HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN
The structure of higher education in Great Britain is very complex. There are four main types of higher educational institutions: colleges of advanced technology, technical colleges, teacher-training colleges and universities.
A university consists of a large number of faculties; medicine, arts, philosophy, law, music, natural sciences, economics, engineering, agriculture, commerce, education and theology. The course of study at the university generally lasts 3-4 years.
Of all British universities Oxford is the oldest because its history goes back to the 12th century. Cambridge University was founded in the 13th century. These two universities are considered the best in Great Britain as the standards of teaching are very high there. Both universities are the most “aristocratic” ones in Britain. Young people from the working class families cannot study at Oxford and Cambridge because the cost of living and education there is higher than at any other university. In general, higher education in Great Britain is paid for while in the Russian Federation some education is free of charge.
The system of education at these universities is rather unusual: the teaching is based on lectures and so-called tutorial system. It means that each student has a teacher or a tutor who plans his work. The tutor recommends the student to attend some lectures if they are interesting for his work. Each week some students come to see their tutor and he discusses with them the work which they have done.
The academic year has three terms (from 8 to 10 weeks each) with vacations between the terms.
Colleges of advanced technology are in status equal to universities and in fact they are technological universities. They provide their students with higher technical education.
Technical colleges train specialists in one of the fields of national economy, for example, food technology, heating, ventilation, refrigeration engineering, etc.
As to teacher-training colleges, they provide the country with highly educated teachers for schools, colleges, and universities.
IV. Creative task:
Что Вы узнали нового, прочитав текст? Выразите своё мнение, подтвердив его высказываниями из текста:
| It is (was) interesting to know that … | Было интересно узнать |
| It’s rather unusual for the Russian student … | Довольно необычно для российского студента … |
| It becomes familiar … | Стало известным (известно) … |
| As far as I understand … | Насколько я понимаю |
| I am sure that … | Я уверен(а), что … |
| I suppose (think) that … | Я полагаю (думаю), что … |
Example: It is interesting to know that to become a student of any university you are to get A level.