Lab works

HIGHER EDUCATION

 Lab. Work 1

1.      You’ll hear five speakers talking about problems they or their relatives face while studying. Fill in the chart with the information given in the recording. Be especially precise with the column “Your solution to the problem”; here, you’re supposed to give your personal advice to avoid or ease the problems mentioned by the speakers.

Speaker	Problem	Signs of the Problem	Your Solution to the Problem
1	exams	we also need to assess the ability to learn: this type of exam or learning license (tests this ability) would be more useful for students, employers and society in general. It shows which candidates are good at engineering, but it also shows actually which can think as an engineer.	I think it’s not bad to take the exam in the form of learning license. It is convenient to check both theoretical knowledge and basic practical skills in such a way.
2	Father worries about his daughter’s state	She is studying for 3 A-levels preparing for medical school. She works nights and weekends to prepare for her exams. She works hard. She dedicates her life to studying. As a result she has tired face, sleepless nights etc.	I think it’s not a reason for anxiety. It’s her choice- the choice to study all day and night. It’s her decision to connect her life with medicine. To my mind parents shouldn’t interfere in the life of their children.
3	Exhaustion during the preparation for entrance exams	He lost his weight, he has big black rings under his eyes. He sleeps for 3 or 4 hours a day. He didn’t sleep at all during the last 3 or 4 days.	Every student should do their best to be good at the entrance exams. But at the same time they should pay special attention to their health: spend the time at the fresh air, consume more fruits and vegetables, try to stay unworried.
4	The lack of confidence while writing the exam.	He has never thought of himself like a highflyer, he has never excepted such high results. -lack of confidence	Before the exam particularly every student has the lack of confidence, it’s normal, I suppose. So I suppose that sometimes it can be helpful to feel unconfident. Nevertheless, if the person loses all his sureness and certainty it may lead to the fiasco. The best way to overcome this is to stay cool, collect yourself and be ready for any kinds of results.
5	Using technology while conducting exams.	The results would be able to get much faster, 40% of all exams will be conducting electronically in a couple of years, online tests and registration will follow.	On the one hand electronic exams are good, because they safe our time. Still exams conducted electronically can cause different problems: firstly the results can be wrong, secondly any digital device lacks an ability to assess creativity. So I think that only electronic registration can be used in schools or universities as a new challenge.

2.      Have you ever experienced problems while studying?  What were these problems like? How did you cope with them?

I faced the problems with my new life in the Institute. First off all a new tempo of life: I tried to organize my timetable properly. The lack of time: in our faculty the students have no free time. We should read and analyze, read and analyze, read and analyze…all day and night! It’s not an easy thing! My decision is to reduce the time with my friends and dedicate the most part of my life to studying.

3.      What are other difficulties that contemporary university students face while studying? When do the problems usually occur? Are there special stresses that cause them? Do you agree that the quality learning is “the travel of hardships”? Give account of about 100 words on the questions mentioned.

There are a lot of problems that students face during the process of their studying. First of all ,it’s the lack of parental support. As a rule our parent are far from our place of studying. The second problem is that without friends students feel lonely. It’s not an easy thing to feel confident without any support.  Before the exams most students feel depressed. Moreover, when studentshave lots of work to do, they have no time to relax. So, it is very important to know how to cope with it and to be more confident. I agree with the statement “the travel of hardships” because you can't achieve anything until you work hard.

Lab. Work 2

Listen to a talk given by a university advisor to a group of students and answer the following questions:

1.        What is the standard grading system in the USA

 Historically, the grades were A, B, C, D, and F—A being the highest and F, denoting failure, the lowest.

2.        What are the ‘special grades’ that the speaker mentions in the recording?

They are satisfactory (S) and unsatisfactory (U) grades.

3.        Comment on the standard grading system in your country?

5-grade system:5 is exc, 4-good, 3-satisfactory, 2 – unsatisfactory.

4.        Do schools and colleges practice non-standard grading systems? What are they?

Yes, they do. The system of credits in the UK and the USA.

5.        Give examples of other grading systems throughout the world? Which of them do you think are efficient for the students’ academic assessment?

France

They have 20 step grading system

France	Russia
20-17	5
16-14	4
13-10	3
9-7	2
7-…	1

Ukraine

In the Ukraine, they’ve gone in the opposite direction. Whereas they used to use a simple Russian 5-step grading system, in 2000, they introduced the 12-step grading system which goes like this:

12 - given only for significant achievements or exceptionally creative work

11 - the equivalent of an ‘A’ in the U.S.

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 – complete fail

Lab. Work 3

Listen to a talk by a student advisor on campus. Answer the following questions.
1. What are the rules for dropping a course in the talk provided?
You can drop the course within the first three week of the semester. First, you need to get the signature of the professor whose course you want to drop on the official drop card/ Then you need to go to a student advisor on campus to get the signature of your adviser

2. What warnings does the student advisor give?
You can not officially drop the course after the first three weeks of the semester. If you are having problems in a course and you decide to let it run if you want to drop the course – it is impossible to do so. If you stop attending a course without going through the official drop procedures, the course will remain on your schedule and you will receive a failing grade.

3. How can you avoid getting a failing grade, according to the recording?
It is important to understand these procedures and follow them. If you do so, you will not have any problems.

4. What are the official drop procedures for the elective courses in your country? 

There are no official drop procedures for the elective courses in Russia.

Lab. Work 4

Listen to a talk given on a college campus.
1. What are the places of a college campus that the speaker mentions in the recording?

The Library; the Students’ Center: bookstore, post office, a bank, a theatre, a coffee shop, a travel agency, bowling alley; the Administration complex: offices of the university administrators, the students’ records office

2. Can you find the similar campus places in your college/university? What are other places that are worth mentioning? Characterize them briefly.
We can find the similar campus places in our institute. But, there is no theatre, travel agency and bowling alley.

Library with a reading room

This place in our institute is the most quiet and comfortable for studying.

Cafeterias

There are some food-service areas: a major cafeteria (ground floor) and a smaller deli (first floor). There is also a little shop where students can buy some snack.

Hall of residence

It’s a place where most of students out of Kolomna live.

The college copy center

 Sometimes students may be required to provide multiple copies of an assignment for a class or other documents. 

The big concert hall

A place for important events and activities.

3. 
Pick out the places from the previous task and make a similar tour around your college/university to inform the freshmen about the campus.
It’s a new city full of new people and new experiences. So there's your residence hall, the nearest dining center, and of course your classrooms. Those places, you'll be going to all the time because...well...that's why you're here. But of course, you don't want to only go there.
There are two halls of residence on the territory of campus for those students who live far away from the institute.
There are five floors in our institute.
There is the big concert hall for important events and activities and the ballroom where students have discos and little performances.
If you need a quiet place for studying go to reading room. The Library is located near and moreover there are much convenient study space as well as computers equipped with access to the Internet, a photocopier, colour printing and much more.
Sometimes students may be required to provide multiple copies of an assignment for a class or other documents. In this case you should go to the college copy center
In the bookstore you can buy there not only the necessary books but also it’s the source of many items that a student may need or want.
There are some food-service areas: a major cafeteria (ground floor) and a smaller deli (first floor). There is also a little shop where students can buy some snack.