: i en coxa etn =e i at, ‘Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Loi ndi dau: Tit vung 1a phan chit yéu can tré ban dén voi diém sé IELTS mong muén, Ba phan cdc cudn sich vé vocabulary hign tai dinh cho IELTS chi list ra nhiing tir “hoc thuat” theo chit it vi du vé cach ding, it hoe khong cé céc tir déng nghia véi nhimng tir ving hoc thudt 6, Phin thiéu s6t c6 16 1én nhat cia cde cudn sdch tir vung hign tai la “collocations” va topic vocabulary, day 1a céc cym tir hay di cing nhau va ding dic biét trong cach topic nhat dinh. Vige thiéu tir déng nghia sé lam ban doc hiéu rit kho vi tir vung ding trong bai doc thuong durge paraphrase 6 trong cau hoi dé kiém tra durge 46 réng va mite d6 hiéu ciia ngudi hoc. m ban dign dat vé cing khé khan va thiéu ty nhién ‘Nhung tir trinh d9 <8.0 thi lai khé nhén ra nhimg collocations nao nén hge. Do dé cudn sach nay, minh da trac tiép highlight tat ca cdc collocations hay, hay gip va cé gid tri ding lai rat nhiéu trong qué trinh ndi va viét cia cdc ban. Sau khi hoc xong 6 mn trong bo “LEAN VOCABULARY”, chic chin ban sé nhan biét duge mot lnong collocations dit dn dé cé thé nghe hiéu, dgc hiéu tt va nhat 1d ding duge tét khi néi va viet. Dé hoc tét cudn sach: Buc 1: Chon 1 bai doc bat ki, tap trung doc higu va xem phan “synonym — tir déng nghia” cia ede tir duge in dim, day 14 cde tir anh hudng trye tiép dén mite d6 hiéu cia ban khi dge 1 cau vin, Bude 2: Doc lai that ki va cha y cdc “cum tir duge gach chan” — day 1a cdc collocations hay ding. 5 cum THAT SU AN TUGNG va luyén néi hode viét bang cach dat cau ‘Ae cu dat cin dam bao: La cau don va it bj thay déi so vi cau géc nhat, cd lign quan dén ban than nhdt, (Nén cé bit highlight 4 Iuu lai nhimg cum a6) Buse 4: Doc lai 1 Lan vao ngay hém sau truéc khi hoc bai méi. (Sach c6 210 bai doc chia thanh 6 chi dé lon: Technology (30), Health & Sports (30), Environment (45), Education (45), Business & Economy (45), Science (45), nén véi cae ban cén thdi gian (6 thang), hdy chon chi dé minh yéu tir vung nbit, ho¥e tir cudn dé nhdt: Education > Business > Health > Evironment > Tech > Science - hge it nhat 1 bai 1 ngiy va it nht 30 bai, hoc that su va doc hiéu. Véi cde ban cdn 3 thang thi cé thé hoc 1 ngay 3 bai, nhung nén chia ra 3 Lin hoc, khéng nén hge 1 lac 2 bai) Khong cn lam 48 nhidu. Chi cdn 1 thing lim 1 dé dé kiém tra lai kha ning tiéng Anh, Sé 6 nhiing collocations cae ban thay cé highlight nhung khong hiéu, khi dé hay danh du nhay nhdy va cum dé lén google: “ ” thi s8 c6 vi du va gidi nghia cla né. Thay Kién cng team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT — Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Loi cam on: Céng strc cla cdc ban sé gidip nhiéu, rat nhiéu cdc ban khac dat dugc muc tiéu. Nguyén Dinh Hanh - Khéa 9 - UNETI Hoan thanh highlight tir vung hoc thuat, giai thich va synonym cho hon 45 bai doc cho Vol.4 - Environment clia b6 LEAN VOCABULARY. Nguyén Thu Loan: K58 — NEU (ban thtr 2 bén trai sang nhé :P) Hoan thanh highlight tir vyng hoc thuat, giai thich va synonym cho 30 bai doc cho Vol.1 - Education - cla bé LEAN F VOCABULARY. Hoang Phuorng Linh: Du hgc sinh Uc Hoan thanh highlight tir vung hoc thuat, giai thich va synonym cho hon 45 bai doc cho Vol.6 - Science - cla bo LEAN VOCABULARY Vii Thj Ba: K57 - FTU Hoan thanh highlight tir vying hoc thuat, gidi thich va synonym cho 30 bai doc cho Vol.3 — Sports and Health - cua b6 LEAN VOCABULARY Nguyén Thu Phuong: K60 - NEU Hoan thanh highlight tir vung hoc thuat, gidi thich va synonym cho hon 30 bai doc cho Vol.2 — Business & Economy cla b6 LEAN VOCABULARY Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Lei ndi dau: Loi cém on: Reading 1: STUDY CENTRE COURSES. Reading 2: PRIVATE SCHOOLS. Reading 3: Do literate women make better mothers?. Reading 4: Activities for Children. 15 Reading 5: Children’s Literature. 18 Reading 6: Gifted children and learning... 21 Reading 7: The Nature of Geniu: 24 Reading 8: Children Tested to Destruction: 28 Reading 9: Nurturing talent within the famil 31 Reading 10: What's the purpose of gaining knowledge?. 35 Reading 11:Communicating Styles and Contiici 38 Reading 12: The Benefits of Being Bilingual. 4a Reading 13:Early Childhood Education. 46 Reading 14:Persistent bullying is one of the worst experiences a child can faces0 Reading 15: What is speed reading, and why do we need it?. 54 Reading 16:Learning by Examples... 57 Reading 17:LAND OF THE RISING SUN.. 60 Reading 18:Greying population stays in the pink. 64 Reading 19: Twist in the Tale... 68 Reading 20:Learning color words.. 71 Reading 21: Should a university teach a killer?.. Thay Kién cing team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién IFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Reading 22:'Rewards don't improve school attendance’ Reading 23: Where do teachers get the most respect?...uuu Reading 24:Do schools help or hinder social mobility? Reading 25: The MIT factor: Reading 26:celebrating 150 years of maverick genus. Reading 27:Language diversity. Reading 28:Overcoming the language barrie Reading 29:SAVING LANGUAGE. Reading 30:The meaning of volunteering, Listening Sectio Keywords, Common words/expressions & alternatives: Subtopics. Thay Kién cing team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh cng.Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education STUDY CENTRE COURSES A However difficult you find it to arrange your time, it will pay offin the long run if you set aside a certain part of the day for studying - and stick to it. Itis best to make a weekly allocation of your time, making sure that you have enough left for recreational activities or simply to be ‘with’ yourself: reading a novel or watching a television programme. B As part of your weekly schedule, it is_also advisable to consider exactly what you have to do in that week, and make sure that you tackle the most significant tasks first, leaving the easier or less urgent areas of your work until later. c On a physical level, make sure that you have an area or space for studying. Don't do it just anywhere. If you always study in the same place, preferably a room of your own, you will find it easier to adjust mentally to the activity when you enter that area. You should have everything that you might need at_hand D Make sure that all the physical equipment that you use, such as a desk, chair etc, is at a good height for you. If you use a personal computer, there are plenty of guidelines available from the government on posture, angles, lighting and the like. Consult these and avoid the typical student aches and pains. allocation /,zele'keiJn/ : the act or process of giving out parts of a whole synonyms: allotment, assignment, distribution, apportionment recreational activity /rekr'eifenl aek'tiviti/: things people do for fun and enjoyment synonyms: recreational facilities, interests, recreation, pastime recreational tackle /'tak(eW: make determined efforts to deal with (@ problem or difficult task), synonyms: address, deal with, take care of, handle, manage significant /srg'niftk(a)n¥/ sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy. synonyms: notable, remarkable, important, of importance, serious, crucial, extraordinary, exceptional, special urgent /'2:d3(e)nt/: Requiring immediate action or attention. synonyms: acute, grave, pressing, serious, intense Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chiic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education E Ifyou are doing a long essay or research paper Which involves the use of library books or other articles, it helps to keep details of the titles and authors on small cards in a card box. It is also a good idea to log these alphabetically so that you can find them easily - rather like keeping telephone numbers. It's all too easy to read something and then forget where it came from. F Make use of equipment that is available to you. Ifyou find a useful article in the library, itis best to make a copy of the relevant pages before you leave. Then, when you get back to your study, you can mark the article and make any comments that you have in the margin. G If you are working on a topie your teacher has set, but finding it hard to concentrate, it may be that you actually need to take your mind right off it for a period of time, ‘Airing the mind’ can work wonders sometimes. After a period away from the task, having not thought about it at all, you may retum to it refreshed and full of ideas. H Similarly, it may help to discuss a topic with other people, especially if you feel that you have _insufficient_ideas, or too _many disorganised ideas. Bring your topic_up in conversations at meal times or with other students and see what they have to say. You don't want to copy their ideas but listening to what they think about something may well help you develop or refine your_own_ thoughts. disorganised /dis'o:genatzd/: Not properly planned and controlled synonyms: disorderly, disordered, confused, unorganized, mixed up, muddled, messy refine /rr'farn/: improve an idea, method, system, etc. by making small changes synonyms: improve, perfect, polish (up), hone, fine-tune, edit Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh cng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary PRIVATE “CR, PT re = = : Vol.1 - Education SCHOOLS Most countries” education systems have had what you might call educational disasters, but, sadly, in many areas of certain countries these ‘disasters’ are still evident today, The English education system is unique due to the fact that there are still dozens of schools which are known as private schools and they perpetuate privilege and social division. Most countries have some private schools for the children of the wealthy; England is able to more than triple the average number globally. England has around 3,000 private schools and just under half a million children are educated at them whilst some nine million children are educated at state schools. The overwhelming majority of students at private schools also come from middle-class families. The result of this system is evident and it has much English history embedded within it. The facts seem to speak for themselves. In the private system almost half the students go on to University, whilst in the state system only about eight per cent make it to further education disaster /de'zaster/: a sudden event, such as an accident or a natural catastrophe, that causes great damage or loss of life. synonyms: catastrophe, calamity, cataclysm, trag} accident evident /"evedent/: plain or obvious; clearly seen or understood. dy, synonyms: obvious, apparent, noticeable, visible, clear unique /ju:'ni'k/: being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else. synonyms: distinct, individual, special, solitary, exclusive privilege /'privelid3/ a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people. synonyms: advantage, benefit Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education However, statistics such as these can be deceptive due to the fact that middle-class children do better at examinations than working class ones, and most of them stay on at school after 16. Private schools therefore have the advantage over state schools as they are entirely ‘middle class’, and this creates an environment of success where students work harder and apply themselves more diligently to their school work, Private schools are extortionately expensive, being as much as £18,000 a year at somewhere such as Harrow or Eton, where Princes William and Harry attended, and at least £8,000 a year almost everywhere else. There are many parents who are not wealthy or even comfortably off but are willing to sacrifice a_great deal _in_the cause of their children’s schooling. It baffles many people as to why they need to spend such vast amounts when there are perfectly acceptable state schools that don't cost a penny. One father gave his reasoning for sending his son to a private school, ‘if my son gets a five-percent-better chance of going to University then that may be the difference between success and failure.” It would seem to the average person that a £50,000 minimum, total cost of second level education is a lot to pay for a five-percent-better chance. Most children, given the choice, would take the money and spend it_on more enjoyable things rather than shelling it out on a school that is too posh for its own good. However, some say that the real reason that parents fork out the cash is prejudice: they don't want their little kids mixing with the “workers”, or picking up an undesirable accent In addition to this, it wouldn't do if at the next din- ner party all the guests were boasting about sending their kids to the same place where the son of the third cousin of Prince Charles is going, and you say your kid is going to the state school down the road, even if you could pocket the money for yourself instead, and, as a result, be able to serve the best Champagne with the smoked salmon and duck. It is a fact, however, that at many of the best Private schools, your money buys you Wealthy /‘welGi/: having a great deal of money, resources, or assets; rich, synonyms: ich, well off, loaded, flush deceptive /di'septiv/: giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading. synonyms: Misleading, specious; ambiguous diligently 'dilidgentli: in a way that shows care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties, extortionately expensive /ik'sto:/anetlik'spensiv/: cost too much money synonyms: prohibitively expensive, pricey, exorbitant, extravagant comfortably off /'kamftebli/: having enough money to lead a good life sacrifice /'sakrsfnts/: Give up (something valued) for the sake of other considerations. baffle /beefl/ to cause someone to be completely unable to understand synonyms: puzzle, mystify, confuse, muddy posh /pof: expensive and of high quality synonyms: fancy, fashionable, luxurious, deluxe, exclusive, lavish, upscale, upmarket fork out /fo:rk aul/: to pay an amount of money, especially unwillingly synonyms: pay money, lay smth out prejudice /pred3udis/: preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience synonyms: preconception, prejudgment boasting /boust/: talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities. synonyms: show off; exaggerate Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education something. One school, with 500 pupils, has 17 science laboratories; another school with 800 pupils, has 30 music practice rooms; another has 16 squash courts, and yet another has its own beach. Private schools spend £300 per pupil a year on investment in buildings and facilities; the state system spends less than £50. On books, the ratio is 3 to 1 (One of the things that your money buys which is difficult to quantify is the appearance of the school, the way it looks. Most private schools that you will find are set in beautiful, well-kept country houses, with extensive grounds and gardens, In comparison with the state schools, they tend to look like castles, with the worst of the state schools looking like public lavatories, perhaps even tiled or covered in graffiti, Many may even have an architectural design that is just about on the level of an industrial shed. pocket /ppkit/: take or receive (money or other valuables) for oneself well-kept /,wel 'kept/: kept clean, tidy, and in good condition synonyms: clean, tidy, neat, spotless 10 Thay Kién cng team lam sdch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.