SCHOOL SYSTEM OF GREAT BRITAIN
OBJECTIVES
· To provide students with practice in listening comprehension
· To develop students’ logical thinking, creative abilities, imagination
· To stimulate learners’ imaginative thinking on the subject and working in groups
· To cultivate students’ taste and stimulate them to know more
WARM UP
Listen to the poem and comment it.
The more we learn, the more we know.
The more we know, the more we forget.
The more we forget, the less we know.
The less we know, the less we forget.
The less we forget, the more we know.
So why study?
Introducing the Topic Vocabulary
Head teacher, headmaster / mistress — the head of a school.
Deputy head teacher, deputy headmaster / mistress — is often responsible for the timetable and various other practical matters, and for discipline in all but serious classes, which are dealt with by the head teacher himself.
Head of department — the teacher in charge of teaching of a particular subject or group of subjects throughout school.
Nursery, primary and secondary school teachers.
Assistant (teacher) — the ordinary teachers who are responsible for their own classes, but must consult their head or department on all important mat ters.
Master / mistress can be used instead of the teacher with the name of tin1 subject.
Class form teacher, form teacher — a teacher responsible for a particular class / form.
Subject teacher / specialist is used among teachers and educationalists in cases where it is necessary to distinguish those who teach a particular subject.
Teaching staff— the teachers of a school.
LISTENING
Pre-listening task
Listen to the text and compare national curriculums in Ukraine and in Great Britain. If you wish, you may use the following questions as apian.
1. What is common?
2. What is different?
3. What seems strange for you?
4. What do you like in each system?
5. What would you dislike? Why?
SUBJECTS TO STUDY IN BRITISH SCHOOLS
At the schools of England and Wales there is the National Curriculum. It means that the pupils study the same subjects and the same syllabus.
The National Curriculum consists of ten subjects which are compulsory. The main of them are English, Mathematics and Science (which includes Biology, Chemistry and Physics). Everybody must learn them.
The other subjects are called foundation subjects. They are Technology and Design, Music, Art, History, Geography and Physical Education. All children from 11 to 16 must learn a foreign language. Usually it is French or German.
Answer the questions.
1. What does a national curriculum do with school subjects?
2. Is there the same national curriculum for all parts of Britain?
3. What are the main subjects at British schools according to the national curriculum?
4. What are foundation subjects?
5. Is a foreign language a compulsory subject for all pupils in all forms?
WORK IN PAIRS
Divide these statements into to columns
SCHOOL DISCIPLINE RULES IN BRITAIN
Do... / Don't...- wear full uniform at all time;
- leave your homework until the last minute.
- tie long hair back;
- give money to your teacher for safekeeping;
- be late;
- wear mousse, gel or hair spray on your hair;
- be in the yard no earlier than 8.50 am and no later than 9.00 am;
- bring jewellery to school;
- leave money in coat pockets;
- walk;
- move around school quietly;
- collect your dinner tickets before 9 am;
- bring sweets or chewing gum to school;
- hand your home work in on time.
Key:
Do...
- wear full uniform at all time;
- tie long hair back;
- give money to your teacher for safekeeping;
- be in the yard no earlier than 8.50 am and no later than 9.00 am;
- walk;
- move around school quietly;
- collect your dinner tickets before 9 am;
- hand your home work in on time.
Don't...
- be late;
- wear mousse, gel or hair spray on your hair;
- bring jewellery to school;
- leave money in coat pockets;
- bring sweets or chewing gum to school;
- leave your homework until the last minute.
Compare them with yours and answer the questions:
1. What rules are common?
2. What rules are different?
3. What rules seem too strict to you?
4. What rules seem strange to you? Why?
5. What rules would you recommend to borrow for your school? Why?
READING
Compare the punishments in British schools with your school.
1. What is common?
2. What is different?
3. What is the worst punishment at your school?
4. Which school is more strict in punishments?
PUNISHMENTS IN ENGLISH SCHOOLS
The most popular punishments in English schools are lines, detention, report, exclusion and expulsion.
If a teacher gives a pupil 'lines' h means that the pupil must write out the same sentence for fifty or a hundred times, for example, 'I must not be late'.
To be in detention' means to stay after school to do extra work -lines or another one - for half an hour or so.
'To be on report' means that a pupil has a card which he or she gives to the teacher at the end of every lesson. The teacher reports in the card if the pupil have behaved well or badly.
Exclusion is the worst punishment in British schools. If the pupil is excluded, he or she cannot come to school for a few days or weeks. The pupil's parents see the headteacher.
Expulsion means that a pupil is sent away from his or her school. The pupil have to go to another school where the teachers all know about the bad record.
Say, if the following is true or false. Give the right variant if necessary.
1. When a teacher gives you 'lines' you must stand near a line drawn on the floor.
2. If you are 'in detection' you stay after school till the next morning.
3. If you are 'on report’, you have a card which you give to the teacher at the end of every lesson.
4. If you are excluded, you cannot come to school for some period.
5. If you are expelled, you cannot come to discotheques.
WORK IN GROUPS
Read the following information about school life in Britain and compare it with the life at your school.
SCHOOL LIFE
IN BRITAIN / AT YOUR SCHOOLThere are three terms: Autumn, Spring and Summer
Each term is divided into two half-terms with a five-day holiday between them
Holidays can vary at different regions. Usually all schools have ten days at Christmas, tea days at Easter and six weeks in the summer from the end of July to the beginning of September.
Pupils can eat lunch in the school canteen.
‘Dinner tickets' are not expensive.
Children from the families with low income have "free school meals” - they do not pay for it
Many pupils bring 'packed lunch’ and do not eat in the canteen.
All pupils enjoy discussing how awful school food is.
All schools organise a short daily meeting for the whole school to give important information. It is called school assembly.
School uniform becomes more popular in recent years. / How many terms have you at school? What are they?
Have you half-terms?
When have you holidays? How long are they?
Can you eat in the school canteen? Are there inexpensive 'dinner tickets' at your school?
Are there 'free school meals' at your school?
Do pupils bring 'packed lunches' at your school?
Do you enjoy discussing 'awful school food'?
Have you school assemblies? How often do they take place?
Is there any school uniform at your school? If so, is it popular? Why?
Answer the questions.
1. What is common between your school and British schools?
2. What is different?
3. What seems the most strange to you? Why?
4. Which features of British school life would you like to have at your school? Why?
5. What don't you like at British school lire? Why?
6. Which school life is more strict?
7. Would you recommend to change anything m school life rules in Ukraine and Great Britain? What exactly and why?
PROJECT WORK
Three groups prepared information about school rules and what pupils think about them.
Group 1:
SCHOOL RULES
All schools have rules. At the Fenglou Acrobatics School in Wuqia, China, students have to work very hard. "Students must not bring toys or games to the school," says Zhang Fenglou, the school's principal, "because they don't need them, they have no time for games". When students do something wrong, they have to do a handstand for half and hour.
Most schools have a more relaxed attitude. At Windsor House School, North Vancouver, Canada, teachers, parents and students vote for the school rules.
Group 2:
SCHOOL UNIFORM
All over the world some students have to wear school uniforms. Kamuzu Academy in Malawi, Africa, is a private school and the students have to wear straw hats and blazer. In Sepehr school, Tehran, Iran, the girls have to wear a blue dress. One student explains why she enjoys wearing a uniform, "Some girls wear something over their dross. However, I think there is a beauty in the whole school wearing the same thing". However, usually school uniforms are unpopular among young people who want to wear something more fashionable!
Visit almost any school in Britain and the first thing you'll notice is the school uniform. When there is more than one school in the town, school uniform can make differences between schools worse. In London there are many cases of bullying and fighting between students from different schools. In fact, many schools now tell their students to change or cover their uniform for the journey to and from school!
STUDENTS THINK RULES SUPPRESS INDIVIDUALITY
The rules of dress codes have been forever disputed in high schools locally and nationally. Through the years, threats of uniforms in public schools have sounded due to the problems that many kids have in following these regulations.
Some dressing rules include: no hats or sunglasses in the building; no advertising of alcohol and drugs; no clothes for beaches.
"I understand the reasons for the rules and generally don't have any problems with them," says 15-year-old Tab Guthrie. "You have to look at it from the viewpoint of the teachers. The way we dress shows their reputations."
Others, such as Brian Anderson, 15, disagree. "I find the dress code rules ridiculous. I mean, why can't you wear a hat? I say, as soon as school buys my clothes, I'll wear what they want me to wear."
The High School student handbook says that students should be clean, serviceable and wear suitable clothes, but dress codes are not always followed by students.
The way one dresses reflects their image and personality. Could it be limited by the rules? The dress code dispute has been an age-old topic. As society grows, and everything is becoming accepted, perhaps the individual styles of each student will as well.
Group 3:
MOBILE TELEPHONES
Like teenagers all over the world, British teenagers love to chat. The mobile phone is an essential for most British teenagers. More than 90% of 12-16 years-olds have one. Many experts believe that mobiles stop teenagers' spending money on cigarettes and sweets. However, mobile phones aren't all good news. They cause 35% of teen-age crime. Text-bullying is also a new and worrying trend.
BULLIES
School uniform is not the only cause of bullying in Britain. 50% of teenagers in Britain say they have beck bullied because of their race, looks, accent, intelligence or for no reason at all. 16 teenagers in Britain kill themselves because of bullying, a problem now called bullyicide.
SCHOOL SUBJECTS
In most countries, students study a wide range of subjects until the age of 18. In the UK, students specialise early, choosing throe or four subjects at the age of 16. English is a very important subject for young people all over the world. In Cyprus many students have private lessons in the afternoon to help them get into British and American universities. However, in the USA only 30% of high school students study a language (usually Spanish).
Each group makes up 3 right and wrong statements to the topic using their notes and say sentences to other groups.
QUIZE
1. When do children go to Infant schools in England? (At 5)
2. What do schoolchildren do in junior schools? (Read, write, do sums)
3. What is pre-school education provided by? (Kindergartens)
4. Where is vocational education provided? (secondary schools or vocational schools)
5. How many terms are there at English schools? ( 3)
6. School uniform in England becomes more popular, doesn't it? (Yes)
7. What are the main types of British schools? (State and private)
8. How many per cent of children attend private schools? ( 7 %)
9. What is intelligence testing like? (100 questions)
10. What does a national curriculum do with school subjects in Britain? (// means that the pupils study the same subjects and the same syllabus.)
11. Is there the same national curriculum for all parts of Britain? (No, England and Wales)
12. How many subjects, which are compulsory does the national curriculum consist of? (10)
13. Is a foreign language a compulsory subject for all British pupils in all forms? (Yes)
14. What are the main subjects at British schools according to the national curriculum? (English, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics.)