Education

give you an education

My parents gave me the best education that money could buy.

get an education

Parents must make sure that their children get a proper education.

return to education

A growing number of adults are returning to full-time education.

pay for your education

We put some money aside every month to pay for our daughter’s education.

invest in education

The Prime Minister said that his government will continue to invest in education. An extra £100 million will be spent next year on school buildings.

nursery education

There will be free nursery education for all three-year-olds within five years.

private education

Some people think that private education is unfair and that we should all have the same educational opportunities.

higher education

The number of students in higher education has doubled in the last 10 years. The government is now thinking of building several new universities.

religious education

I’m against religious education in schools. I think it should be done at home.

sex education

In the UK, most young people receive sex education in primary school. They learn the facts of life early.

a good education

Like most parents, I just want my children to have a good education.

secondary education

The government wants to make secondary education compulsory up to the age of 18.

standard of education

The cuts in funding will have an effect on the standard of education in schools.

the right to education

By law, all children in the country have the right to a free education.

the aim of education

One aim of education must be to teach children to think for themselves.

access to education

Access to higher education has improved, with more students now at university.

Notes   

In the UK a ‘public’ school is a private or free-paying school. Government schools, where education is free, are called ‘state’ schools. Education is compulsory in the UK between the ages of 5 and 16.

‘Further education’ is for adults who have left school. The classes are usually at a college and not at a university. ‘Special education’ is provided for children who have physical problems or learning difficulties.

Note these expressions:

• The new government has announced its education policy / an increase in spending on education.

Course

schools run courses

This language school runs English courses for complete beginners.

do a course

Older people are returning to school to do courses in using computers.

complete a course

If you complete the course successfully, you will be awarded a certificate.

courses deal with (subjects)

The course deals with the fundamentals of car maintenance.

drop out of a course

It’s a difficult course. 50% of the students usually drop out within 3 weeks.

courses consist of (lectures)

The course consists of a series of lectures with a written exam at the end.

a demanding course

It was a very tough and demanding course, but we managed to complete it.

a crash course

I’m going to Japan to work soon, so I’m taking a crash course in Japanese.

a vocational course

I studied art, but most of my friends did vocational courses, like nursing.

an online course

The college runs online courses where a lot of the teaching is done through the Internet and e-mail.

an introductory course

The introductory course is for those people who have no knowledge or experience of teaching.

the entry requirements for a course

Make sure you fulfill the entry requirements for the course before you send off the application form.

a place on a course

I have a conditional offer of a place on a nursing course. I have to pass all my exams this year to be accepted on the course.

a guide to a course

Our website provides a comprehensive guide to courses at UK universities.

completion of a course

Students are given a certificate on successful completion of the course.

Notes   

Note the verbs we use to describe taking a course:

• a total of 48 students enrolled for / signed up for the course in photography.

Note the verbs we use to describe the aims of a course:

• This course is designed to give students a grounding in car maintenance.
• This course prepares graduates for careers in the tourist industry.

‘Undergraduate’ and ‘postgraduate’ courses are taken at the university:

• I’m doing a three-year undergraduate course in computing at Leeds University.

A ‘crash course’ teaches you a lot about a particular subject in a short period of time.

Note this expression:

• I was forced to withdraw from the course due to illness.

Lesson

give lessons

Teachers’ salaries are very low, so I’m giving private lessons at weekends.

prepare a lesson

The teacher is terrible. I don’t think he prepares his lessons carefully enough.

skip a lesson

I got into trouble when my father found out that I had been skipping lessons.

begin/start a lesson

My English teacher always starts his lessons with a warm-up exercise.

have lessons

My brother is determined to be an actor so he’s having lessons in drama.

catch up with your lessons

I was off school for 5 weeks, so I have quite a few lessons to catch up with.

a lesson with someone

We’ve got a lesson with Mr. Humphreys this afternoon.

in a 40-minute lesson

You can’t expect to learn everything about computing in a one-hour lesson.

a lesson about something

The lesson was about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.

during a lesson

No talking is allowed during the lesson.