‘Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Do literate women make better mothers? Vol.1- Education Children in developing countries are healthier and more likely to survive past the age of five when their mothers can read and write. Experts in public health accepted this idea decades ago, but until now no one has been able to show that a woman's ability to read in itself improves her children’s chances of survival. Most literate women leamt to read in primary school, and the fact that a woman has had an education may simply indicate her family’s wealth or that it values its children more highly. Now a long-term study carried out in Nicaragua has eliminated these factors by showing that teaching reading to poor adult women, who would otherwise have remained In 1979, the government of Nicaragua established a number of social programmes, including a National Literacy Crusade. By 1985, about 300,000 illiterate adults from all over the country, many of whom had never attended primary school, had learnt how to read, write and use numbers. During this period, researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the Central American Institute of Health in Nicaragua, the National __ Autonomous eliminated /r'immett/: completely remove or get rid of (something) synonyms: remove, get rid of, end, stop, eradicate, destroy a ‘Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cla IELTS — iFIGHT chiic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education University of Nicaragua and the Costa Rican Institute of Health Interviewed nearly 3,000 women, some of whom had learnt to read as children, some during the literacy crusade and some who had never learnt at all. The women were asked how many children they had given birth to and how many of them had died in infaney. The research teams also examined the surviving children to find out how well- nourished they were. The investigators’ findings were striking. In the late 1970s, the infant mortality rate for the children of literate mothers was around 110 deaths per thousand live births. At this point in their lives, those mothers who later Went on to learn to read had a similar level of child mortality (105/000). For women educated in primary school, however, the infant mortality rate was significantly lower, at 80 per thousand. In 1985, after the National Literacy Crusade had ended, the infant_mortality figures for those who remained illiterate and for those educated in primary school remained more or less unchanged. For those women who learnt to read through the campaign, the infant mortality rate was 84 per thousand, an impressive 21 points lower than for those women who were stil iliterate. The children of the newly-literate mothers were also better nourished than those of women who could not read. Why are the children of literate mothers better off? According to Peter Sandiford of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, no one Knows for certain. Child health was not on the curriculum during the women’s lessons, so fie and his colleagues are looking at other factors. They are working with the same group of 3,000 women, to try to find out whether reading mothers make better use of hospitals _and clinics, opt for smaller families, exert more control at home, learn modem childcare techniques more quickly, or whether they merely have more respect for themselves and their children. The Nicaraguan study may have important implications for governments and aid agencies nourished /"narjl: provide (someone or something) with food and other things that are needed to live, be healthy, etc synonyms: feed, provide for, sustain, maintain striking /'strarkrry: Attracting attention by reason of being unusual, extreme, or prominent synonyms: noticeable, obvious, conspicuous, evident, visible, distinct, prominent infant mortality rate: ty 16 tir vong & tré nho fie /fail: (exclamation ) used to express anger, disapproval, or disappointment exert /ig'zs:t/: to use (strength, ability, etc.) 22 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT — Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education that need to know where to direct their resources. Sandiford says that there is increasing evidence that female education, at any age, is "an important health intervention in its own right. The results of the study lend support to the World Bank's recommendation that education budgets in developing countries should be increased, not just to help their economies, but also to improve child health, 'We've known for a long time that maternal education is important,’ says John Cleland of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. ‘But we thought that even if we started educating girls today, we'd have to wait a generation for the pay off. The Nicaraguan study suggests we may be able to bypass that.’ Cleland wams that the Nicaraguan crusade was special in many ways, and similar campaigns elsewhere might not work as well Itis notoriously difficult to teach adults skills that do not have an immediate impact on th everyday lives, and many literacy campaigns in other countries have been much less successful. "The crusade was part of a larger effort to bring a better life to the people,’ says Cleland. Replicating these conditions in other countries will be a major challenge for development workers, budget /"badsit/: the amount of money you have available to spend synonyms: allowance, allocation, funds, resources, capital bypass /"brrpa's/: to avoid or ignore (someone or something), especially to get something done quicker synonyms: avoid, evade, dodge, escape, elude notoriously /neu'to:rresii/: in a way that is famous for something bad 3 Thay Kién cng team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education 14 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT — Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Activities for Children ‘A Twenty-five years ago, children in London’ walked to school and played in parks and playing fields after school and at the weekend. Today they are usually driven to school by parents anxious about safety and spend hours glued to television screens or computer games. Meanwhile, community playing fields are being sold off to property developers at_an alarming rate. ‘This change in lifestyle has, sadly, meant greater restrictions on children,’ says Neil Armstrong, Professor of Healtth and Exercise Sciences at the University of Exeter. If children continue to be this, inactive, they'll be storing up big problems for the future.” B In 1985, Professor Armstrong headed a five- year research project into children’s fitness. The results, published in 1990, were alarming. The survey, which monitored 700 11-16-year-olds, found that 48 per cent of girls and 47 per cent of boys already exceeded safe cholesterol levels set for children by the American Heart Foundation. Armstrong adds, “heart is a muscle and need exercise, or it loses its strength.” It also found that 13 per cent of boys and 10 per cent of girls were overweight. More disturbingly, the survey found that over a four-day period, half the girls and one-third of the boys did less exercise than the equivalent of a brisk 10-minute walk. High levels of cholesterol, excess body fat and anxious /'zenkles/: afraid or nervous especially about what may happen synonyms: worried, concerned, nervous, worried sick storing up: to act in a way that will make your problems much worse in the future equivalent /’kwivelent/: equal in value, amount, function, meaning, et. synonyms: equal, identical, same: similar 15 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kin iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education inactivity are believed to increase the risk of coronary heart disease, € Physical education is under pressure in the UK = most schools devote little more than 100 minutes a week to it in curriculum time, which is less than many other European countries. Three European countries are giving children a head start in PE, France, Austria and Switzerland — offer at least two hours in primary and secondary schools. These findings, from the European Union of Physical Education Associations, prompted specialists in children’s physiology to call on European governments to give youngsters a dally PE programme. The survey shows that the UK ranks 13th out of the 25 countries, with Ireland bottom, averaging under an hour a week for PE, From age six to 18, British children received, on average, 106 minutes of PE a week. Professor Armstrong, who presented the findings at the meeting, noted that since the introduction of the national curriculum there had been a marked fall in the time devoted to PE in UK schools, with only a minority of pupils getting two hours a week. D As a former junior football international, Professor Armstrong is a passionate advocate for sport. Although the Government has poured millions into beefing up sport in the community, there is less commitment to it as part of the crammed_school_curriculum. This means that many children never acquire the necessary skills to thrive in team games. If they are no good at them, they lose interest and establish an inactive pattern of behaviour. When this is coupled with a poor diet, it will lead inevitably to weight gain Seventy per cent of British children give up all sport when they leave school, compared with only 20 per cent of French teenagers. Professor Armstrong believes that there is far too great an emphasis on team games at school. ‘We need to look at the time devoted to PE and balance it between individual_and_pair_activities, such as aerobics and badminton, as well as team sports. He added that children need to have the ‘opportunity to take part in a wide variety of individual, partner and team sports. E The good news, however, is that a few small companies and children’s activity groups have reacted positively and creatively to the problem Take That, shouts Gloria Thomas, striking a disco pose astride her mini-spacehopper. Take That, echo a flock of toddlers, adopting outrageous brisk /brisk/: Active and energetic. synonyms: quick, rapid, fast, swift, speedy excess /tk’ses/: An amount of something that is more than necessary, permitted, or desirable. synonyms: remainder, rest, residue; leftovers; surplus, extra coronary heart disease: bénh mach vanh head start /,hed ‘sta:/: an advantage that you have or get when you are starting to do something advocate /‘zedvakeit/: publicly recommend or support synonyms: recommend, prescribe, advise, support, favor, endorse beef up /bif ap/: to make something stronger or more effective by adding more support synonyms: toughen up, strengthen, build up, reinforce, consolidate, improve thrive /eraiv/: grow or develop well or vigorously. synonyms: flourish, prosper, burgeon, blossom, mushroom, succeed emphasis /"emfosts/: Special importance, value, or prominence given to something synonyms: importance, significance, value, weight, attention, priority outrageous /aut'reid3es/: very strange or unusual surprising or shocking 16 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education postures astride their space hoppers. ‘Michael Jackson, she shouts, and they all do a spoof fan- crazed shriek. During the wild and chaotic hopper race across the studio floor, commands like this, are issued and responded to with untrammelled glee. The sight of 15 bouncing seven-year-olds Who seem about to launch into orbit at every bounce brings tears to the eyes, Uncoordinated, loud, excited and emotional, children provide raw comedy. F Any cardiovascular exercise is a good option, and it doesn't necessarily have to be high intensity. It can be anything that gets your heart rate_up: such as walking the dog, swimming, miming, skipping, hiking. “Even walking through the grocery store can be exercise,” Samis-Smith said. What they don't know is that they're at a Fit Kids class, and that the fun is a disguise for the serious exercise plan they're covertly being taken through. Fit Kids trains parents to run fitness classes for children. ‘Ninety per cent of children don’t like team sports,’ says company director, Gillan Gale, GA Prevention survey found that children whose parents keep in shape are much more likely to have healthy body weights themselves. “There's, nothing worse than telling a child what he needs to do and not doing it yourself,” says Elizabeth Ward, R.D., a Boston nutritional consultant and author of Healthy Foods, Healthy Kids. “Set a good example and get your nutritional house in order first.” In the 1930s and '40s, kids expended 800 calories a day just walking, carrying water, and doing other chores, notes Fima Lifshitz, M.D., a pediatric endocrinologist in Santa Barbara. “Now, kids in obese families are expending only 200_calories_a_day in physical_activity,” says Lifshitz, “incorporate more movement in your family's life, park farther away from