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A08 – Education

Vlastnosti
predmetAnglický jazyk
typmaturitná téma
okruhanglický jazyk
číslo8
stavvypracované
Zadanie

Talk about the school system in Slovakia, your school and your subjects, a typical school day, exams, and your plans for further study.

1. Osnova témy​

  • Your school and your classroom — buildings, rooms, equipment.
  • The school year, the timetable, subjects and marks.
  • The system of education in Slovakia, from nursery school to university.
  • The British and the American systems, and how they differ from ours.
  • Exams — the maturita, entrance exams, passing and failing.
  • Extracurricular activities and problems at school.
  • The qualities of a good teacher and a good student.
  • Your ideal school and your own plans after the maturita.

2. Kľúčová slovná zásoba​

  • stages of education: pre-school education (nursery school, kindergarten), primary education (primary school BrE, elementary school AmE), secondary education (grammar school = gymnázium, secondary vocational school, high school AmE), higher / tertiary education (college, university)
  • school buildings and rooms: classroom, hallway (chodba), staircase, cloakroom (šatňa), headmaster's office, staff room (zborovňa), school library, computer room, workshop (dielňa), gym, sportsground, canteen (jedáleň)
  • in the classroom: blackboard / whiteboard, chalk, sponge, desk, teacher's desk (katedra), notice board (nástenka), class register (triedna kniha), projector
  • organisation of the year: term (BrE) / semester (AmE), timetable (BrE) / schedule (AmE), lesson, break, holidays, school trip, parent-teacher meeting, graduation ball (stužková)
  • subjects: compulsory (povinné), optional / elective (voliteľné), humanities (foreign languages, literature, history, civics, art, music), sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, maths, IT), physical education (PE)
  • exams: entrance exam (prijímacia skúška), school-leaving exam (maturita), midterm exam, final exam; to take / sit an exam, to pass, to fail, to retake (opakovať)
  • evaluation: mark (známka), grade, school report (vysvedčenie), certificate, diploma, degree, assessment, criteria
  • people: pupil, student, teacher, headmaster / headmistress, principal (AmE), deputy (zástupca), tutor, trainee
  • students' activities: to study, to revise (opakovať si), to practise, to hand in an assignment on time, to do homework, to make mistakes, to apply for (a school), to sign up for a course
  • teachers' activities: to teach, to explain, to encourage, to examine, to test, to mark essays, to give feedback
  • extracurricular activities: clubs, sports teams, school orchestra, chess club, drama club, photography
  • problems at school: disciplinary problems, lack of motivation, bullying (šikanovanie), cribbing (odpisovanie), playing truant / skipping classes (záškoláctvo), to be expelled (byť vylúčený)
  • degrees: Bachelor's degree (Bc.), Master's degree (Mgr., Ing.), doctorate (PhD.)

3. Užitočné frázy a väzby​

  • Education is a lifelong process of teaching and learning.
  • I attend a secondary technical school of electrical engineering.
  • We have on average seven lessons a day and each lesson lasts forty-five minutes.
  • My favourite subject is… because I find it useful and the teacher explains things well.
  • The subject I struggle with most is…
  • School attendance in Slovakia is compulsory and state schools are free of charge.
  • Unlike in Slovakia, British pupils have to wear a school uniform.
  • In order to get to university, you first have to pass the entrance exam.
  • A good teacher should be patient, fair and able to explain difficult things simply.
  • If I could change one thing about my school, it would be…
  • After the maturita I would like to…

4. Modelová odpoveď​

Education is a process of teaching and learning, and I think it is something that never really ends.

I attend a secondary technical school of electrical engineering in Bratislava. Our school has two buildings — one for theoretical and one for practical education — and there is also a gym and a sportsground. Inside you can find classrooms, cloakrooms, the headmaster's and the deputy's offices, the staff room, a school library, computer rooms and workshops with machines and technical equipment. Our classroom is quite big, with large windows, rows of desks and chairs, a whiteboard, a teacher's desk and a notice board.

The school year in Slovakia starts at the beginning of September and ends at the end of June. It is divided into two terms, and we have holidays in July and August, plus a few days off in autumn, at Christmas, in winter and in spring. We have about seven lessons a day, each of them forty-five minutes long, with short breaks in between and a longer lunch break. Students are evaluated by marks from one to five, where one is the best. During the year we also have sports events, school trips, parent-teacher meetings and, in the final year, the graduation ball.

We study compulsory and optional subjects — Slovak, English, maths, physics, civics and PE, and of course a lot of technical subjects such as electrical measurement, information and network technologies and economics. My favourite subject is information technology, because it is practical and I would like to work in that field.

The Slovak system has several stages. Pre-school education means nursery schools and kindergartens for children from three to six. Then children attend primary school, and afterwards they can choose a grammar school, which prepares them for university, a secondary technical school, or a vocational school which trains them for a practical trade. Secondary education ends with the school-leaving exam, the maturita. After that, if you pass the entrance exam, you can study at a university for four to six years and get a Bachelor's or a Master's degree.

The British system is a little different. Compulsory attendance starts at five, most pupils wear school uniforms, and at sixteen they take an exam called GCSE. Those who want to go to university then study two more years and take their A-levels. In the USA there is no single national system, because each state organises education itself; children attend elementary school, then middle school and high school, and universities are often very expensive.

Every school also has its problems — a lack of motivation, cribbing, skipping classes and, unfortunately, sometimes bullying. On the other hand there are extracurricular activities such as sports teams, a drama club or a chess club.

In my opinion, a good teacher should be an expert in the subject, but also patient, fair and able to explain difficult things in a simple way. A good student should be hard-working, curious and honest. My ideal school would have smaller classes, more practical lessons and more modern equipment. After the maturita I would like to study information technology at university.

5. Otázky na diskusiu​

  1. Describe your school and your classroom.
  2. What does a typical school day look like for you?
  3. Which subjects do you like most and least, and why?
  4. What are the main differences between the Slovak and the British school systems?
  5. What do you think about school uniforms?
  6. Should students be evaluated by marks, or is there a better way?
  7. What are the biggest problems at schools today?
  8. What qualities should a good teacher have?
  9. What would your ideal school be like?
  10. What are your plans after you pass the maturita?

6. Zhrnutie na ústnu odpoveď​

  • Moja škola: two buildings, gym, workshops; classroom equipment; go around the rooms one by one.
  • Školský rok: September to June, two terms, seven lessons of 45 minutes, marks 1–5, events (trips, stužková).
  • Systém v SR: nursery → primary → secondary (grammar / technical / vocational) → maturita → university (Bc., Mgr./Ing.).
  • GB: starts at 5, uniforms, GCSE at 16, A-levels for university.
  • USA: no national system, each state decides; elementary → middle → high school; expensive universities.
  • Problémy: motivation, cribbing, truancy, bullying.
  • Dobrý učiteľ / študent: patient, fair, explains well / hard-working, curious, honest.
  • Moje plány: one clear sentence about what you want to study or do.
Overené

Učiteľkin materiál uvádza povinnú školskú dochádzku „od 6 do 15 rokov". Presnejšie je, že podľa školského zákona je desaťročná a končí sa najneskôr na konci školského roka, v ktorom žiak dovŕši 16 rokov. Na skúške stačí povedať „compulsory school attendance lasts ten years and starts at the age of six" — je to správne a znie to isto.

Čo povedať na skúške

Nezabudni na rozdiel medzi britskou a americkou angličtinou v tejto téme: timetable (BrE) × schedule (AmE), term × semester, headmaster × principal, primary school × elementary school. Ak jeden pár spomenieš sám od seba, komisia vidí, že rozdiely poznáš.

Súvisiace poznámky​

Kontrolné otázky​

Describe your school and your classroom.

I attend a secondary technical school of electrical engineering in Bratislava. Our classroom has computers, a projector and network equipment for practical lessons.

What does a typical school day look like for you?

Lessons start at eight and finish around two or three. We have general subjects and technical subjects like networking and programming.

Which subjects do you like most and least, and why?

I like networking and programming because they are practical and useful. I like history less because I have to memorise a lot of dates.

What are the main differences between the Slovak and the British school systems?

British students wear uniforms, take GCSEs at 16 and A-levels at 18, and choose only a few subjects. In Slovakia we study many subjects and finish with the maturita.

What do you think about school uniforms?

They remove differences between rich and poor students, but they take away the freedom to express yourself.

Should students be evaluated by marks, or is there a better way?

Marks are simple, but verbal feedback tells you more about what to improve. A combination would be best.

What are the biggest problems at schools today?

Too much theory, overloaded students, bullying, mobile phones in lessons and a lack of qualified teachers.

What qualities should a good teacher have?

Knowledge, patience, fairness, a sense of humour and the ability to explain things clearly and motivate students.

What would your ideal school be like?

More practical lessons and projects, modern equipment, fewer subjects but in more depth, and a friendly relationship between teachers and students.

What are your plans after you pass the maturita?

I would like to study information technology at university, or start working as a network administrator and get Cisco certificates.

🔗 Spätné odkazy (5)