Study at college. Learning foreign languages

(Обучение в колледже. Изучение иностранных языков)

Text 1. Ann’s college

(Колледж Энн)

Vocabulary

An education -образование

to be enrolled — числиться в списках студентов

to be expelled –быть отчисленным

full-time students — студенты дневного отделения

part time-students — студенты вечернего отделения

student of distant education — студент(ка) «заочник»

course of study — курс обучения

industrial automation — промышленная автоматика

machine-tools— станки

metalworking — металлообработка

Information Technology (IT)– информационныетехнологии

up-to-date equipment — современное оборудование

research work — исследовательская работа

classroom — класс, аудитория

lecture hall — лекционный зал

laboratory — лаборатория

term, semester (амер.) — семестр

school year — учебный год

teaching instructor (TI) — преподаватель

teaching staff — преподавательский состав

Hello! Now let me tell you about my Polytechnical College. I am really glad that I study here. It is one of the finest country's polytechnical colleges. Many famous people have graduated from my college. Studying at our college gives a solid background in all spheres of knowledge and prepares for practical work.

Our college is quite large and old. It was founded in 1973. It is a large school where more than 3,000 students are currently enrolled. About 2,000 are full-time students, like me, and the rest are part time-students.

The course of study at my college lasts four years. There are many departments in my college. Here are some of them: the department of industrial automation and robot­ics, the department of plastics, the department of machine tools and the department of metalworking.

Our college is large and we have several buildings. One of the buildings is for lessons only. There are many large halls there so that students of 3-4 groups together can fit in there. And that is more than 100 people. The acoustics in such large halls is very good but sometimes it is very noisy when students chat during the lesson.

We have two laboratory buildings which are equipped with up-to-date equipment and there students can carry on lab works and conduct various experiments. Many students from my group do their own research work.

There are several cafes at the academy. My favourite one is situated in a separate one-storeyed building and people say that this is the oldest canteen or student's cafe. The food there is tasty and very affordable.

There are also several dormitories or hostel buildings where students from other cities live. I don't live in a dormitory — I rent an apart­ment.

Answer the following questions:

1. When was your Polytechnical College established? 2. Who was the first Director? 3. How many people are currently enrolled? 4. What is the most popular department in your College?

Exercise 1. Make one sentence with each word

Course of study

Machine tools

Metalworking

Up-to-date equipment

Research work

Classroom

Lecture hall

Laboratory

Teaching instructor

Teaching stuff

Part-time student

Full-time student

Exercise 2. Cross out the inappropriate word

1) to be enrolled – a full-time student – course of study – to be expelled

2) robots – plastics – machine-tools – course of study – teaching instructor

3) classroom – lecture hall – laboratory – one-storeyed – college

4) semester – term – school year – course of study – teaching stuff

5) research work – course of study – up-to date equipment – an education

Exercise 3. Write/ tell about your college.

What is the full name of the college?

When was it founded?

How many students are currently enrolled?

How many departments are there in the college?

How many buildings does it consist of?

Where can students have lunch?

Text 2. Learning foreign languages

Vocabulary

to be of paramount importance - иметь первостепенное значение

to be a must - быть обязательным

to aid communication and global understanding - способствовать общению и глобальному взаимопониманию

complex of interrelated parts –комплекс взаимосвязанных частей

cultural exchange –культурный обмен

top executive –руководитель высшего звена

to benefit from better language skills –получать выгоду от лучшего знания языка

to find a better-paid and reward­ing job –найти хорошо оплачиваемую и интересную работу

to be educational –быть образованным

to develop the human brain –развивать человеческий мозг

to have denser grey matter –иметь более плотное «серое вещество»

to process information –обрабатывать информацию

to emphasise the importance of smth –подчеркнуть важность чего-либо

upper secondary education –старшие классы средней школы

language of international com­munication –язык международного общения

global language –глобальный язык

to occupy a primary place –иметь первостепенное значение

to require a working knowledge of English –требовать хотя бы рабочего знания английского языка

occupation -профессия

the current status –современный статус

the dominant language –доминирующий язык
Commonwealth nations –страны Британского содружества

former colony –бывшая колония

official language –официальный язык

Foreign languages are of paramount importancefor everyday life. Learning at least one foreign language is a mustin most countries of the world. There are several ways how I can prove this. Firstly, speaking a foreign language aids communication and global understanding.The world is no longer a combination of separate countries, it's rather a complex of interrelated parts,connected economically and sometimes politically. In international communication, foreign languages are neces­sary for international commerce as well as for different types of cultural exchangesuch as diplomacy, arts and so on. Owners and top executivesof most companies think their businesses could benefit from better language skills.Therefore, knowing a foreign language gives more opportunities of finding a better-paid and rewarding job.

Secondly, learning a foreign language is educationalas it helps develop the human brain.In 2004, a study by University College London examined the brains of 105 people who could speak more than one language. The study found that people who learned a second language when younger had denser grey matter(where information is processed)than those who learned one later. Most schools around the world teach at least one foreign language. In 1995 the European Commission's White Paper on Education and Training emphasized the importance ofschoolchildren learning at least two foreign languages before upper secondary education.

English is the language of international communicationand the most spoken language in the world.

First, there have long been a need for an international language — a language of international communication.At present, the language of international communication, a 'global language'is English. In addition, the language has occupied a primary placein international science and business. Through the global influence of native English speakers in cinema, airlines, broadcasting, science, and the Internet in recent decades, English is now the most widely learned second language in the world. Many students worldwide are required to learn at least some English, and a working knowledge of English is requiredin many fields and occupations. The current statusof the English language compares with that of Latin in the past.