the stores at the mall, take stairs instead of the elevator, and walk to nearby friends’ houses instead of driving.” ‘spoof /'spurfl: a funny and silly piece of writing, music, theatre, etc, that copies the style of, an original work shriek /[r:k/ :a high-pitched piercing cry or sound; a scream synonyms: scream, screech, squeal, squawk, roar, howl, shout untrammeled/an'traemid/: not limited by rules or any other controlling influence synonyms: independent, autonomy launch into /la:ntf: suddenly begin doing or saying (something) in an energetic way synonyms: start, commence, burst into disguise /drs'garz/: concealing the nature or existence of (a feeling or situation) synonyms: conceal, hide, cover up, dissemble, dissimulation covertly /'kouveitl/: Without being openly acknowledged or displayed; secretly. ‘obese /ou'bi:s/: extremely fat in a way that isdangerous for health synonyms: fat, overweight, fleshy, heavy, portly, plump v Thay Kién cing team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh cng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Children’s Literature Vol.1 - Education Stories and poems aimed al children have an exceedingly long history: lullabies, for example, were sung in Roman times, and a few nursery games and rhymes are almost as ancient. Yet 80 far as written-down literature is concerned, while there were stories in print before 1700 that children often seized on when they had the chance, such as translations of Aesop's fables, fairy-stories and popular ballads and romances, these were not aimed at young people in particular. Since the only genuinely child- oriented literature at this time would have been a few instructional works to help with reading and general knowledge, plus the odd Puritanical tract as an aid to morality, the only course for keen child readers was to read adult literature This still occurs today, especially with adult thrillers or romances that include more exciting, graphic_detail than is normally found in the literature for younger readers. By the middle of the 18th century there were enough eager child readers, and enough Parents glad to cater to this interest, for publishers to specialize in children’s books whose first aim was pleasure rather than education or morality. In Britain, a London merchant named Thomas Boreham produced Cajanus, The Swedish Giant in 1742, while the more famous John Newbery published A Little Pretty Pocket Book in 1744.1ts contents— rhymes, stories, children’s games plus a free gift (A ball and a pincushion’}—in many ways anticipated the similar lucky-dip contents of lullabies /alebai/: a quiet, gentle song sung to send a child to sleep. seize on /siz/: to use, accept, or take advantage of something quickly or enthusiastically synonyms: take advantage of, make good use of, cash into morality /me'rzeletil: principles conceming the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. synonyms; ethics, rights and wrongs, ethicality cater to /‘keita{r]/: provide what is wanted or needed synonyms: serve anticipated /zen'tisipeitid/: to imagine or expect that something will happen 18 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Vol.1 - Education Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary children’s annuals this century. Its a tribute to Newbery's flair that he hit_upon a winning formula quite so quickly, to be pirated almost immediately in America Such pleasing levity was not to last. Influenced by Rousseau, whose Emile(1762) decreed that all books for children save Robinson Crusoe were a dangerous diversion, contemporary critics saw to it that children’s literature should be instructive and uplifting. Prominent among such voices was Mrs. Sarah Trimmer, whose magazine The Guardian of Education (1802) carried the first regular reviews of children’s books. It was she who condemned fairy-tales for their violence and general absurdity; her own stories, Fabulous Histories (1786) described talking animals who were always models of sense and decorum. So the moral story for children was always threatened from within, given the way children have of drawing out entertainment from the sternest moralist. But the greatest blow to the improving children’s book was to come from an unlikely source indeed: early 19th century interest in folklore, Both nursery rhymes, selected by James Orchard Halliwell for a folklore society in 1842, and collection of fairy- stories by the scholarly Grimm brothers, swiftly translated into English in 1823, soon rocket to popularity with the young, quickly leading to new editions, each one more child-centered than the last. From now on younger children could expect stories written for their particular interest and with the needs of their own limited experience of life kept well to the fore. What eventually determined the reading of older children was often not the availability of special children’s literature as such but access to books that contained characters, such as young people or animals, with whom they could more easily empathize, or action, such as exploring or fighting, that made few demands on adult maturity or understanding The final apotheosis of literary childhood as something to be protected from unpleasant reality came with the arrival in the late 1930s of child-centered best-sellers intend on entertainment at its most escapist. In Britain novelist such as Enid Blyton and Richmal Crompton described children who were always free_to_have the most_unlikely adventures, ‘synonyms: plan, expect, predict a tribute to something showing the benefit or positive effect of something else lucky-dip: A game in which small prizes are concealed in a container and chosen at random by participants. (béc thm may man) pirated /‘parr.e.trd/: illegally copied and sold synonyms: poach, copy illegally, reproduce illegally levity /leveti/: humour or lack of seriousness, especially during a serious occasion synonyms: joke, josh, wit instructive /in'strak.trv/: giving useful or interesting information informative, instructional, informational, explanatory synonyms: Uplifting /ap'ltfttn/: making someone feel better synonyms: cheer up, brighten up, inspiring happiness condemned /kon'demd/: prove or show the guilt of. synonyms: incriminate, implicate absurdity /ob'ss:dit : the quality or state of being ridiculous or wildly unreasonable. synonyms: ridiculousness, stupidity, foolishness, silliness, insanity decorum /d’ko:ram/: behaviour that is controlled, calm, and polite synonyms: Propriety, correctness; politeness, courtesy Stern /storn/: strict and severe; using extreme measures or terms 19 Thay Kién cng team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education ‘Secure in the knowledge that nothing bad could ever happen to them in the end. The fact that war broke out again during her books’ greatest Popularity fails to register at all in the self- enclosed world inhabited by Enid Blyton’s young characters. Reaction against such dream- worlds was inevitable after World War Il, coinciding with the growth of paperback sales, children's libraries and a new spirit of moral and social concern. Urged on by committed Publishers and progressive librarians, writers slowly began to explore new areas of interest while also shifting the settings of their plots from the middle-class world to which their chiefly adult patrons had always previously belonged. Critical emphasis, during this development, has been divided, For some the most important task was to rid children’s books of the social Prejudice and exclusiveness no longer found acceptable. Others concentrated more on the positive achievements of contemporary children's literature, That writers of these works are now often recommended to the attentions of adult as well as child readers echoes the 19th- century belief that children’s literature can be shared by the generations, rather than being a defensive barrier between childhood and the necessary growth towards adult understanding. ‘synonyms: ruthless. swiftly /'swiftl/: at high speed; quickly synonyms: fast, rapidly, quickly, speedily, hurriedly to the fore: in or into a place of importance ‘empathize /‘empe®arz/: Understand and share the feelings of another. synonyms: sympathize with, be in sympathy with, understand maturity /me’t{uereti/: the state of being fully developed in the body or the mind synonyms: adulthood, full growth inevitable /in'evitebl/: certain to happen synonyms: unavoidable, inescapable, certain, sure, fixed; destined, unpreventable Paperback /"pezpabak/: A book bound in sliff paper or flexible card, prejudice /'pred3udis/: preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience synonyms: preconception, prejudgment defensive /dr'fensrv/: used to protect someone or something against attack synonyms: defending, protective strict, severe, stringent, harsh, hard, toug 20 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh cng. , extremeThay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Gifted children and learning ‘Aintemationally, ‘giftedness’ is most frequently determined by a score on a general intelligence test, known as an IQ test, which is above a chosen cutoff point, usually at around the top 2.5%. Children's educational environment contributes to the IQ score and the way intelligence is used. For example, a very close positive relationship was found when children’s IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision (Freeman, 2010). The higher the children’s 1Q scores, especially over IQ 130, the better the quality of their educational backup, measured in_terms_of reported verbal_interactions_with parents, number of books and activities in their home etc. Because IQ tests are decidedly influenced by what the child has leamed, they are to some extent measures of current achievement based ‘on age-norms; that is, how well the children have leamed to manipulate their knowledge and know-how within the terms of the test. The vocabulary aspect, for example, is dependent ‘on having heard those words. But IQ tests can neither identify the processes of learning and thinking nor predict creativity. B Excellence does not emerge without appropriate help. To reach an exceptionally high standard in any area very able children need the means to leam, which includes material to work with and focused challenging tuition -and the encouragement to follow their dream. There appears to be a qualitative cutoff /’katoff: a fixed point or level at which something stops backup /"baek.ap/: help or support. synonyms: help, support, assistance, aid manipulate /mo'np jo lett to use or change (numbers, information, etc.) in a skillful way or for a particular purpose synonyms: manage, control, handle, use, utilize know-how /"neuhau/: Practical knowledge or skill expertise, synonyms: knowledge, expertise, skill, skilfulness ‘emerge / i'ma:d3/: move out of or away from something and come into view. synonyms: come out, appear, become visible aa Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education difference in the way the intellectually highly able think, compared with more average-ability or older pupils, for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of internal requlation. To be at their most effective in their self-regulation, all children can be helped to identify their own ways of learning — metacognition — which will include strategies of planning, monitoring, evaluation, and choice of what to learn, Emotional awareness is also part of metacognition, so children should be helped to be aware of their feelings around the area to be learned, feelings of curiosity or confidence, for example. C High achievers have been found to use self: regulatory leaming strategies more often and more effectively than lower achievers, and are better able to transfer these strategies to deal with unfamiliar tasks. This happens to such a high degree in some children that they appear to be demonstrating talent in particular areas. Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able children, (Shore and Kanevsky, 1993) put the instructor's problem succinctly: ‘If they [the gifted] merely think more quickly, then we need only teach more quickly. If they merely make fewer errors, then we can shorten the practice’. But of course, this is not entirely the case; adjustments have to be made in methods of learning and teaching, to take account of the many ways individuals think. D Yet in order to lear by themselves, the aifted do need some support from their teachers. Conversely, teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning autonomy. Although ‘spoon-feeding’ can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed by equally impressive life successes. Too much dependence on the teachers risks loss_of autonomy and motivation to discover. For a young child, it may be just the simple question ‘What have you learned today?’ which helps them to recognise what they are doing. Given that a fundamental goal of education is to transfer the control of learning from teachers to pupils, improving pupils’ learning to leam regulation /regjuilel|n/: an official rule or the act of controlling something synonyms: rule, order, law, command compensate for kompenseit: provide something good as a balance against something bad or undesirable curiosity /kjvar'vsati/: a strong desire to know or learn something, synonyms: interest, spirit of inquiry, inquisitiveness| succinctly /sek'sinktli/: in a way that expresses what needs to be said clearly and without unnecessary words synonyms: concise, short, brief, compact, condensed, crisp, to the point diminish /di'minil/: make or become less, synonyms: decrease, lessen, decline, reduce, die down, abate 22 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education techniques should be a major outcome of the school experience, especially for the highly competent. There are quite a number of new methods which can help, such as child- initiated learning, ability-peer_tutoring, etc. Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas. E But scientific progress is not all theoretical, knowledge is a so vital to outstanding performance: individuals who know a great deal about a specific domain will achieve at a higher level than those who do not (Elshout, 1995). Research with creative scientists by ‘Simonton (1988) brought him to the conclusion that above a certain high level, characteristics such as independence seemed to contribute more to reaching the highest levels of expertise than intellectual_skills, due to the great demands of effort and time needed for learning and practice. Creativity in all forms can be seen as expertise se mixed with a high level of motivation (Weisberg, 1993). F To sum up, learning is affected by emotions of both the individual _and_significant others. Positive emotions facilitate the creative aspects of earning and negative emotions inhibit it, Fear, for example, can limit the development_of curiosity, which is a strong force in scientific advance, because it motivates problem-solving behaviour. In Boekaerts’ (1991) review of emotion the leaming of very high IQ and highly achieving children, she found emotional forces in harness. They were not only curious, but often had a strong desire to control their ‘environment, improve their learning efficiency and increase their own learning resources. fundamental iande'™menti/: forming a necessary base or core; of central importance. synonyms: basic, underlying, core, root foundational, elemental, elementary competent kompitent/: able to do something well synonyms: capable, able, proficient, adept, accomplished, complete, skilful, skilled, gifted, talented, expert vital /vaitl: absolutely necessary or important; essential synonyms: essential, critical, crucial, key, indispensable, integral domain /da(u)'mert/: an area of knowledge or activity synonyms: field, area, arena, sphere facilitate /fo'siliteit’: make (an action or process) easy or easier. synonyms: make easyleasier, make possible, promote Inhibit /inhibil: prevent or prohibit (someone) from doing something. synonyms: prevent, disallow, exclude, forbid, prohibit, ban, interdict In harness 'har-nes/: working together to achieve something ‘Synonyms: accompanying, cooperatively 23 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh cng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary The Nature of Genius Vol.1 - Education There has always been ari interest in geniuses and prodigies. The word ‘genius’, from the Latin gens (= family) and the term ‘genius’, meaning ‘begetter, comes from the early Roman cult of a divinity as the head of the family. In its earliest form, — genius was concerned with the ability of the head of the family, the -—_paterfamilias, to perpetuate himself, Gradually, genius came to represent a person's characteristics and thence an individual's highest attributes derived from his ‘genius’ or guiding spirit. Today, people still look to stars or genes, astrology or genetics, in the hope of finding the source of exceptional abilities or personal characteristics, The concept of genius and of gifts has become part of our folk culture, and attitudes are ambivalent towards them. We envy the gifted and mistrust them. In the mythology of giftedness, it is popularly believed that if people are_talented in one area, they must be defective in another, that intellectuals are impractical, that prodigies burn too brightly too soon and bur out, that gifted people are eccentric, that they are physical weaklings, that there's a thin line between genius and madness, that genius runs in families, that the ‘genius Fdginies/ : exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability synonyms: brilliance, intelligence, intellect, abilty, cleverness, talent, gift, flair, knack prodigy /prodidi/: a young person who is unusually talented in some way synonyms: genius, mastermind, virtuoso paterfamilias /pzsitofo'miliees: gi trvang derived from /dr'rarv/: to come from something synonyms: originate in, stem from, descend from, spring from, be taken from ambivalent /om'bivelent/: having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone. synonyms: equivocal, uncertain, unsure, doubtful, indecisive, inconclusive envy /‘envil: to feel a desire to have what someone, else has synonyms: be envious of, be jealous of defective /difektiv’: having a fault in it and does not work correctly. synonyms: faulty, flawed, imperfect, inoperative, deficipnt 24 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education gifted are so clever they don't need special help, that giftedness is the same as having a high 1Q, that some races are more intelligent or musical or mathematical than others, that genius goes _unrecognised __and unrewarded, that adversity makes men wise or that people with gifts have a responsibility to use them, Language has been enriched with such terms as ‘highbrow’, ‘egghead’, ‘blue- stocking’, ‘wiseacre’, ‘know-all, ‘boffin’ and, for many, ‘intellectual’ is a term of denigration. The nineteenth century saw considerable interest in the nature of genius, and produced not a few studies of famous prodigies. Perhaps for us today, two of the most significant aspects of most of these studies of genius are the frequency with which early encouragement and teaching by parents and tutors had beneficial effects _on the intellectual, artistic or musical development_of the children but caused great difficulties of adjustment later_in their lives, and the frequency with which abilities went unrecognised by teachers and schools. However, the difficulty with the evidence produced by these studies, fascinating as they are in collecting together anecdotes and apparent similarities and exceptions, is that they are not what we would today call norm-referenced. In other words, when, for instance, information is collated about early illnesses, methods of upbringing, schooling, etc., we must also take into_ account information from other historical sources about how — common —_or exceptional these were at the time. For instance, infant mortality was high and life expectancy much shorter than today, home tutoring was common in the families of the nobility and wealthy, bullying and corporal punishment were common at the best independent schools and, for the most part, the cases studied were members of the privileged classes. It was only with the growth of paediatrics and psychology inthe twentieth century that studies could be carried gut on a more objective, if still not always very scientific, basis. Geniuses, however they are defined, are but the peaks which stand out through the mist of ‘eccentric /ik'sentrik/: unconventional and slightly strange. synonyms: unconventional, uncommon, irregular, odd, strange, weird, extraordinary weakling /"wi:klnny: a weak person adversity /ad'vs'seti/: a difficult situation or condition synonyms: misfortune, bad luck, trouble, difficulty, hardship, distress, disaster, suffering, sorrow, misery denigration /,deni‘greiin/: The action of unfairly criticizing someone or something collate /ko'leit/: to gather together information from different sources in order to study it carefully synonyms: collect, gather, accumulate, assemble; combine, aggregate life expectancy /laifik'spektensi/: the average number of years that a person or animal can expect to live synonyms: life span, longevity, lifetime, life's duration nobility /naubbileti/: honesty, courage, and kindness synonyms: virtue, goodness, honor, decency corporal /ko:peral: relating to the human body. vantage point /‘vzentid3/: The quality of having a superior or more favorable position. synonym: advantage, superiority, benefit, head start 25 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh cng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education history and are visible to the particular observer from his or her particular vantage point. Change the observers and the vantage points, clear away some of the mist, and a different lot of peaks appear. Genius is a term we apply to those whom we recognise for their outstanding achievements and who stand near the end of the continuum of human abilities which reaches back through the mundane and mediocre to the incapable. There is still much truth in Dr ‘Samuel Johnson's observation, the true genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some particular direction’. We may disagree with the ‘general’, for we doubt if all musicians of genius could have become scientists of genius or vice versa, but there is no doubting the accidental determination which nurtured or triggered their gifts into those channels into which they have poured their powers so successfully, Along the continuum of abilities are hundreds of thousands of gifted men and women, boys and girls. ‘What we appreciate, enjoy or marvel at in their works of genius or the achievements of prodigies are the manifestations of skills or abilities which are similar to, but so much superior to, our own. But that their minds are not different from our own is demonstrated by the fact that the hard-won discoveries of scientists like Kepler or Einstein become the commonplace knowledge of schoolchildren and the once outrageous shapes and colours of an artist like Paul Klee so soon appear on the fabrics we wear. This does not minimise the supremacy of —their_—_achievements, which outstrip our own as the sub-four-minute mmilers outstrip our jogging. To think of geniuses and the gifted as having uniquely different brains is only reasonable if we accept that each human brain is uniquely different. The purpose of instruction is to make US even more different from one another, and in the process of being educated we can learn from the achievements of those more gifted than ourselves. But before we try to emulate geniuses or encourage our children to do so we should note that some of the things we learn from them may prove unpalatable. We may envy their achievements and fame, but we mundane /man‘dein/: very ordinary and therefore not interesting synonyms: dull, boring, tedious, unexciting, repetitive, ordinary, day-to-day, run-of-the-mill, commonplace mediocre /,mi:di'aukefr}/: moderate quality; not very good synonyms: ordinary, average, middling, undistinguished, unexceptional, unexciting, unremarkable, run-of-the-mill, pedestrian nurtured /'ns:tla[t]:: to help (something or someone) to grow, develop, or succeed synonyms: bring up, care for, take care of, look after, tend, rear, raise, support, foster triggered /trige[r): cause (an event or situation) to happen or exist. synonyms: trip, actuate, activate, set off, spark. off, spark, trigger off, marvel at /‘ma:v(s)!/: Be filled with wonder or astonishment synonyms: be amazed, be astonished, be surprised, wonder manifestations /,mzenife 'steiln/: The action or fact of showing something. synonyms: display, demonstration, show, exhibition, presentation ‘supremacy /s(j)u:'premesi/: The state or condition of being superior to all others in authority, power, or status synonyms: predominance, primacy, dominion, authority, mastery, control, power, rule, s outstrip /aut'strip/: move faster than and overtake (someone else). go faster than,outrun, outdistance, outpact behind, get (further) ahead of synonyms: 26 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng. Wver leaveThay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education should also recognise the price they may have paid in terms of perseverance, single- mindedness, dedication, restrictions on their Personal lives, the demands upon their energies and time, and how often they had to display great courage to preserve their integrity or to make their way to the top. Genius and giftedness are relative descriptive terms of no real substance. We may, at best, give them some precision by defining them and placing them in a context but, whatever we do, we should never delude ourselves into believing that gifted children or geniuses are different from the rest of humanity, save in the degree to which they have developed the performance of their abilities. ‘emulate /emjulei: try to be like (someone or something you admire) synonyms: imitate, copy, mirror, echo, follow unpalatable /an'pzeletab/: Difficult to put up with or accept, synonyms: disagreeable, unpleasant perseverance /pa'st vrer(a)ns/: continue trying to do something even though it is difficult synonyms: persistence, tenacity, determination integrity /in'tegroti/: the quality of being honest and fair synonyms: honesty, probity, honor delude /dr'I()u:d/: Make (someone) believe something that is not true. synonyms: mislead, deceive, fool, take in, trick 27 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Children Tested to Destruction? English primary school pupils subjected to more tests than in any other country English primary school pupils have to deal with unprecedented levels of pressure as they face tests more frequently, at a younger age, and in more subjects than children from any other country, according to one of the biggest international education inquiries in decades. The damning indictment of England's primary education_system revealed that the country’s children are now the most tested in the world. From their very earliest days at school they must navigate a set-up whose trademark is ‘high stakes’ testing, according to a recent report. Parents are encouraged to choose schools for their children based on league tables of test scores. But this puts children_under_ extreme pressure which could damage their motivation and seff-esteem, as well as encouraging schools to teach to the test at the expense of pupils’ wider learning, the study found. The findings are part of a two-year inquiry — led by Cambridge University = into English primary schools, Other parts of the UK and countries such as France, Norway and Japan used testing but itwas,'less intrusive, less comprehensive, and considerably less frequent’, Cambridge's Primary Review concluded. England was unique in using testing to control what is taught in schools, to monitor teaching standards and to encourage parents to choose schools based on the results of the tests, according to Kathy Flall, from the National University of Ireland in Cork, and Kamil Ozerk, from the University of Oslo, who conducted the unprecedented /an'‘presidentid/: Never done or known before. synonyms: unheard of, unknown, new, novel indictment /rn'dartm(a)nt/: a sign that a policy, system, society, etc. is bad or wrong synonyms: blaming, accusing navigate /‘navigett/: lead smth in a particular direction, or to deal effectively with a difficult situation league tables: a list of teams, schools, hospitals, etc, that shows them in order from best to worst intrusive /an'tru:stv/: annoying someone by interfering with their privacy 28 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Tesearch, ‘Assessment in England, compared to our other reviewed countries, is pervasive, highly consequential, and taken by officialdom and the public more generally to portray objectively the actual quality of primary education in schools, ‘their report concluded. Teachers’ leaders said the testing regime was ‘ past its sell- by date’ and called for a fundamental review of assessment. Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said England's testing system was having a ‘devastating’ impact on schools. "Uniquely, England is a country where testing is used to police schools and control what is taught,’ he said, ‘When it comes to testing in England, the tail wags the dog. It is patently absurd that even the structure and content of education is shaped by the demands of the tests. call on the Government to initiate a full and independent review of the impact of the current testing system_on schools and on children’s learning and to be prepared to dismantle a system which is lona past its sell-by date.’ John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, warmed that the tests were having a damaging effect_on pupils. The whole testing regime is ‘governed by the need to produce league tables,’ he said. ‘It has more to do with holding schools to account than helping pupils to progress.’ The fear that many children were suffering intolerable stress because of the tests was voiced by Mick Brookes, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers. There are schools that start rehearsing for key stage two SATs [Standard Assessment Tests] from the moment the children arrive in September. That's just utterly ridiculous,’ he said. There are other schools that rehearse SATs during Christmas week. These are young children we are talking about. They should be having the time of their lives at school not just worrying about tests. It is the breadth and richness of the curriculum that suffers. The consequences for schools not reaching their targets are dire - heads can lose their jobs and schools can be closed down. With this at stake it's not surprising that schools let the tests take over’ pervasive [pe veisiv/: spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people. synonyms: prevalent, extensive, ubiquitous, widespread fundamental /fande’menti/: forming a necessary base or core; of central importance. synonyms: basic, underlying, core, root foundational, elemental, elementary devastating /‘devastertiry: causing severe shock, distress, or grief synonyms: shocking, traumatic, overwhelming, crushing, distressing, terrible police /pe'lis/: have the duty of maintaining law and order in or at (an area or event) the tail wags the dog: used to describe a situation in which an important or powerful person, organization, etc., is being controlled by someone or something that is much less important or powerful absurd Job’ serd!: wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate. synonyms: ridiculous, idiotic, stupid, foolish, silly, insane dismantle /dis'mant(s)//: gradually cause (something) to come to an end synonyms: take apart, pull apart, break up, break down, strip (down); knock down, pull down, demolish intolerable /tn'tol(e)reb(e)/: too bad or unpleasant to deal with or accept synonyms: unbearable, insufferable, unendurable utterly /'atali/: completely and without qualification; absolutely. synonyms: completely, totally, absolutely, 29 Thay Kién cing team lam séch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban than céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education David Laws, the Liberal Democrat schools spokesman, said: The uniquely high stakes placed on national tests mean that many primary schools have become too exam focused." However, the Government rejected the criticism The idea that children are over-tested is not a view that the government accepts,’a spokesman said, The reality is that children spend a very small percentage of their time in school being tested, Seeing that children leave school up to the right standard in the basics is the highest priority of the government.’ In another child-centred initiative, both major political parties in the UK — Labour and the Conservatives — have announced plans to make Britain more child-friendly following a report by UNICEF which ranked the UK the worst place to be a child out of 21 rich nations. Parents were warned that they risked creating a generation of ’battery-farmed children’ by always keeping them indoors to ensure their safety. The family's minister, Kevin Brennan, called for an end to the ‘cotton woo!’ culture and warned that children would not learn to cope with risks if they were never allowed to play outdoors. entirely, wholly, fully, thoroughly ridiculous /rr'dikjules/: extremely silly or unreasonable synonyms: laughable, absurd, comical, funny, hilarious, amusing, silly breadth /bredé/: Wide range or extent, e /r'nifetrv/: a person who has recently joined a group synonyms: supporters, members, defenders ensure /en’ua/: make certain that (something) shall occur or be the case. synonyms: make sure, make certain 30 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Nurturing talent within the family What do we mean by being ‘alented” or ‘gifted’? The most obvious way is to look at the work someone does and if they are capable of significant success, label them as talented. The purely quantitative route - ‘percentage definition’ - looks not at individuals, but at simple percentages, such as the top five per cent of the population, and labels them - by definition - as gifted. This definition has fallen from favour, eclipsed by the advent of 1Q tests, favoured by luminaries such as professor Hans Eysenck, where a series of written or verbal tests of general intelligence leads to a score of intelligence. The IQ test has been eclipsed in tum. Most people studying intelligence and creativity in the new millennium now prefer a broader definition, using a multifaceted approach where talents in many areas are recognised rather than purely concentrating on academic achievement. If we are therefore assuming that talented, creative or gifted individuals may need to be assessed across a range of abilities, does this mean intelligence can run in families asa genetic or inherited tendency? Mental luminaries /'lu:mmn(e)ril: a very famous or successful person synonyms: inspiration, role model, hero, heroine, leader, expert, master; lion, legend, celebrity millennium /mr lentem/: a period of 1,000 years a1 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT — Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education ‘dysfunction - such as schizophrenia - can, $0 1s an efficient mental capacity passed_on from parent to child? Animal experiments throw some light on this question, and on the whole area of whether itis genetics, the environment or a combination of the two that allows for intelligence and creative ability. Different strains of rats show great differences in intelligence or ‘rat reasoning’. If these are brought up in normal conditions and then run through a maze to reach a food goal, the ‘bright’ strain make far fewer wrong turns that the ‘dull’ ones. But if the environment is made dull and boring the number of errors becomes equal. Return the rats to an exciting maze and the discrepancy retums as before - but is much smaller. In other words, a dull rat in a stimulating environment will almost do as well as a bright rat who is bored in a normal one. This principle applies to humans too - someone may be born with innate intelligence, but their environment probably has the final say over whether they become creative or even a genius Evidence now exists that most young children, if given enough — opportunities and ‘encouragement, are able to achieve significant and sustainable levels of academic or sporting prowess. Bright or creative children are often physically very active at the same time, and so may receive more parental attention as a result - almost by default - in order to ensure their safety. They may also talk earlier, and this, in turn, breeds parental _interest. This can sometimes cause problems with other siblings who may feel jealous even though they themselves may be bright. Their creative talents may be undervalued and so never some to fruition. Two themes seem to run through famously creative families as a result. The first is that the parents were able to identify the talents of each child, and nurture and encourage these accordingly but in an even- handed manner. Individual differences were ‘encouraged, and friendly sibling rivalry was not seen as a particular problem. If the father is, say, a famous actor, there is no undue pressure for his children to follow him onto the boards, but instead their chosen interests _are inherited /in herttid/: receive (money, property, or atitle) as an heir at the death of the previous holder. synonyms: become heir to, come intorby, be lef, receive Discrepancy /dts'krep(a)nsi/: a difference especially between things that should be the same synonyms: difference, disparity, disagreement, inconsistency, dissimilarity, mismatch, incompatibility, conflict innate /r'next/: existing from the time a person or animal is born synonyms: inborn, natural, inherent, instinctive, spontaneous, unlearned, untaught prowess /pravis/: great ability or skill synonyms: skill, ability, skilfulness, mastery fruition /frs'y{(2)n/: the point at which a plan or project is realized fulfillment, realization, attainment, achievement, accomplishment, resolution synonyms: even-handed /,i:vn'haendid/: Fair and impartial in treatment or judgement. 32 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education encouraged. There need not even by any obvious talent in such a family since there always needs to be someone who sets the family career in motion, as in the case of the Sheen acting dynasty Martin Sheen was the seventh of ten children born to a Spanish immigrant father and an Irish mother. Despite intense parental disapproval he tumed his back on entrance exams to university and borrowed cash from a local priest to start a fledgling acting career. His acting successes in films such as Badlands and Apocalypse Now made him one of the most highly-regarded actors of the 1970s, Three sons - Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez and Charlie Sheen - have followed him into the profession as a consequence of being inspired by his motivation and enthusiasm, A stream seems to run through creative families. Such children are not necessarily ‘smothered with love by their parents. They feel loved and wanted, and are secure in their home, but are often more surrounded by an atmosphere of _work and where following a calling appears to be important. They may see from their parents that it_takes time and dedication to be master of a craft, and so are in less of a hurry to achieve for themselves once they start to work. The generation of creativity is complex: it is a mixture of genetics, the environment, parental teaching and luck that determines how successful or talented family members are. This last point - luck - is often not mentioned where talent is concerned but plays an undoubted part. Mozart, considered by many to be the finest composer of all time, was lucky to be living in an age that encouraged the writing of music. He was brought up surrounded by it, his father was a musician who ‘encouraged him to the point of giving up his job to promote his child genius, and he leamt musical composition with frightening speed - the speed of a genius. Mozart himself simply wanted to create the finest music ever written but did not necessarily view himself as a genius - he could write sublime music at will, and so often preferred to lead a_hedot lifestyle fledgling /‘fledslun/: new and without experience synonyms: inexperienced, innocent, new, raw, immature, underdeveloped smother /'smada[t]/: make (someone) fee! trapped and oppressed by acting in an overly protective manner toward them. synonyms: overwhelm, inundate, envelop craft /krzeft/: skill in carrying out one's work synonyms: skill, skillfulness, ability, capability, talent, flair, craftsmanship, expertise sublime /so'blarm/: extremely good, 33 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education that he found more exciting than writing music to order. Albert Einstein and Bill Gates are two more examples of people whose talents have blossomed by virtue of the times they were living in, Einstein was a solitary, somewhat slow child who had affection at home but whose phenomenal intelligence emerged without any obvious parental input. This may have been partly due to the fact that at the start of the 20th Century a lot of the Newtonian laws of physics were being questioned, leaving a fertile ground for ideas such as his to be developed. Bill Gates may have had the creative vision to develop Microsoft, but without the new ‘computer age dawning at the same time he may never have achieved the position on the world stage he now occupies. beautiful, or enjoyable synonyms: admirable, amazing, awesome, brilliant, incredible, outstanding, superb hedonistic /hi:do'nistik/ : engaged in the pursuit of pleasure. synonyms: self-indulgent, pleasure-secking, decadent blossom /'blosam/: mature or develop in a promising or healthy way synonyms: develop, grow, mature, evolve; flourish, thrive, prosper, bloom, burgeon solitary /'soliteri/: done or existing alone synonyms: lonely, companioniess, unaccompanied, by oneself, on one’s own, alone, friendiess fertile ground for smth'fa:rt/: a situation or place that produces good results or alot of ideas synonyms: potential, prospect, viable 34 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.