Laboratory Work. Higher education

MP3 AUDIO 5.1

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	examination	the ability to learn	develop process of examination
2	preparation for an exam	tired face, sleepless nights etc.	not to worry; more sleep
3	entrance to university	Lost weight, rings under eyes, lack of sleep	not to worry; more sleep
4	the highest grade	Stunned, confidence	to do one’s best to achieve more
5	automatic checking of tests results	reduce the time of checking papers	develop this system in order to exclude possible mistakes in checking

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

I experienced stress before examinations. In order to cope with it, I tried to be positive, handled each task as it came, or selectively dealt with matters in some priority.

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.

Studying is likely to bring a number of changes to students’ life. Hopefully it should be enjoyable and interesting, but it can also be challenging – especially if you are experiencing a mental health problem. Some changes or new experiences that many people experience are: meeting and working with new people, new demands such as deadlines for written work or presentations, exams, balancing the demands of studying with work or caring commitments, maintaining relationships with family and old friends, leaving home or moving house. Besides, it is important to know how to de-stress. Learning how to de-stress is crucial. Straightforward, effective, self-help techniques are going to be very helpful when you have a heavy workload, in the run-up to the exams, and even when you’re sitting in the exam room. For instance, you can do some physical activity, consider complementary therapies, get enough sleep and so on.

MP3 AUDIO 5.2

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?

Standard letter-grading system of A, B, C, and F

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

Satisfactory (S) and Unsatisfactory (U)

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

In Russia there is a number-grading system of 2 (bad), 3 (satisfactory), 4 (good), 5 (excellent).

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

Qualifiers + and – are often used to add some degree of differentiation between the grades, e.g. 4+ is better than 4 but not as good as 5–. Grading varies greatly from school to school, university to university and even teacher to teacher, and tends to be entirely subjective even for courses that lend themselves to objective marking such as mathematics and applied sciences. Even though the grades technically range from "1" to "5", "1" is not very common and is rarely given for academic reasons—in many cases a "1" is given as a result of failure to show up for an exam or to answer any questions. A "2" grade usually means that the student showed little or no knowledge in a subject.

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

• In Germany, school grades vary from 1 (very good, sehr gut) to 6 (insufficient, ungenügend). In the final classes of German Gymnasium schools that prepare for university studies, a point system is used with 15 points being the best grade and 0 points the worst. The percentage causes the grade can vary from teacher to teacher.
• Most New Zealand secondary schools use the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) marking schedule, even in pre-NCEA years for commonality. There are four grades, from lowest to highest, Not Achieved (N), Achieved (A), Merit (M), and Excellence (E). The minority of schools using other secondary school qualifications (usually CIE or IB) have different grades. Grading at tertiary institutions generally centers around a letter scale, with a corresponding 9 point GPA scale (C=1, A+=9).
• In Peru grades range from 0 to 20, in an almost unique grading table. The passing grade is 11 in almost all schools and universities, while certain ones require 13. In some preschool facilities, grades usually range from F to A+, following the American system, and in a few colleges, the passing grade is 10.

MP3 AUDIO 5.3

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 a course within the four three weeks of the semester, to drop a course you first need to get the signature of the professor of the course you want to drop in an official drop card, then you should get the signature of your advisor.

2. What warnings does the student advisor give?

·         You can officially drop a course after the first three weeks of the semester.

·         If you are having problems in a course and you decide later on that you want to drop the course it’s impossible to do so.

3. How can you avoid getting a failing grade, according to the recording?

·         If you stop attending your course without going through the official drop-procedures, the course will remain on your schedule and you will receive a falling grade. It is important to understand these procedures and follow them. If you do so, you won’t 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. Everything depends on the place where you study at.

MP3 AUDIO 5.4

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?

·         library, student center, administration complex

2. Can you find the similar campus places in your college/university? What are other places that are worth mentioning? Characterize them briefly.

In our Institute we do not have a student center, and there is no a separate administration complex. There are 2 dormitories, 3 gyms, a stadium, a canteen, and a huge complex where lectures take place.

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.

There are 2 dormitories where the students live; a library with a computer lab and thousands of books, journals and magazines which are necessary for studying; a huge complex where lectures take place.