Education in Great Britain. Бояринцева Е.И - 16 стр.

                          SPEAKING                                                 2. Work in groups of four (five). As a group discuss, choose or
                                                                            develop yourselves 5–6 criteria that you find most relevant and useful
TASKS
                                                                            for those who plan to enroll on courses / at universities abroad. Get
                                                                            ready to present your group’s criteria to the rest of the class providing
      1. Read some recommendations for choosing a course and a              reasons for your choices. Explain whether you think these are appli-
college in Great Britain. Do you find these useful? If yes, in which        cable to people applying for Russian universities too
way? If no, why not?                                                                • Do I want to live and study in London, or in a smaller city or
                                                                            town?
                         Choosing a college                                        • Do I prefer to study at a larger college or a small college?
       Before choosing a course you should think about what to do at               • Has the college been established for a long time or is it a new
the end of the course. You can then ask yourself the following ques-        one? Which do I prefer?
tions:                                                                             • Has the college been accepted by an accrediting body?
     • What qualifications do I ultimately want to obtain?                         • If I am planning to apply for a grant or loan from my home
     • Will the course give the right qualifications for the job I          government is the college acceptable to them?
want, or for the next course I want to take?                                       • Do I know exactly what the college is going to teach me?
     • Is this the right course for my long-term aims?                             • Do I know what sort of teaching methods the college uses?
       It is important not to rush with your decision about which course    Which method suits me best?
to take. You should try to avoid changing courses too often. It is not             • What other facilities does the college provide? Does it pro-
good for your academic progress – especially if you never complete          vide all the facilities I would like to have?
any of the courses. It can be very expensive to keep changing courses,             • Does the college provide its own residential accommodation?
and it may also give the Home Office the impression that you are not a      Do I want accommodation in the college or would I prefer to live out-
genuine student.                                                            side the college? Does the college help students to find
    • Will the college / university provide me with decent ac-              accommodation?
commodation?                                                                       • How much does the course cost? Have I enough money to
       You should also check whether the college provides residential       cover the tuition fees and my living expenses?
accommodation or helps its students to find accommodation. Colleges
in smaller towns are more likely to provide accommodation than col-               3. Imagine that you have to choose a place to study. Put these
leges in London or other large cities. Whatever sort of accommodation       factors in order of priority from 1 to 7 (1 = most relevant). Which one
you decide to take, you should try to have it arranged before you arrive    would influence you most in making a decision?
in the UK.
       If you are going to live in college you should check whether you        – the location _______
can stay in the room during the holidays.                                      – the reputation _______
       Many overseas students stay in Halls or Halls of Residence – at         – teaching methods ________
least for the first year. Hostels are cheap, meals are usually provided,       – residential accommodation ________
and there will be helpful staff and other students around. If you do wish      – grants, loans ________
                                                                               – cost of the course _______
to apply for a place in a student hostel, you should do so well in ad-
                                                                               – other facilities _______
vance.

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