‘Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1- Education What’s the purpose of gaining knowledge? ey ‘i N a (A rN ‘| would find an institution where any person can find instruction in any subject’ That was the founders motto for Comell University, and it seems an apt characterization of the different university, also in the USA, where | currently teach philosophy. A student can prepare for a career in resort management, engineering, interior design, accounting, music, law enforcement, you name it. But what would the founders of these two institutions have thought of a course called Arson for Profit’? | kid you not! we have it on the books. Any undergraduates who have met the academic Tequirements can sign up for the course in our program in ‘fire science’ B Naturally, the course is intended for prospective arson investigators, who can learn all the tricks of the trade for detecting whether a fire was deliberately set, discovering who did it, and establishing a chain of evidence for effective prosecution in a court of law. But wouldn't this also be the perfect course for apt JapU: appropriate or suitable in the circumstances. synonyms: suitable, fitting, appropriate, befitting, applicable undergraduate /ande’gradjut/: a student at a college or university who has not yet earned a bachelor's or equivalent degree. synonyms: student, undergrad, scholar, freshman arson /'a:s(2)n/: the illegal burning of a building or other property ‘Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cla IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng. 35Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education prospective arsonists to sign up for? My point is not to criticize academic programs in fire science: they are highly welcome as part of the increasing professionalization of this and many other occupations. However, it's not unknown for a firefighter to torch a building, This example suggests how dishonest and illegal behavior, with the help of higher education, can creep into every aspect of public and business life. c Irealized this anew when | was invited to speak bofore a class in marketing, which is another of our degree programs, The regular instructor is a colleague who appreciates the kind of ethical perspective | can bring as a philosopher. There are endless ways | could have approached this assignment, but | took my cue from the title of the course: ‘Principles of Marketing’. It made me think to ask the students, ‘Is marketing principled?’ After all, a subject matter can have principles in the sense of being codified, having rules, as with football or chess, without being principled in the sense of being ethical. Many of the students immediately assumed that the answer to my question about marketing principles was obvious: no. Just look at the ways in which everything under the sun has been marketed; obviously it need not be done in a principled (ethical) fashion. D Is that obvious? | made the suggestion, which may sound downright crazy in light of the evidence, that perhaps marketing is by definition principled. My inspiration for this judgement is the philosopher Immanuel Kant, who argued that any body of knowledge consists of an end (or purpose) and a means. E Let us apply both the terms 'means' and ‘end’ to marketing. The students have signed up for a course in order to learn how to_market effectively. But to what end? There seem to be two main attitudes toward that question. One is that the answer is obvious: the purpose of marketing is to sell things and to make money. The other attitude is that the purpose of marketing is irrelevant: Each person comes to the program and course with his or her own plans, and these need not even concem the jon of marketing expertise as such. My criticize /kritisatz/: express disapproval of (someone or something) synonyms: find fault with, censure, denounce, condemn, attack, disparage, denigrate, give bad press to ‘occupation /okju'per{(e)n/: a job or profession. synonyms: job, profession, work, line of work, employment, position, situation, business, career, field Anew: again codify /’keudifal/: arrange (laws or rules) into a systematic code synonyms: systematize, systemize, organize, arrange, order, structure downright /‘daunratt/ to an extreme degree synonyms: thoroughly, utterly, positively, profoundly, really, completely, totally, entirely acquisition /,akwr'z1/(9)n/: The learning or developing of a skill, habit, or quality 36 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education proposal, which I believe would also be Kants, is that neither of these attitudes captures the significance of the end to the means for marketing. A field of knowledge or a professional endeavor is defined by both the means and the end; hence both deserve scrutiny, Students need to study both how to achieve X, and also what X is. F Itis at this point that ‘Arson for Profit’ becomes supremely relevant, That course is presumably all about means: how to detect and prosecute criminal activity. itis therefore assumed that the end is good in an ethical sense, When | ask fire science students to articulate the end, or purpose, of their field, they eventually generalize to something like, ‘The safety and welfare of society,’ which seems right. As we have seen, someone could use the very same knowledge of means to achieve a much less noble end, such as personal profit via destructive, dangerous, reckless activity. But we would not call that firefighting. We have a separate word for it: arson, Similarly, if you employed the ‘principles of marketing’ in an unprincipled way, you would not be doing marketing. We have another term for it: fraud. Kant gives the example of a doctor and a Poisoner, who use the identical knowledge to achieve their divergent ends. We would say that one is practicing medicine, the other, murder. ‘synonyms : obtaining, getting, acquiring, acquirement, gain ‘endeavor /en’deve/: an attempt to achieve a goal. synonyms: attempt, try, bid, effort, venture scrutiny /‘skru:tini/: the act of carefully examining something especially in a critical way synonyms: examination, inspection, survey, study, investigation articulate /a:'trkjulett/: express (an idea or feeling) fluently and coherently. synonyms: express, voice, vocalize, communicate, state, utter, say, speak, pronounce noble /‘naub(s)//: Of excellent or superior quality synonyms: magnificent, splendid, grand, stately, dignified, proud, striking, impressive reckless /‘reklos/: (of a person or their actions) without thinking or caring about the consequences of an action. rash, careless, thoughtless, heedless, unheeding, hasty divergent /dr've:d3(2)nt/; tending to be different or develop in different directions. synonyms: synonyms: differing, varying, different, unalike dissimilar, disparate, contrasting, contrastive, conflicting, incompatible, contradictory 37 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Communicating Styles and Conflict Knowing your communication style and having a mix of styles on your team can provide a positive force for resolving conflict. ‘A As far back as Hippocrates’ time (460- 370B.C.), people have tried to understand other people by characterizing them according to personality type or temperament. Hippocrates believed there were four different body fluids that influenced four basic types of temperament. His work was further developed 500 years later by Galen. These days there are any number of self-assessment tools that relate to the basic descriptions developed by Galen, although we no longer believe the source to be the types of body fluid that dominate our systems. B The values in self-assessments that help determine personality style. Leaming styles, communication styles, conflict-handling styles, or other aspects of individuals is that they help depersonalize conflict _in interpersonal relationships. The depersonalization occurs when you realize temperament /temp(a)rem(e)nU: a person’s or animal's nature, especially as it permanently affects their behavior. synonyms: disposition, nature, character, personality, makeup, constitution, mind, spi body fluid /'flu:td/: liquids within the bodies of living people (dich co thé) dominate /’domunext/: Have power and influence over. control, influence, exercise control over, command, be in command of, be| of, rule, govern, direct depersonalize /di’p2:s(e)n(a)Iarz/: remove from a person, organization, object, etc, the qualities or features that make them particular or special synonyms: 38 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng. in chargeThay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education that others aren't trying to be difficult, but they need different or more information than you do, They're not intending to be rude: they are so focused on the task they forget about greeting people. They would like to work faster but not at_the isk of damaging _the relationships needed to get the job done. They understand there is a job to do. But it can only be done right with the appropriate information, which takes time to collect. | When used appropriately, understanding ‘communication styles can help resolve conflict on teams. Very rarely are conflicts true personality issues, Usually they are issues of style, information needs, or focus. € Hippocrates and later Galen determined there were four basic temperaments: sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic and choleric. These descriptions were developed centuries ago and are still somewhat apt, although you could update the wording. In today’s world, they translate into the four fairly ‘common communication styles described below: D The sanguine person would be the expressive or spirited style of communication, These people speak in pictures. They invest a lot_of emotion and__energy _in their communication and offen speak quickly. Putting their whole body into it. They are easily sidetracked onto a story that may or may not illustrate the point they are trying to make Because of their enthusiasm, they are great team motivators. They are concemed about people and relationships. Their high levels of energy can come on strong at times and their focus is usually on the bigger picture, which means they sometimes miss the details or the proper order_of things. These people find ‘conflict or differences of opinion invigorating and love to engage in a spirited discussion. They love change and are constantly looking for new and exciting adventures. E Tile phlegmatic person - cool and persevering - translates into the technical or systematic communication style, This style of communication is focused on facts and technical details. Phlegmatic people have an orderly methodical way of approaching tasks, ‘and their focus is very much on the task, not ‘on the people, emotions, or concerns that the task may evoke. The focus is also more on the resolve /mt'zolvi: settle or find a solution toa problem synonyms: settle, sort out, solve, fix, deal with, rectify Sanguine /‘sangwin/: optimistic or positive. especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation synonyms: optimistic, bullish, hopeful, buoyant, po: confident, cheerful, cheery Phiegmatic /fieg'matik/: not easily upset, excited, or angered synonyms: calm, cool, composed, controlled, serene, tranquil melancholic /melan’koltk/: expressing feelings of sadness synonyms: sad, unhappy, down in the dumps, a long face choleric /’kolorsk/: get angry easily synonyms: bad-tempered, irritable, angry, grumpy. tempered, peppery, short-tempered apt /apt/: appropriate or suitable in the circumstances. synonyms: suitable, fitting, appropriate, befitting. applicable letrack /'sardtrak/: Cause (someone) to be distracted from an immediate or important issue synonyms: distract, divert, deflect, disturb someone's concentration, divert someone's attention enthusiasm /tn’@ju:z1az(a)mv: strong excitement about something synonyms: eagemess, keenness, fervor, passion, energy 39 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng. itive, lcranky,Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education details necessary to accomplish_a_task. Sometimes the details overwhelm_the_big picture and focus needs to be brought back to the context of the task. People with this style think the facts should speak for themselves, and they are not as comfortable with conflict They need time to adapt to change and need to understand both the logic of it and the steps involved. F Tile metancholic person who is soft hearted and oriented toward doing things for others translates into the considerate or sympathetic communication style. A person with this ‘communication style is focused on people and relationships. They are good listeners and do things for other people-sometimes to the detriment_of getting things done for themselves. They want to solicit everyone's opinion and make sure everyone is ‘comfortable with whatever is required to get the job done. At times this focus on others can distract from the task at hand. Because they are so concerned with the needs of others and smoothing over issues, they do not like conflict. They believe that change threatens the status quo and tends to make people feel uneasy, so people with this communication style, like phlegmatic people need time to ‘consider the changes in order to adapt to them. G The choleric temperament translates into the bold or direct style of communication. People with this style are brief in their ‘communication - the fewer words the better. They are big picture thinkers and love to be involved in many things at once. They are focused on tasks and outcomes and often forget that the people involved in carrying out the tasks have needs. They don't do detail work easily and asa result can often underestimate how much time it takes to achieve the task. Because they are so direct, they often seem forceful and can_be very intimidating to others. They usually would welcome someone challenging them. But most other styles are afraid to do so. They also thrive on change, the more the better. H A well-functioning team should have all of these communication styles for true effectiveness. All teams need to focus on the task, and they need to take care_of relationships in order to achieve those