 - Usually I go in for sports club or Diversity Club.
 -What is a Diversity club, John?
 - Well, we have seminars and discuss cultural differences in the Diversity club.
 - What about the students’ government at your school?
 - It is called the Student Council.
 - Could you tell us what the Students Council does?
 - It organizes dances and other school activities.
 - Do you enjoy studying at school, John?
 - Yes, of course.

2. Say TRUE or FALSE.

a) There are four types of schools in America.
b) Most students in America attend public schools.
c) Private schools are larger than public.
d) Children begin their education at the age of 7.
e) School day begins at 8.30.
3. Multiple Choice. Choose the correct answer.
1. There are 3 types of schools in America: private schools, home schools and…
a) schools for rich children b) public schools c) schools for poor children.
2. At the homeroom period a teacher…
a) finds out who is absent b) checks the home assignment c) gives a new lecture
3. Each class lasts for…
a) 40 minutes b) 50 minutes c) 45 minutes
4. What do the students do at the Diversity club?
a) speak about different clubs b) listen to the lecturer c) discus cultural differences
5. Student Council is an entity which…
a) organizes student events b) organizes state holidays c) organizes dances and other
activities

SECTION G
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES
1. Make a presentation on the topic.
2. Add any other expressions on the topic.
3. Build up a topical vocabulary.
4. Develop the idea: