HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
DIRECTIONS:
Before you begin to read, look at these topics. There is each topic for each paragraph. Look quickly at the reading to find these topics. Do not read every word at this point. Write the number of the paragraph next to the topic of that paragraph.
ü Major types of higher educational establishments in the Republic of Belarus.
ü Higher education in Belarus does not only mean lectures, seminars and exams.
ü Finding a good job on specialty after graduation isn’t a problem in our country.
ü The reputation of Belarusian education.
ü Major forms of learning in Belarusian higher educational establishments.
ACTIVITY B
READING
DIRECTIONS:
Now read.
Higher Education in the Republic of Belarus
1. Belarusian education is ranked among the best ones, and the Belarusian specialists are much in demand in the world. Therefore both our citizens and foreign students wish to study in the higher educational establishments (Universities) of the Republic. There are 340 students per 10,000 residents of Belarus. This ratio is among the highest in Europe.
2. There is a broad network of educational establishments in the system of higher education of Belarus. Four major types can be distinguished:
· Classical university;
· Profile university or academy;
· Institute;
· Higher college.
3. There are 57 higher educational establishments, of which 43 are state owned, 13 are private and 2 are run by religious organizations. Every establishment occupies its particular niche in training of highly qualified staff for various branches of national economy.
4. Classical and profile universities as well as institutes are classified as higher educational establishments of university type and provide a two level system of higher education with academic degrees of Bachelor and Master. At the same time the old 5-year curriculum is still in use. Graduates both from state and private universities are granted state diplomas of higher education.
5. But it is not that easy to become a student. High demand on higher education led to high entrance competition regardless of form of study or specialty. Therefore only the very best can study at budget cost. The entrants who passed the entrance exams successfully but did not win the competition have the opportunity to study for their own account.
6. Belarusian higher educational establishments have 3 forms of learning: full-time, evening and by correspondence. Full-time learning is the most widespread and in the greatest demand with 2/3 of the students. Less than 1% of students use evening form of learning and over 35% of students learn by correspondence. Full-time students with positive grades receive a monthly allowance. Its size depends on a student’s academic success. Correspondence and evening forms of learning are a good opportunity for persons with financial, age, physical and other limitations.
The efficiency of any form of learning is ensured by highly-qualified teaching staff which includes a large number of candidates and doctors of science, associate professors and professors.
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7. But higher education in Belarus does not only mean lectures, seminars and exams. In addition Belarusian students participate in international scientific conferences and competitions, student exchange programs. Belarusian teams take first places at competitions in mathematics, economy and programming. University administration renders assistance in conducting leisure activities of students. Let’s take for example Belarusian State University (BSU), the largest higher educational establishment in the Republic. The BSU Students’ Tutorial Board is the initiator of students’ festivals, sports and athletics meetings, tourist programs and the Bard’s club sessions, which became regular events in the life of the BSU students. Such bodies function at many educational establishments.
8. This is how students spent their time at Belarusian higher educational establishments. After graduation the budget students are provided with the first workplaces. Finding a good job on specialty both in the republic and abroad is not a problem for paying students either.
9. After university graduation young specialists have the possibility to get a postgraduate education. Regardless of pattern of ownership all higher educational establishments are subordinate to the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus.
ACTIVITY C
VOCABULARY STUDY
PART 1
DIRECTIONS:
Match the synonymous pairs:
| board provide academic success entrant participate render to assistance competition teaching staff | supply take part help contest council educational specialists progress in studies school-leaver |
PART II
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DIRECTIONS:
Which word doesn’t suit the group?
· stuff, team, classroom, collective
· training, education, assistance, up-bringing
· university, school, academy, institute
· a lecture, an activity, a seminar, an exam
ACTIVITY D
READING COMPREHENSION
PART I
DIRECTIONS:
Mark the statements below as ‘ True ‘ (T) or ‘ False ‘ (F)
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1. The Belarusian specialists are much in demand in the world. 2. Classical and profile universities provide a three level system of higher education. 3. Evening form of learning is the most widespread in our country. 4. Belarusian teams take first places at various international competitions. 5. After graduation all students are provided with the first workplaces. | T | F |
PART II
DIRECTIONS:
Ask 5 questions of different types to different sentences.
ACTIVITY E
ORGANIZING YOUR THOUGHTS
PART I
DIRECTIONS:
Working with a partner make some decisions about the following situation:
· You are invited to the international conference concerning the development of higher education in different countries. You need to decide what to say about the system of higher education in the Republic of Belarus.
PART II
DIRECTIONS:
Working in groups discuss possible answers:
· Is it easy to become a student in our Republic?
· Are the Belarusian specialists really much in demand in the world? Do you think it is a positive or a negative tendency? Prepare arguments for and against.
ACTIVITY F
WRITE AND SPEAK
PART I
DIRECTIONS:
Give a summary of the text.
PART II
DIRECTIONS:
Express your opinion:
· Education has many different faces, but one purpose. Its purpose is to realize the potential of all, for the good of the individual and society as a whole. Does the system of higher education in the Republic of Belarus give good possabilities for realizing one’s potential?
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· The quality of higher education in our Republic.
· Only the very best students can study at budget cost.
ACTIVITY G
LISTENING COMPREHENSION:
PART I
DIRECTIONS:
Listen to the passage that will be read to you and choose the correct answers from those given below. Choose one letter only, А , В , C, or D, for each of your answers. The passage will be read to you twice with pauses on the second reading for you to select your answers.
Education has acquired a kind of snob value in modern times. We are no longer content to be honest craftsmen, skilled at our work through years of patient practice. Nowadays if we want to get a decent job, we have to have a piece of paper. If we want promotion in even the humblest job, we have to obtain a certificate or a diploma first. We may know that we would be better at the job than the man with the paper qualifications, but our experience and practical skills are regarded as relatively unimportant. 'Johnson would have been Manager by now if he'd taken the trouble to get a degree,' his colleagues say, 'he's a clever man. He could have done anything if he'd had a proper education.'
I wonder if, as time goes on, we shall discover that many people whose practical experience and ability would have been enormously useful to their employers, have been rejected on the grounds that they are insufficiently qualified. Would it not be better to allow people to become expert in the way most suited to them, rather than oblige them to follow a set course of instruction which may offer no opportunity for them to develop skills in which they would have become expert if left to themselves?
1 The writer says that education
A is only valued by snobs
В is only acquired by snobs
С has become a modern form of snobbery
D has become a sign of snobbery
2 If we want to get promotion nowadays we have to
A produce proof of our qualifications
В write a paper about our qualifications
С apply to take a certificate
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D apply to take a diploma
3 From the passage we understand that his colleagues think that Johnson
A should have been given a degree
В would have been able to get a degree
С couldn't have done anything without a degree
D wouldn't have become manager without a degree
4 The writer fears that without paper qualifications many people
A won't be able to get a job
В will prove useless in their job
С will be dismissed from their job
D won't be considered for a job
5 In the writer's opinion it would be better if people
A were obliged to educate themselves in their own way
В were free to become educated in their own way
С attended more practical courses
D attended courses intended for experts
ACTIVITY H
SELF-WORK:
PART I
DIRECTIONS:
Translate the topical vocabulary using a dictionary:
| a scholar – capacity – illiteracy – campus – significant – to contribute – foundation – elimination – ordeal – | landmark – to sacrifice – evidence – creative – facility – to plunder – to participate – prominent – staff – |
PART II
DIRECTIONS: Now read.
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