tasks. Invigorating /in vigerertin/: Making one fee! strong, healthy, and full of energy. synonyms: exciting, interesting, fascinating, absorbing, arresting persevering /,pa:st'vrermn/: Continuing in a course of action despite difficulty or delay in achieving success. synonyms: persist, continue, carry on, go on, keep going, struggle on, hammer away, be persistent, be determined ‘evoke /r'veuk/: cause (a particular reaction or response) to happen synonyms: bring to mind, put one in mind of, invoke, elicit, induce, kindle, stimulate, awaken, recall detriment /‘detrim(2)n¥/: a cause of harm or damage. synonyms: harm, damage, injury, hurt, loss, impairment, disadvantage, disservice, mischief solicit /so'lisal/: ask for (something, such as money or help) from people, companies, etc. distract /dr'strakt/: prevent (someone) from giving full attention to something. synonyms: divert, sidetrack, draw away, distur brief /bri/: concise in expression; using few words. concise, succinct, shor, incisive, abbreviated, compact, thumbnail synonyms: fing /1n'timrdertrn/: Having a frightening or threatening effect synonyms: daunting, creepy, dread, scary, hairy, terrifying 40 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education They need the big picture perspective or the ‘context of their work, and they need the details to be identified and taken care of for success, We all have aspects of each style within us. Some of us can easily move from one style to another and adapt our style to the needs of the situation at hand-whether the focus is on tasks or relationships. For others, a dominant style is very evident, and it is more challenging to see the situation from the perspective of another style. The work environment can influence communication styles either by the type of work that is required or by the predominance of one style reflected in that environment. Some people use one style at work and another at home. ‘The good news about communication styles is that we have the ability to develop flexibility in our styles. The greater the flexibility we have, the more skilled we usually are at handling possible and actual conflicts. Usually it has to be relevant to us to do so, either because we think it is important or because there are incentives in our environment to encourage it The key is that we have to want to become flexible with our communication style. As Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right!” thrive /8rarv/: grow or develop successfully synonyms: flourish, prosper, burgeon, bloom, blossom, mushroom, advance, succeed dominant /‘domment/: most important, powerful, or influential. synonyms: ruling, governing, controlling, commanding, authoritative reflect /m'flekt/: represent (something) in a faithful or appropriate way. indicate, show, display, disclose, demonstrate, be evidence of, reveal, betray, express synonyms: flexibility / fleksr'briti: the ability to change or be changed easily according to the situation synonyms: adapting, modifying, adjustment, accommodation incentive /in’sentiv/: a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something synonyms: _ inducement, motivation, motive, reason, stimulant, encouragement a1 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.‘Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1- Education The Benefits of Being Bilingual rN According to the latest figures, the majority of the world’s population is now bilingual or multilingual, having grown up speaking two or more languages. In the past, such children were considered to_be at a disadvantage compared with their monolingual peers. Over the past few decades, however, technological advances have allowed researchers to look more deeply at how bilingualism interacts with and changes the cognitive and neurological systems, thereby identifying several clear benefits of being bilingual. Research shows that when a bilingual person uses one language, the other is active at the same time, When we hear a word, we don't hear the entire word all at once: the sounds arrive in sequential order. Long before the word is finished, the brain's language system begins to guess what that word might be. If you hear bilingual /bar Inngw(@)l: (of a person) speaking two languages fluently. multilingual /matr'lingw(9)!/: using several languages. er /pra/: A person of the same age, status, or ability as another specified person synonyms: equal, coequal, fellow, confrere; ‘contemporary; compeer interacts with /inter’akl/: act in such a way as to have an effect on another synonyms: communicate, interface, connect, cooperate; meet, socialize 42 ‘Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cla IELTS — iFIGHT chiic ban thanh cng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education "can’, you will likely activate words like “candy” and ‘candle’ as well, at least during the earlier stages of word recognition. For bilingual people, this activation is not limited to a single language; auditory __input activates corresponding words regardless of the language to which they belong. Some of the most compelling evidence _for__this phenomenon, called language co-activation’, comes from’ studying eye movements. A Russian-English bilingual asked to ‘pick up a marker’ from a set of objects would look more at a stamp than someone who doesn’t know Russian, because the Russian word for ‘stamp’, marka, sounds like the English word he or she heard, ‘marker’. In cases like this, language co-activation occurs because what the listener hears could map onto words in either language. c Having to deal with this persistent linguistic competition can result in difficulties, however. For instance, knowing more than one language can cause speakers to name pictures more slowly, and can increase ‘tip-of-the-tongue states’, when you can almost, but not quite, bring a word to mind. As a result, the constant juggling of two languages creates a need to control how much a person accesses a language at any given time, For this reason, bilingual people often perform better on tasks that require conflict management. In the classic Stroop Task, people see a word and are asked to name the colour of the word's font. When the colour and the word match (j., the word ‘red’ printed in red), people correctly name the colour more quickly than when the colour and the word don’t match (i, the word ‘red’ printed in blue). This occurs because the word itself (red’) and its font colour (blue) conflict Bilingual people often excel at tasks such as this, which tap into_the ability to ignore competing perceptual information and focus on the relevant aspects of the input. Bilinguals are also better at switching between two tasks; for example, when bilinguals have to switch from categorizing objects by colour (red or green) to categorizing them by shape (circle or triangle), they do so more quickly than monolingual people, reflecting better cognitive control when having to make rapid changes of strategy. activation /aktr'ver{(a)n/: The action or process of making something active or operative. synonyms: actuation, causing things to happen auditory /':dit(a)ri: relating to the sense of hearing persistent /pa'stst(a)nU: continuing to do something ‘even though itis difficult synonyms: constant, continuous, continuing, continual, nonstop, never-ending, steady, uninterrupted, endless, perpetual, sustained tip-of-the-tongue states: If a word, name, etc., is on the tip of your tongue, you know it but cannot remember it access /‘akses/: to be able to get or use something synonyms: use, get, reach, attain ‘excel at /tk’sel/: be exceptionally good at or proficient in an activity or subject. synonyms: shine, be excellent, be outstanding, be skillful, be talented, stand out ignore /rg'no:: refuse to take notice of or acknowledge synonyms: disregard, take no notice of, pay no attentior to, pay no heed to; tum a blind eye to, tum a deaf ear to perceptual /pe'septjual/: relating to the ability to interpret or become aware of something through the senses. 43 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education D Italso seems that the neurological roots of the bilingual advantage extend to brain areas more traditionally associated __with sensory processing. When monolingual and bilingual adolescents listen to simple speech sounds without any intervening background noise, they show highly similar brain stem responses. When researchers play the same sound to both groups in the presence of background noise, however, the bilingual listeners’ neural response is considerably larger, reflecting better encoding of the sound's fundamental frequency, a feature of sound closely related to pitch perception E Such improvements in cognitive and sensory processing may help a bilingual person to process information in the environment, and help explain why bilingual adults acquire a third language better than monolingual adults master_a_second language. This advantage may be rooted in the skill of focusing on information about the new language while reducing interference from the languages they already know. F Research also indicates that _ bilingual experience may help to keep the cognitive mechanisms sharp by recruiting alternate brain networks to compensate for those that become damaged during aging. Older bilinguals enjoy improved memory relative to monolingual people, which can lead to real- world health benefits. In a study of over 200 patients with Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disease, bilingual patients reported showing initial symptoms of the disease an average of five years later than monolingual patients. In a follow-up study, researchers compared the brains of bilingual and monolingual patients matched on the severity of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Surprisingly, the bilinguals’ brains had more physical signs of disease than their monolingual counterparts, even though their outward behaviour and abilities were the same. If the brain is an engine, bilingualism may help it to go farther on the same amount of fuel. G intervene /inta'vi:n/: occur as a delay or obstacle to something being done synonyms: occur, happen, take place, arise, come about, befall pitch /prtf’ the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone. synonyms: tone, timbre, key rooted in /ru:t: establish deeply and firmly synonyms: embedded, fixed, established, entrenched, ingrained, stem from, spring from interference /inte'frar(a)ns/: involvement in the activities and concerns of other people is not wanted synonyms: intrusion, intervention, disruption, disturbance, disorder, obstruction, conflict alternate /o:! te:nel: occurring by turns alternative, other, another, second, different, substitute, interchanging synonyms: compensate for /"komp(a)nsett/: give (someone) something, typically money, in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury incurred; recompense. synonyms: recompense, repay, pay back, reimburse 44 Thay Kién cing team lam sdch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Furthermore, the benefits associated _with bilingual experience seem to start very early. In one study, researchers taught seven-month-old babies growing up in monolingual or bilingual homes that when they heard a tinkling sound, a puppet appeared on one side of a screen. Halfway through the study, the puppet began appearing on the opposite side of the screen. In order to get a reward, the infants had to adjust the rule they'd learned; only the bilingual babies were able to successfully learn the new rule. This suggests that for very young children, as well as for older people, navigating a muttilingual environment imparts advantages that transfer far beyond language. impart /im’ patti: to give (a specified quality) synonyms: give, bestow, grant, lend, afford, provide, supply 45 Thay Kién cing team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Early Childhood Education Vol.1 - Education New Zealand's National Party spokesman on education, Dr Lockwood Smith, recently visited the US and Britain. Here he reports on the findings of his trip and what they could mean for New Zealand's education policy A ‘Education To Be More’ was published last August. It was the report of the New Zealand Government's Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. The report argued for enhanced equity of access and better funding for_childcare and early childhood education institutions. Unquestionably, that’s a real need; but since parents don't normally send_children to pre-schools until the age of three, are we missing out on the most important years of all? B A 13 - year study of early _chikihood development at Harvard University has shown enhanced /in‘ha:nst/: better than before synonyms: increase, magnify, strengthen, build up, supplement, boost, raise, lft, elevate; improve, enrich, complement 46 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cila IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education that, by the age of three, most children have the potential to understand about 1000 words - most of the language they will use in ordinary conversation for the rest of their lives. Furthermore, research has shown that while every child is born with a natural curiosity, if can be suppressed dramatically during the second and third years of life, Researchers claim that the human personality is formed during the first two years of life, and during the first three years children learn the basic skills they will use in all their later learning both at home and at school. Once over the age of three, children continue to expand on existing knowledge of the world c Itis generally acknowledged that young people from poorer socio-economic backarounds tend to do less well in our education system. That's observed not just in New Zealand, but also in Australia, Britain and America. In an attempt to gvercome _that___educational__under- achievement, a nationwide programme called "Headstart’ was launched in the United Slates in 1965. A lot of money was poured into it. It took children into pre-school institutions at the age of three and was supposed to help the children of poorer families succeed in school. Despite