Second, English is the dominant languagein the United Kingdom, the United States, many Commonwealth nations,and other former Brit­ish colonies.In many other countries, where English is not a major first language, it is an official language.It is now the third most spoken native language worldwide (after Chinese and Hindi), with some 380 million speakers. An equal number of people use it as their second or foreign language.

I. Translate the following sentences into English:

1. Изучение иностранных языков стало обязательным в современном мире, являющемся комплексом взаимосвязанных частей, пос­кольку знание иностранного языка способствует коммуникации и глобальному взаимопониманию.

2. На многих должностях и во многих профессиях требуется хотя бы рабочее знание английского, так как руководители многих компаний считают, что их компании могут выиграть от лучшего знания языка.

3. Знание иностранного языка дает больше возможностей найти более высокооплачиваемую и интересную работу.

4. Английский — доминирующий язык в ряде стран, таких как Beликобритания, США, страны Британского Содружества и других, и наиболее изучаемый второй язык в мире.

5. Английский язык занял первое место в международной науке и бизнесе, а также в международной компьютерной коммуникации.

Text 3. Learning English

Inmy opinion, English is easier to learn than many other foreign languages because its grammar is not very complicated. Still, its a tricky language to learn because English pronuncia­tion is very difficult. There are more exceptions than rules and you have to look up words in the dictionary to check up their pronunciation because you can't rely on rules.

I can't say exactly which is most important in learning a language: grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation. Of course the main thing in a language is its vocabulary. If you don't know the words, you won't be able to express your idea even if you know lots of grammar rules. Some students think that being able to communicate is the most important thing in learning a language and they do not care that they make many mistakes in speaking. However, grammar and pronunciation are of great importance, too. If you mispronounce some word, the meaning can be different and people won't be able to understand you. The same thing is with grammar. Of course if you omit's' at the end of the verb, this won't make much difference, but if you mix up verb tenses, people will misunderstand you. In my opinion, weshould be concerned with both communicating and accuracy. To sum up, I think that all these aspects are very important for successful communication.

As for me, I enjoy learning English because it is a very beautiful language. 1 like all activities but most of all I prefer reading. It's a very enjoyable activity because while reading you can learn a lot of new things, for example, you can learn some information about English-speaking countries. Besides, read­ing is easier for me than speaking or listening because I don't have to concentrate and recollect the necessary words. If I don't know any word in the book, I can always look it up in the dic­tionary. What is more, when I read English books, I learn lots of new words and enlarge my vocabulary. We don't have lots of opportunities to communicate with native speakers or to listen to an English speech so reading is the best way to stay in touch with the language. Today we have an opportunity to find plenty of interesting English websites and to enjoy this language.

There are a lot of useful learning strategies that can help us improve our English such as reading English books, using a cas­sette recorder or watching English films. But in my opinion, the best way of learning a language is to practise a lot. Today we have an opportunity to go to an English-speaking country and talk to native speakers. In my opinion, it's the best way to enlarge my vocabulary, to improve my grammar and pro­nunciation and to train my speaking and listening skills. That's why I'd like to go to Great Britain and take a course at an Eng­lish school.

I. Answer the following questions:

1. Why do people in Russia learn English? 2. Does everyone need to learn English? Why? 3. What do you think is the best way of learning a foreign lan­guage? Why? 4. Why do you learn English? 5. Is it difficult for you to learn English? Why? 6. Are you a good language learner? Why? 7. Would you like to learn any other foreign language in addi­tion to English? Why?/Why not?

Text 4. English today

Vocabulary

distance -расстояние

reason -причина

especially -в особенности

billion -миллиард

population -население

official language -государственный язык

government -правительство

politics -политика

diplomacy -дипломатия

science - наука

technology -техника

trade- торговля

fax -факс

scientific- научный

educated -образованный, культурный

process -процесс

patience -терпение

it's a must -это просто необходимо; без этого нельзя

throughout the world -пo всему миру

nursery school -детский сад

The modern world is becoming smaller all the time. Every day distances between different countries seem less. For this reason it's becoming more and more important to know different languages, especially English.

One billion people speak English today. That's about 20% of the world's population.

400 million people speak English as their first language. For the other 600 million people it's either a second language or a foreign language.

English is the first language in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is one of the official languages in Canada, the Irish Republic and the Republic of South Africa.

As a second language English is spoken in more than 60 countries. It is used by the government, businessmen and universities.

English is the language of politics and diplomacy, science and technology, business and trade, sport and pop music.

80% of all information in the world's computers is in English.

75% of the world's letters and faxes are in English.

60% of all international telephone calls are made in English.

More than 60% of all scientific journals are written in English.

To know English today is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist. Learning a language is not an easy thing. It's a long and slow process that takes a lot of time and patience. But it's a must.

English is taught throughout the world and a lot of people speak it quite well. In our country English is very popular: it is studied at schools (sometimes even at nursery schools), colleges and universities.

Everyone will speak English soon — I'm sure of it. We all need to understand each other. To do that we need an international language, and that's English.

I. Answer the following questions:

1. Why is it necessary to know English today? 2. English is a world language, isn't it? 3. How many people speak English? 4. In what countries is English the official language (one of the official languages)? 5. Is English popular in Russia? 6. Is learning languages an easy thing? 7. Have you read any books in English? 8. Have you seen any films in English? 9. Have you ever visited an English-speaking country? 10. What other languages would you like to know?