Match the ideas discussed above with the right paragraphs of the text below.

 

1. _______________________________

Working during university years you can earn the money that you have to pay for tuition.

2. ____________________________________

Find a job in the field that you are interested in. This can be valuable and will make you more competitive when you graduate from university. Even job experience that is not directly related to your major may help you to get a job that someone without your experience will not be able to get. For example, understanding children while working in a kindergarten may be indispensable for a job in a toy company.

3. ____________________________________

When you begin working, it is a different environment from the University. You will often have to encounter a lot of challenges. Learning to manage your time with classes and work will help you adapt much more quickly. You will also learn to deal with people at work.

4. _____________________________________

Many students are surprised that their grades increase when they begin working part time. This is a result of learning to organize and being more responsible for your study time.

 

In pairs suggest more advantages and disadvantages of working while studying.

 

Listening

Advice

Listen to an expert giving advice for working students and take notes on what the speaker says about each advice.

• Choose a job in the field you want to enter.
• Organize your study space.
• Have a schedule for school and work.
• Find a student-friendly employer.
• Start slowly.
• Do school work every day.
• Smile and take care of yourself.

Which advice do you find most useful?

Reading

1. Answer these questions:

1) What degree are you going to earn after graduating from University?

2) What is the difference between essay and dissertation?

3) Have you ever sat for retakes?

4) Do you have plans to continue your studies after graduation? Where?

 

2. What are the top five universities in the world? Discuss your lists as a class, and then compare your answers with the official ranking below.

 

The Times Higher Education – QS World University Rankings publishes every year a listing of the best universities in the world. According to their results for 2010, the ranking shows the following:

 

1. University of Cambridge – the UK

2. Harvard University – the USA

3. Yale University – the USA

4. University College London (UCL) – the UK

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – the USA

6. University of Oxford – the UK

Look at the pictures below and tell the class what you know about these universities

Oxford Cambridge

4. Read the introduction to the text and answer these questions:

1) What does Oxbridge mean?

2) What makes Oxbridge different from other universities?

3) What fields do they compete in?

Only two colleges in England actually make up the list of Oxbridge universities. They are known for their excellence in academics and upper-class social status among all institutions of higher education. The word itself is a blending of Oxford (Ox) and Cambridge (bridge).

Since the early 13th century, Oxford and Cambridge have been rivals. Not only in competitive sports like rugby, ice hockey, rowing and boat racing the Oxbridge also compete in academic success. Both schools want to be the highest-ranked academy of higher education in the U.K.

 

Work in pairs. Student A reads text 1; student B reads text 2.

 

Oxford

Located in the city of Oxford in the United Kingdom, the University of Oxford is the world's third-oldest university. Since the 11th century, the University of Oxford has been one of the most famous institutions of higher education, consistently ranking as a top university, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Undergraduates and postgraduates who attend Oxford receive educational training of the highest quality. More than 20,000 students attend the school.

Admission to an Oxbridge University is very selective. Oxford is better known for producing successful politicians through the arts and humanities.

 

Cambridge

Approximately 100 miles from Oxford is the University of Cambridge. The school is located in the English town of Cambridge. This school is also a highly regarded English university, often in competition with the University of Oxford for greater academic status. It is the fourth-oldest university in the world. More than 18,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students attend Cambridge. The school is renowned for its excellence in the fields of mathematical physics, biological sciences and clinical medicine. Cambridge is generally regarded as the better school in engineering and the science.