-------------------------

I’m having driving lessons from my uncle.

The school runs evening classes throughout the year.

I think Jack is going to need some lessons if he’s going to have any chance of passing A-level maths!

The teacher dismissed the class early because she had a meeting.

-------------------------

the main points of the lesson

The teacher started by going over the main points of yesterday’s lesson.

the point of a lesson

I just don’t see the point of this lesson!

the start of the lesson

It always takes the students a while to settle down at the start of the lesson.

the aims of the lesson

The main aim of my lesson was to get the students talking.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• We spent the whole lesson copying from the blackboard / looking out the window.
• I hope these lessons will improve my pronunciation / my communication skills.

If you are very angry with someone, the following expression can be useful:

• I’m going to teach him a lesson!
• Somebody needs to teach Dave a lesson in how to be polite to customers!

Practice and homework

have practice

Using a mouse is the easiest thing in the world once you’ve had some practice.

give you practice

This exercise gives students practice in using the past tense.

need practice

Most trainee teachers need practice in writing on a blackboard.

improve with practice

Don’t worry. Your English will improve with practice.

come with practice

Playing the piano is the kind of skill that only comes with years of practice.

learn through practice

You get knowledge from books, but skills can only be learned through practice.

practice makes perfect

Your English will improve if you work hard. Speak as much as you can. Practice makes perfect.

be out of practice

I’ll try to use my French, but I’m a bit out of practice.

it’s just a question of practice

Don’t give up. Driving’s just a question of practice.

it takes (years) of practice

If you want to learn to play the piano, it’ll take years of practice.

do your homework

You can’t watch TV until you’ve done all your homework.

hand in your homework

He never manages to hand in his homework on time.

get some homework

You get more homework at secondary school than at primary school.

give homework

The English teacher gave the whole class extra homework for misbehaving.

help you with your …

My brother used to help me with my homework, but he’s gone to university.

correct homework

Our teacher corrected our homework during the lunch hour, then gave it back to us.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• I’m afraid he can’t come out just now. He’s busy with his homework.
• Why do you always leave your homework to the very last moment?

An ‘assignment’ is an individual piece of work that a student has to do;

• I stayed up late last night to complete a class assignment.
• This is a really tough assignment.

We can use ‘assignment’ and ‘piece of work’ in these sentences:

• Do you actually fail the course if you don’t hand in a piece of work?
• I’ve had an ‘A’ for every assignment I’ve done this year.

Exam and mark

revise for an exam

I spent the whole weekend revising for my final exams. I didn’t go out once.

sit an exam

Do we have to sit an exam at the end of the course?

pass an exam

She’s exceptionally bright and she passed all her exams easily.

scrape through an exam

I almost failed the exam, I just managed to scrape through with 51%.

mark an exam

I don’t know what grade I got because the teacher hasn’t marked our exam yet.

how did you do in your exams

How did you do in your exams? Badly. I failed three of them.

make a mess of an exam

I made a complete mess of the exam. I mucked the whole thing up.

pass an exam with flying colors

He passed the exam with flying colors. I think he got nearly 100%.

a really stiff exam

It was a really stiff exam. I don’t think many of us will pass.

get a mark

I’m hoping to get a good mark in the exam tomorrow.

deduct marks

Please remember that marks will be deducted for bad spelling.

give a mark

The teacher gave the highest mark to Mandy.

lose marks

She wouldn’t got 100% but she lost four marks for poor handwriting.

a good mark

He did no revision for the maths exam, but he still got a good mark.

full marks

Nobody got full marks in the spelling test, but I got nearly all the answers right.

the top mark

Harry scored the top mark in the English test. He’s always first in the class.

your final mark

Project work accounts for 50% of your final mark for this course.

a low mark

If you get low marks in the test, you’ll have to take the test again.

Notes   

At school, a ‘test’ is often something less formal than an exam, e.g. a reading test.

Note this expression with ‘mark’:

• You have to give him full marks for trying. (He didn’t succeed, but tried very hard.)

گالری

---