Text 1. The Academy of culture and Arts

Most young people in Great Britain start life in higher educational institutions at the age of 18. They prefer to try their independence and usually study far from their home. Most of them live in a hostel.

Student’s life in Great Britain in this or that way differs from that in our country. Here is how it flows in Cambridge, one of the oldest universities in England.

The rooms in a hostel have a pleasant outlook over the College gardens and are well furnished according to the needs of a student. There is even a small gas-stove on which students can make coffee or tea. It is a popular custom there to invite friends in the afternoon for tea and hot buttered toast and jam. While having tea they discuss various problems of their everyday life. The students are free to decorate their rooms according to their own tastes, so each room reflects the personality of its owner.

11 o’clock is the time for refreshment between lectures known as “elevenses” when students attend little restaurants and teashops for a cup of coffee and a cake. They drink a great deal of tea and coffee and have a friendly talk there.

The basic way of instruction in Cambridge is tutorial. Every student has a tutor who plans his work. Each week some students come to see him and he discusses with them the work, which they have done. Lectures are voluntary. Unlike school most of students’ work is not done in class but in students’ rooms or in one of the libraries and each student arranges his timetable according to his purposes and wishes, leaving time for other activities apart from study.

The students eat their meals in the College dining-hall, a large room with a long line of tables and a raised platform at the end, on which there is a special table for the tutors known as the High Table. On the walls one can see the portraits of famous people – former students of the University. If a student comes late to dinner or is not correctly dressed he is punished.

Speaking of punishment, in general the discipline is not strict. The students can stay out as late as they wish up to midnight, but after 11 o’clock a small sum of money is imposed. But if a tutor finds that one of his pupils is staying out late very often, he will want to know the reason.

Discipline out of College is the responsibility of Proctors appointed by the University. Each evening a Proctor with two assistants, called “Bulldogs” wanders around the town. If he sees a student who disobeys the regulation that he must wear a cap and a gown he will come up to him and ask if he is a member of the University. If a student runs away in an attempt to escape, the “Bulldogs” chase him, and if they catch him, they fine him.

The University has over a hundred societies and clubs. Perhaps the most popular is the Debating Society at which undergraduates debate political and other questions with famous politicians and writers. Sport is a part of student’s life. The most popular sport is rowing.

TEXT 4.TEACHING IN RUSSIA

By Richard J. Daigle

Task 1. Read the text and name the main differences between Russian and American students.

While working in the American Embassy in Moscow, I had the opportunity to teach part-time in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Moscow State University (MGU), the flagship uni­versity of the former Soviet Union. I taught three courses, one a semester, from spring 1994 through spring 1995. Having taught linguistics and literature for over 30 years in American universities, I had much to learn about teaching in Russia, and I was still learning at the end of that spring semester 1995.

The Faculty of Foreign Languages became an independent part of MGU in the early 90's and was soon known for the high quality of its various language programs, especially the English program. By June 1997 there were over 250 applicants¹ for every available place in that program.

In each of my three semesters there, I learned something new about university practices in Russia, but rather than skip blithely through details of three semesters, I will concentrate on the last semester when a Russian colleague and I team-taught a course called “American Culture”. My partner had spent the previous year at a prestigious university in the U.S., so she was probably more up-to-date on some characteristics of U.S. culture than I, for I was nearing the end of my fourth year in Moscow.

As a basic text we used a publication, which provided insights into some ofthe major facets of American culture. We had 35 second-year students. Though I remember how similar Russian students are to the Americans I had taught before going to Moscow, I want to focus on a few differences, which are essentially national characteristics rather than personal traits.