substantial funding, results have been disappointing. It is thought that there are two explanations for this. First, the programme began too late. Many children who entered it at the age of three were already behind th peers in language and measurable intelligence. Second, the parents were not involved. At the end of each day, ‘Headstart’ children retumed to the same disadvantaged home environment. D As a result of the growing research evidence of the importance of the first three years of a child's life and the disappointing results from "Headstart, a pilot programme was launched in Missouri in the US that focused on parents as the child's first teachers. The ‘Missouri programme was predicated on research showing that working with the family, rather potential /pa(1)'tenj(a)/: a chance or possibility that, something will happen or exist in the future synonyms: possibilities, potentiality, prospects; promise, capability, capacity curiosity /kjverr'psiti/: a strong desire to know or learn something synonyms: interest, spirit of inquiry, inquisitiveness suppress /sa’pres/: prevent the development, action, or expression of (a feeling, impulse, idea, etc.) synonyms: conceal, restrain, stifle, smother, contain expand /tk’spandi: become or make larger or more extensive, synonyms: extend, broaden, widen, develop, diversify, build up, spread overcome /auve' kami: succeed in dealing with (a problem or difficulty). synonyms: get the better of, control, master, conquer, defeat, beat; get over substantial /sab'stanj(a)V: of considerable importance, size, or worth. synonyms: considerable, real, significant, important, notable, major, valuable, useful predicate /'predrkert/: found or base something on. synonyms: base, be dependent, found, establish, ground 47 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT — Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education than bypassing the parents, is the most effective way of helping children get off to the best possible start in life. The four-year pilot study included 380 families who were about to have their first child and who represented a cross-section of socio-economic status, age and family configurations. They included single-parent and two-parent families, families in which both parents worked, and families with either the mother or father at home, The programme involved trained parent. educators visiting the parents’ home and working with tire parent, or parents, and the child. Information on child development, and guidance on things to look for and expect as the child grows were provided, plus guidance in fostering the child's intellectual, language, social and motor-skill development. Periodic check-ups of the child’s educational and sensory development (hearing and vision) were made_to detect possible handicaps that interfere with growth and development. Medical problems were referred to professionals. Parent-educators made personal visits to homes and monthly group meetings were held with other new parents to share experience and discuss topics of interest Parent resource centres, located in school buildings, offered leaming materials for families and facilitators for child care E At the age of three, the children who had been involved in the ‘Missouri’ programme were evaluated alongside a cross-section of children selected from the same range of socio- economic backgrounds and family situations, and also a random sample of children that age. The results were phenomenal. By the age of three, the children in the programme were significantly more advanced _in_lanquage development_than their peers, had made greater strides in problem solving and other intellectual skills, and were further along in social development, in fact, the average child on the programme was performing at the level of the top 15 to 20 per cent of their peers in such bypass /"bripa's/: to avoid or ignore (someone or something) synonyms: avoid, evade, dodge, escape, elude, circumvent, get around, ignore foster /"fosta/: encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good). synonyms: encourage, promote, further, stimulate, advance, cultivate, nurture, strengthen, enrich; help, aid, assist, contribute to, support detect /dr'tekt: discover or investigate synonyms: discover, uncover, find out, turn up, dig up, expose, reveal handicap /handrkap/: a circumstance that makes progress or success difficult synonyms: impediment, obstacle, barrier, obstruction, constraint, restriction; disadvantage, drawback, difficulty, limitation interfere /tnto'fro/: prevent (a process or activity) from continuing or being carried out properly synonyms: impede, obstruct, hinder, inhibit, restrict, constrain, handicap stride /strard/:an important positive development synonyms: making progress and advancing, grow, development, advancement auditory /'o:drt(a)ri/: Relating to the sense of hearing, 48 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education things as auditory comprehension, verbal ability and language ability. Most important of all, the traditional measures of 'risk’, such as parents’ age and education, or whether they were a single parent, bore little or no relationship to the measures of achievement and language development. Children in the programme performed equally well regardless of socio-economic disadvantages. Child abuse was virtually eliminated, The one factor that was found to affect the child's development was family stress, leading to a_poor quality of parent-child interaction. That interaction was not necessarily bad in poorer families. F These research findings are exciting. There is growing evidence in New Zealand that children from poorer socio-economic backgrounds are arriving at school less well developed and that our school system tends to perpetuate that disadvantage, The initiative outlined above could break that cycle of disadvantage. The concept of working with parents in their homes, or at their place of work, contrasts quite markedly with the report of the Early Childhood Care and Education Working Group. Their focus is on getting children and mothers access to childcare and _institutionalised early childhood education. Education from the age of three to five is undoubtedly vital, but without a similar focus on parent education and on the vital importance of the first three years, some evidence indicates that it will not be enough to overcome educational inequity. verbal /'va‘b(2)// relating to words synonyms: literal abuse /e'bju's/: cruel and violent treatment of a person or animal. SYNONYMS: mistreatment, maltreatment, indecent, ass: injury, hurt, harm, damage eliminate /r'immert/: completely remove or get rid of (something). synonyms: remove, get rid of, put an end to, end, stop. terminate, eradicate, destroy perpetuate /po’petuert/: make (something, typically an undesirable situation or an unfounded belief) continue synonyms: keep going, preserve, conserve, sustain, maintain, continue, extend, carry on, keep up, prolong initiative /r’nrfotrv/: an act or strategy intended to resolve a difficulty or improve a situation; a fresh approach to something. synonyms: plan, scheme, strategy, stratagem, measure, proposal, step, action, approach vital /'vatt(o)//: absolutely necessary or important synonyms: essential, critical, crucial, key, integral indispensable ult, 49 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.‘Thay Kién iFIGHT - Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education Persistent bullying is one of the worst experiences a child can face How can it be prevented? Peter Smith, Professor of Psychology at the University of Sheffield, directed the Sheffield Anti-Bullying Intervention Project, funded by the Department for Education Her he reports on his findings. 50 ‘Thay Kién cing team lam sch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chiic ban thanh céng.Thay Kién iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education A Bullying can take a variety of forms, from the verbal - being taunted or called hurtful names - to the physical - being kicked or shoved - as well as indirect forms, such as being excluded from social groups. A survey I conducted with Irene Whitney found that in British primary schools up to a quarter of pupils reported experience of bullying, which in about one in ten_cases was persistent. There was less bullying in secondary schools, with about one in twenty-five suffering persistent bullying, but these cases may be particularly recalcitrant B Bullying is clearly unpleasant, and can make the child experiencing it feel_unworthy and depressed. In extreme cases it can even lead to suicide, though this is thankfully rare. Victimised pupils are more likely to experience difficulties_with_interpersonal_relationships as adults, while children who persistently bully are more likely to grow up to be physically violent, and convicted of anti-social offences. c Until recently, not much was known about the topic, and little help was available to teachers to deal_with bullying. Perhaps as_a gonsequence, schools would often deny the problem. ‘There is no bullying at this schoo!’ has been a common refrain, almost certainly untrue. Fortunately, more schools are now saying: There is not much bullying here, but when it occurs we have a clear policy for dealing with it” D Three factors are involved in this change. First is an awareness of the severity of the problem. Second, a number of resources to help tackle bullying have become available in Britain. For ‘example, the Scottish Council for Research in Education produced a package of materials, Action Against Bullying, circulated to all schools in England and Wales as well as in Scotland in ‘summer 1992, with a second pack, Supporting Schools Against. Bullying, produced the Bully /"buli/: use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone) synonyms: persecute, harass, intimidate taunt /to:nt/: tease or provoke (someone) synonyms: mock, provoke, tease, torment shove /Jav/: push (someone or something) roughly. synonyms: push, thrust, force, ram, knock, jostle, hustle recalcitrant /rr’kalsrtr(e)n¥/: unwilling to obey orders or to do what should be done uncooperative, intractable, insubordinate, headstrong, contrary, perverse, difficult ‘synonyms: suicide /'s()u:1satd/: the act of killing yourself because you do not want to continue living synonyms: self-destruction, taking one's own life, self-murder, self-slaughter convicted /kan'vrktid/: to decide officially in a law court that someone is guilty of a crime synonyms: find guilty, sentence refrain /rrfrenn/: a comment or complaint that is often repeated. halve /ha.v!: divide into two parts of equal or roughly equal size. 51 Thay Kién cng team lam séch cia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.Thay Kign iFIGHT ~ Lean Vocabulary Vol.1 - Education following year. In Ireland, Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Post-Primary Schools was published in 1993. Third, there is evidence that these materials work, and that schools can achieve something. This comes from carefully conducted ‘before and after’ evaluations of interventions in schools, monitored by a research team. In Norway, after an_intervention campaign was introduced nationally, an evaluation of forty-two schools suggested that, over a two-year period, bullying was halved. The Sheffield investigation, which involved sixteen primary schools and seven secondary schools, found that most schools succeeded in reducing bullying. E Evidence suggests that a key step is to develop a_policy on bullying, saying clearly what is meant by bullying, and giving expl guidelines on what will be done ifit occurs, what records will be kept, who will be informed, what sanctions will be employed. The policy should be developed through consultation, over a period of time - not just imposed from the head teacher's office! Pupils, parents and staff should feel they have been involved in the policy, which needs to be disseminated and implemented effectively. Other actions can be taken to back up the policy. There are ways of dealing with the topic through the curriculum, using video, drama and literature, These are useful for raising awareness, and can best be tied in to early phases of development, while the school is starting to discuss the issue of bullying. They are also useful in renewing the policy for new pupils, or revising it in the light of experience. But curriculum work alone may only have short- term effects; it should be an addition to policy work, not a substitute There are also ways of working with individual pupils, or in small groups, Assertiveness training for pupils who are liable to be victims is worthwhile, and certain approaches to group bullying such as 'no blame’, can be useful in changing the behaviour of bullying pupils without confronting them directly, although ‘explicit /ik'splisiV: very clear and complete synonyms: clear, plain, straightforward, crystal clear, easily understandable; precise, exact, specific, detailed unambiguous; comprehensive sanction /'san(k)[(2)r/: a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule synonyms: penalty, punishment, deterrent; Punitive action, discipline, ban, restriction, prohibition consultation /konsal'ter{(2)r/: a discussion about something that is being decided synonyms: discussion, dialogue, discourse, debate, negotiation, deliberation impose /1m'pauz/: force (something unwelcome or unfamiliar) to be accepted or put in place. synonyms: foist, force, inflict, press disseminate /dr'semmett!: spread (something, especially information) widely. synonyms: spread, circulate, distribute, disperse, promulgate, propagate, publicize implement /‘mpitment/: put (a decision, plan, agreement, etc.) into effect synonyms: execute, apply, put into action, put into practice, carry outithrough, perform, enact; fui, bring about, achieve, realize, actualize substitute /'sabstitju:t/; a thing or person that is used instead of another thing or person synonyms: altemate, replacing, exchanging Assertiveness /s'sa:tivnes/: confident and forceful behavior synonyms: insistence, firmness, confidence 52 Thay Kién cng team lam séch ciia IELTS — iFIGHT chic ban thanh céng.