PRACTICE 2

Order the sentences (B – G) below to make a story.
Write your answers on the Answer sheet (Questions 6 – 11).

The first sentence of the story (A) is given for you on the Answer sheet as an example.

Sports and Education

A. Would you like to become fitter and more aware of local history at the same time? (Example)
B. These experts will introduce you to historical sights you may never have seen before.
C. So you will get the right amount of physical exercise, as well as an educational experience.
D. Well, now you can do both with our specialist cycling club.
E. They will also help you choose a route that suits your cycling skills.
F. Join us to enjoy this perfect combination!
G. It will help you learn about your area as you cycle through it with our guides.

Correct order:
A, (6) , (7) , (8) , (9) , (10) , (11) .

PRACTICE 3

Four students want to be elected to their student council, which shares students’ ideas and concerns, often helping to raise funds for projects and people in need. Read the texts and answer questions 12 – 18 on the next page.

Student council elections

Sven (15 years old)
‘My number one priority after I am elected to the student council will be to use council funds to replace some of the tables and chairs in the common room. However, we only have limited funds, so I want to hold a jumble sale and fair to provide us with what we need. Any other improvements, like repainting the walls, will have to wait until we have more money.’

Harold (16 years old)
‘Elect me and I will work towards improving the school shop. Right now they only sell chocolate, sweets and unhealthy snacks, it needs more variety. I’d also like to see action taken on the common room. Having to spend our free time looking at unclean walls and chipped paint is just not on. I’d like to invest in some new furniture as well, although I don’t think the budget will stretch to it.’

Helga (14 years old)
‘Vote for me, the voice of moderation in administration! I refuse to spend all of our limited funds on one thing. I’d make our common room nicer but I’d do it one section at a time. We can improve one section now, then wait until we can do the next. I don’t think we need to change the shop but I want to put the prices up soon.’

Eric (16 years old)
‘Vote for me and I’ll maintain the current situation of the council. Everything is working so why change it? The tuck shop sells what people want and do we really need to waste money on painting and buying chairs and tables? I think we should use our money on what students really want. We should hold an end-of-year dance and spare no expense. We could commission some musicians and have refreshments.’

Four students want to be elected to their student council, which shares students’ ideas and concerns, often helping to raise funds for projects and people in need. Read the texts and then answer the questions on the left. Read the texts and then answer questions 12 – 18. Choose one answer (A, B, C or D) and mark it on your answer sheet.

Student council elections

Who:

PRACTICE 4

Read the text below. Match the headings A – H to the paragraphs 19 – 25. Write your answers (A – H) on the answer sheet. There is one more heading than you need. The answer to paragraph 0 is given on the answer sheet as an example (J).

Schools of the future

0. Computers and other modern technology already play a key role in an increasing number of classrooms across the globe. No one can really say with any certainty what shape the schools of tomorrow might take, but most people agree that computers will be more and more important. In 1998, an Australian newspaper imagined community learning centres open 24 hours, seven days a week taking the place of the traditional classroom as we know it.(Example)

19. According to the publication, learners will soon be taught predominantly through the medium of computers, via the latest educational term: ‘remote learning’. Learners will soon access virtual classrooms whenever and wherever it suits them. But despite the partial eclipse of the traditional classroom, it looks as if it won’t disappear completely. Conventional learning will continue to provide the foundation needed to help children and teenagers acquire and develop their social skills. Nevertheless, computers in the form of electronic information platforms are likely to form the basis of tomorrow’s classrooms. The first pioneering projects have already begun to emerge.

20. An imaginary ‘school of the future’ where every teacher and every student has her own computer was created in the 1990s. In this fictional Australian school, communication takes place through a special telephone system. This is intended to assist with gathering information and communicating with subject experts. Lessons do not focus on a single subject but are interdisciplinary. Every student has her own learning plan designed by a real-life teacher. Computer technology is used to accelerate and facilitate the shift in emphasis from the teaching of children to the learning of children.

21. Besides the pioneering Australian project, some public schools in the USA also started making this vision a reality. ACT Academy in Texas is one such school that received generous government funding to become a model ‘school of the future’. Intended as a space for knowledge ‘actively constructed by the learner on a base of prior knowledge, attitudes and values,’ the Academy was equipped with the newest computer technology and research tools. It provided education to 265 children from kindergarten to secondary level. It had to close its doors in 2005 for financial reasons. This indicates that what may look like a good idea does not always work in reality.

22. But technology is undoubtedly going to be an essential feature of any school of the future. At Clear View Elementary School in California, kindergarten students study bee anatomy with the help of computerised electron microscopes. They use spreadsheets to track the height and weight of bees through sixth grade. But they are always assisted by teachers. The school is doing so well mainly because it has a very strong community of parents, teachers and support staff who all work together to provide an ‘outstanding’ educational experience for the students.

23. In the past, computers acted as little more than glorified word processors, used for writing and editing texts. This is fast changing as they increasingly provide huge data storage capability and a connection to the wider world through the internet. Furthermore, computers no longer merely allow us to communicate with each other and access information stored on the internet. They are capable of becoming the ultimate learning platform, simultaneously a reference library and a space for homework to be assigned, prepared and submitted. Assessment can similarly be done entirely through this new multifunctional platform.

24. In an effort to improve the educational system, Utah State University’s College of Education is studying schools of the future. They identify and select the most effective teaching methods and techniques, and they also encourage and adapt innovations for specific purposes. Furthermore, they stress the creation of a mutually supportive community of parents and teachers. This, they argue, is to ensure that the common goal of improving schools is shared among everyone involved. They promote both equity and excellence through teaching basic skills, creative problem-solving, the world economy, democracy, and respect for both individual values and diversity.

25. Despite its many virtues, modern technology can really only help students learn through interaction with various aspects of life. Even in the schools of the future, real-life teachers will continue to assess student learning through portfolios and creative performance tasks. Genuinely successful human development and learning must include communicating in person. This prevents misunderstandings, fosters motivation and remains part of most workplace skill sets. Schools of the future must not only focus on the advancement of technology but also on values and attitudes of learners.

Headings

A. Platforms across classrooms
B. Learning from and mixing with humans
C. A pioneering project
D. Taking centre stage
E. Researching best practice
F. A failed experiment
G. Information technology explained
H. A successful real life example
J. A new way of learning (Example)

ANSWERS

0. J (Example)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
(25)