Having gone through the Soviet system of educa­tion, the students were accustomed to what I call straight lectures—that is, the teacher talks, the students take notes, and examinations require that students regurgitate² what they remember from those notes. Having unhappily attended a few such courses myself, I was determined to avoid that methodology. Instead, imitating professors I admire, I threw out questions, sometimes provocative, and tried to let the students take matters into their own hands³. I quickly learned that that did not work at MGU. The students would not volunteer⁴. So I had to point at a student and ask my question. That student would then answer, giving me what I had said earlier or what had been assigned for reading. He or she would not expand or explain or even question that rote response. Because my colleague knew my objective (having experienced it her self in the States), she joined me in getting students to develop some ideas of their own, usually emanating from the materials they had read or from ideas they had heard from others. In addition, five or six of the students had been in the States (for a semester or two of high school or college) and not only knew something of the student culture there, but were happy to be able to act like American students and actually discuss matters in class. Because of this, we succeeded quickly.

Before long, however, I started to wonder if we had accomplished too much too well. I was soon shocked to discover a national characteristic that caught me completely off guard⁵. It had surfaced in my earlier courses at MGU, but only in the third semester did I come to understand it fully. Here in the U.S., some of us would call it cheating— that is, copying from another student's work or test in class or openly talking with others during examinations. In our culture class, my colleague and I had warned the students that there would be unan­nounced quizzes to check on whether they were doing the read­ing. Though we considered the quizzes insignificant, we did indi­cate that they would count ten percent of the final grade.

So, one Saturday, we asked the class to put away their books and notes and take out a clean sheet of paper for a quiz. There were a few groans from the group as well as some snickers. My colleague asked the first ques­tion. The result furthered my un­derstanding of Russian mores⁶. Students turned to each other to talk about the question and its response. Some even rose from their seats and leaned over people in front of them. A couple of them seemed to know a little more than the others, so attention was focused on them. They made no attempt to avoid helping others. There was no attempt to conceal what was going on. (A similar situation had developed in one of my previous classes, but no one offered any explanation of what it meant.) Now I turned to my colleague and asked, "Are we going to let them cheat like this?" She obviously sensed my concern. "Ah, Richard," she said, "they aren't cheating. They are Russians, and this is what Russians do."

I had completely forgotten the basic tenet of Soviet education, what I call the "We Syndrome." That belief requires that all share, that no one should keep anything solely himself. Taking that one step further, I now understood that it applied in the classroom as much as it did anywhere else. So the students were sharing their knowledge with each other. They were not cheat­ing, and they would have been very upset if I had accused them of doing so. My colleague calmed me down, for I realized that this was one more facet of Russian culture that I had to live with. (Since then I have learned that this academic trait exists in other cultures as well.)

TEXT 1. THE ACADEMY OF CULTURE AND ARTS

Task 1. Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. How many faculties does the academy have? What are they?

2. What does the academy possess?

3. How much does the course of studies last here?

Barnaul is one of the most ancient cities of Western Siberia. The city is situated in a very picturesque place on the bank of the river Ob. Barnaul is a big industrial, cultural and scientific centre. There are 6 higher educational institutions in the city and the only one which gives artistic and cultural education is the Altai State Academy of Culture and Arts. It is one of the young academies of the country. It was founded in 1974 and was called the Institute of Culture at that time. It had 2 faculties: the faculty of culture and education and the faculty of librarianship. At present 5 faculties are open to applicants. They are faculties of librarianship, music, artistic creation, choreography and additional education. About 3000 students are enrolled in the Academy study in the day and extra-mural departments. Besides preparatory study is organized in more than 20 specially oriented classes of Barnaul secondary schools. Nearly 400 school-children have a special training provided by the Academy. The academic programmes train students in about 30 professions. New specialties have appeared at the Academy: manager-producer, interpreter in the sphere of professional communication and so on. Now the Academy really takes the leading place among different Institutions of Culture and Arts of our country. It is a complex which includes 3 academic buildings, a voluminous library where students can obtain information both on their own specialty and on general educational subjects. The process of education is ensured by 21 chairs, where highly qualified specialists work. Scientists and lecturers of the Academy have worked out modern educational technologies. They have had basic monographs in the spheres of History, Sociology and Culture of Siberian peoples published.

