1. Discuss the differences between the following schools: public school vs. state schools, grammar schools, secondary modern schools, boarding schools, comprehensive schools.
2. Present the current system of education in Britain. Is education compulsory in Britain?
3. Present the responsibilities of LEA.
4. Specify the most important exams and degrees in Britain.
5. Explain the following terms: full-time/ part-time courses, on campus, tutorials, drop-out rate, a fee, a grant, nursery school, curriculum.
6. Discuss the similarities and differences between the following types of universities: Oxbridge, the old Scottish universities, the early 19th century English universities, the civic universities, the campus universities, the newer civic universities.
7. Define the following expressions: “blue-collar-workers”, “white-collar-workers”.
8. How are manual and non-manual employees paid?
9. Define the following acronyms and expressions: CBI, TUC,NUF, industrial action, wildcat strike, blackleg.
10. Who does the term “GP” refer to?
11. Present the organization of NHS in Britain. What sorts of services does it provide? Explain the idea of “capitation”.
12. Discuss the idea and origins of the welfare state in Britain.
13. Provide the following information on the system of benefits in Britain:
a. Who provides them?
b. Who is entitled to them?
c. What kinds of benefits are available
14. Describe the types of dwelling in Britain. Which types are most and least popular? How does it compare to other European countries?
15. Explain the following terms and expressions: mortgage, council-house, building society, housing association, to squat, to sleep rough, cardboard city.
16. Compare and contrast broadsheets and tabloids. Give examples.
17. Present the most popular newspapers in Britain and define their political orientation.
18. Explain the following terms and expressions: shandy, cider, on draught, a fry-up, elevenses.
19. Define the term “culture”.
20. Name the last British author to win the Nobel prize in literature.
21. Name the most important prize in Britain for a work of fiction.
22. Are the British passionate about sport? Which sports might be considered most popular in Britain?
23. What is the position of Britain in the European Union?
24. What does the term “Commonwealth” stand for? Describe its function.
1. Public school is a private school. Public schools are not funded by the government. State school is a governmentally funded school and in our understanding, it’s a public school.
Grammar school – students attended grammar schools after completing the primary schools and passing the exam at the age of eleven. Grammar schools prepared the students to enter universities or to work on managerial levels.
Secondary modern school – in case of failing the exam at the end of the primary schools, the students were accepted to the secondary modern schools that were filled with the students from the middle-class families in majority.
Boarding school offered their students the place to live in. In the past, all the British schools were boarding schools.
Comprehensive schools were created to decrease the problem of class distinctions. Those schools accepted most of the students.
3. LEA – Local Education Authority – is a branch of a local government.
Responsibilities of LEA:
- prescribes a detailed programme of learning,
- chooses the books and materials to be used,
- sets the hours of the school day, dates of holidays, or the age of the students
- manages the institutions’ finances,
- supervises the marking of the exams,
5. Full-time vs. part-time courses. Full-time courses literally mean full time studying. Students take a full load of courses in each semester that requires them to spend significantly more time on studying. Part-time courses mean that students take a partial load of courses per semester, usually one to three. Part-time studying allows them to have more time on different activities, or to have a part-time job at the same time.
On-campus relates to the living situation of a student. Those students that live in the university’s dormitories live on-campus. They live on the property of the school and are surrounded by the school’s atmosphere.
Tutorials are combined with the lectures. While during the lectures the students acquire new partitions of materials, in the tutorials they have an opportunity to practice it and make sure they comprehended the new materials.
Drop-out rate – is the statistical number of students that for various reasons are not able to complete the courses and don’t graduate.
A fee is the amount of money that students must pay for their courses each semester.
A grant is a form of a scholarship that the students receive based on the financial merit, or a academic achievement to assist them with the school’s expenses.
Nursery school is a pre-primary school that gives care to the youngest children and prepares them to enter the primary schools.
Curriculum is a set of learning objectives for each year of compulsory school and all state schools are obliged to work towards these objectives.
7. Blue-collar workers and white-collar workers
Blue-collar workers are skilled or unskilled manual workers. They usually perform physical work.
White-collar workers are the non-manual employees.
9. CBI, TUC, NUF, industrial action, wildcat strike, blackleg.
CBI – Confederation of British Industry is an organization which represents employers in private industry.
TUC – The Trades Union Congress – a voluntary association of the country’s trade unions.
NUF – National Union of Farmers – made up mostly of agricultural employers and independent farmers.
Industrial action – a refusal to work in the normal way. For example, employees tend to work slow, or they work-to-rule. The latter form of the industrial action means that the employees follow the rules strictly, but at the same time they are less flexible and less co-operative.
Wildcat strike – is an unofficial employees’ strike.
Blackleg – is an employee who doesn’t want to strike with the other striking employees and he or she chooses to go into work instead.
NHS – National Health Service
It provides the people in the United Kingdom with an access to the health care and the hospitals. The system avoids the bureaucracy and eliminates the numerous forms that people must fill out to receive a refund.
Capitation – most GPs (General Practitioners) are paid based on the number of the consultations with the patients. In the U.K., they are paid based on the number of the registered patients instead. The money paid per each registered patient is called a capitation.
13. Who provides the benefits?
The benefits in the U.K. are provided by the federal government. They are usually distributed in direct payments, but may have various forms though. Most often, the benefits are paid by the Department of Social Security.
Who is entitled to them?
- all retired people
- people under the age of 65 who have previously worked for a certain minimum period of time can receive unemployment benefit
What kind of benefits?
- Old-age pensions,
- Unemployment benefits,
- benefits for children,
- housing benefits,
15. Explain: mortgage, council-house, building society, housing association, to squat, to sleep rough, cardboard city.
Mortgage – a loan that allows on the purchase of the house.
Council-house – is a house, or a flat, that was built and is owned by the government. The tenants usually pay lower rents in the council-houses, because they are subsidized.
Building society – were the financial institutions that were originally set up to provide mortgages.
Housing association – private housing associations that owned and rented out the houses and flats to people. Those associations often bought out the council-houses.
To Squat – to live in a house without paying rent. If you move in the house without causing any damage, you have not broken the law.
To sleep rough – is an expression to describe the homeless people sleeping in the streets.
Cardboard city – the area of the city where a large number of homeless people live protected from the weather only by the cardboard boxes.
17. Major newspapers and their political orientations
There are two major divisions of the British press:
- Tabloids, or popular press that gets to a wider range of readers,
- Broadsheets, or quality papers for more educated readers.
Tabloids:
The Daily Mirror leans toward the left side. The Sun is the opposite of The Daily Mirror and is on in the right wing. The other big names like The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, and the Star are in the center of the political spectrum, but strongly leaning toward the right side.
Broadsheets:
The Guardian is on the left side. The Daily Telegraph is on the right side. The Independent is in the center. The other two big names, The Times and The Financial Times are in the center leaning toward the right wing.
19. Culture – is difficult to define. For different people can have a different meaning. It is a way of life. Culture is built by the generally accepted norms and traditions by the people of one region. Besides, culture can be used as a synonym for the arts.
21. The Booker Prize is the most important prize in Britain for a work of fiction.
23. Britain is somehow a special member of the European Union. From one side, Britain is for the further European unity. Nevertheless, the changes in European domestic policy, social policy or sovereignty arrangements tend to be seen in Britain as a threat.
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