There is a Thesis Defending Board at the Academy. International and Russian scientific conferences are regularly held at the Academy. The Academy provides a very good training of highly qualified specialists in different fields of culture. The Academy possesses modern buildings for study, students’ hostels, scientific research laboratories, a computer stock, publishing house, a preventive clinic and a gym-hall. New information technologies for education are being worked out and widely used in the Academy.

After passing entrance exams successfully, students are enrolled into the Academy on the competitive basis. They are offered 3 scientific branches and 8 specialties while being admitted to the Academy. The course of studies at the academy lasts for five years. The classes begin in September; they are over in June. Students study in two shifts. Usually they have three or four classes a day. Students’ work is given a mark on a five-point scale. The academic year is divided into two terms. After each term students take exams. Twice a year, after each session, students have vacations – two weeks in winter and two months in summer. During the first and the second year they study general subjects. In the 3d year they begin to study special subjects. The theory imparted in lectures is backed up by practical academic and outside work.

Higher education today is not only a collection of useful facts and theories but also a process, which trains a person to analyze and interrelate various ideas as well as make decisions. The purpose of education is to teach a person the way to learn, to get new knowledge in their narrow field and the technique of making a research. At the same time it is a serious educational and psychological factor, as the specific character of research bodies develops a critical perception of the studied material, self-dependent thinking and creative activity. The principal directions of the research work are social activity and pedagogies. In the final year students write Diploma papers and take state exams. On graduation students receive Diplomas of Specialists. Admission to the postgraduate courses is for 3 specialties.

There are different students’ organizations in the Academy. They are responsible for deciding all questions concerning students’ welfare and social amenities. Students’ amateur activities have been flourishing at the Academy.

TEXT 3. FURTHER AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN

Task 1. Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. What can you say about further education in Great Britain?

2. How many universities are there in Great Britain?

3. What specialist higher educational institutions can you name?

Further education has traditionally been characterized by part-time vocational courses for those who leave school at the age of 16 but need to acquire a skill, be that in the manual, technical or clerical field. Vocational training is conducted at the country’s 550 colleges is bound to be an important component.

As for higher education there are today 90 universities. They fall into 5 broad categories: the medieval English foundations, the medieval Scottish ones, the 19^th-century “redbrick” ones, the 20^th-century “plate-glass” ones, and finally polytechnics. They are all private institutions, receiving direct grants from central government.

Oxford and Cambridge, founded in the 13^th and 14^th centuries respectively, are easily the most famous of Britain’s universities. Today “Oxbridge”, as the two together are known, educate less then one-twentieth of Britain’s total university student population. But they continue to attract many of the best brains on account of their prestige as well as on account of the seductive beauty of many of their buildings and surroundings.

Scotland boasts four ancient universities: Glasgow, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Aberdeen, all founded in the 15^th and 16^th centuries. These universities were created with strong links with the ancient universities of continental Europe, and followed their longer and broader course of studies. Even today, Scottish universities provide four-year undergraduate courses, compared with the usual three-year courses in England and Wales.

In the 19^th century more universities were established to respond to the demand for educated people as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of Britain’s empire.

With the expansion of higher education in the 1960s “plate-glass” universities were established. They were named after counties or regions, for example Sussex, Kent and East Anglia. Over 50 polytechnics and similar higher education institutes acquired university status in 1992. There is also a highly successful Open University, which provides every person in Britain with the opportunity to study for a degree, without leaving their home. It is designed for adults who missed the opportunity for higher education earlier in life. It conducts learning through correspondence, radio and TV, and also through local study centers.

In addition there are a large number of specialist higher education institutions in the realm of the performing and visual arts. For example, there are four leading conservatories: the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, Trinity College of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music. There are a large number of art colleges, of which the most famous is the Royal College of Art, where both Henry Moor and David Hockney once studied. Other colleges cater for dance, filmmaking and other specialist areas of study.