Vocabulary for talking about studying II

Lectures, lessons and seminars:

As promised last time, this post continues the theme of study, and once again there are many differences between British and American English.

In the UK, the school year is divided into three periods, called terms. In the US, the school year can be divided into two periods, called semesters, or three periods, called trimesters. Many US universities have summer periods, so their year is divided into quarters. Students have a timetable(UK)/schedule (US) to tell them the times of their classes. To talk about what is taught in a particular subject area, we use the words syllabus or curriculum.

The person in charge of a school is called the headteacher in UK English and the principal in US English.

In a college or university, we use the word lecture for a lesson where a teacher speaks to many students in a large room called a lecture theatre (UK)/lecture hall (US). A lesson for a smaller group is often called a seminar, while a lesson with just one or two students is atutorial. In the US, a lesson for a group of students is called a class; the class can be a large lecture, a small seminar, or something in between. We often use the verb attend with these words:

I attended several of her lectures.

A person who teaches at a college or university is called a lecturer in the UK and a teacher or a professor in the US. In the UK, the title Professor is only used for the most senior lecturers.

If you study a subject such as history or literature, you will certainly have to write essays. In the UK, a longer piece of writing, often done as part of a college or university course, is a dissertation, while the written work for a PhD is a thesis. Confusingly, in the US it is the other way round – with US students writing a master’s thesis and a doctoral dissertation. When you do a piece of writing, you may start with a rough draft (a basic plan) and you may need to do some research to find the facts you need.

Remember to use the verb do (not ‘write’ or ‘make’) with homework, and also that the word ‘homework’ is uncountable – don’t put ‘a’ in front of it or try to make it plural!  Your teacher sets (UK)/assigns (US) your homework (tells you what to do), and you may have to hand it in (UK and US)/turn it in (US) (give it to the teacher) the next day.

When your teacher is talking, you may make notes (write some things down) in a notebook so that you will remember what was said. You may use a textbook in class, with information about the subject you are studying. For subjects such as languages, you do exercises to practise what you are learning. For maths (UK)/math (US), you may need toshow your workings (UK)/work (US) (write down how you reached the answer).

Finally, if you have an exam or a test (a small exam taken in class), you will need to revise (UK)/review (US) what you have learned, to check that you can remember it.

Vocabulary for talking about Studying

Words and phrases for talking about studying I

Almost everyone needs to talk about education now and then, so this blog post looks at some useful words and phrases connected with studying. It describes the most typical systems in the UK and the US, and explains some important differences between UK and US vocabulary.

The very youngest schoolchildren have a reception year in the UK and a kindergarten year in the US. After that, Brits talk about year 1, year 2, etc., while US children are in first grade, second grade, etc. The word grade is also used in US English to talk about scores in exams or written work. British English uses mark: He always gets good grades/marks.

In general, the UK has primary schools for ages 5-11 and secondary schools for ages 11-16, followed by sixth form colleges for ages 16-18. In the US, elementary schools teach grades 1-5 or 1-6, middle schools grades 6-8 or junior high schools grades 7-8, and high schools grades 9-12.

Even the use of the word school is different – for Brits, the question ‘Where did you go to school?’ refers only to primary or secondary school (i.e. up to the age of 18), whereas for North Americans, it can refer also to any form of higher education including colleges and universities.

Another thing to remember is that speakers of British English talk about people being at school/college, etc. (My daughter’s at school.), while in the US they are in school (We learned that in school.).

The word college is also used in slightly different ways. In the UK, it most often refers to a place where students study practical subjects and which is less academic than a university, although confusingly it can also mean a place which is part of a university, such as King’s College, Cambridge. In US English, college means a place where you study for a degree, which can be a two-year course at a community college or a four-year course at a larger college or university.

In British English, you go to university to do, take or get a degree. In American English, you go to college to get or earn a degree. Students studying for a first degree are undergraduates, while Master’s degree or PhD students are postgraduates in British English or graduate students in American English. In British English, the verb graduate is used only for degree students, but in the US, students also graduate from high school.

To talk about the subject you are studying, you can say you are studying French, physics, etc.; you can also say you are doing (UK English) or taking (US English) a subject instead. In US universities, where students often study a wide range of subjects, students who focus on one subject more than others say they are majoring in that subject.

When talking about exams, it is important to know which verbs to use. We say that we take an exam (in British English we can also say do an exam): I’m taking my French exam tomorrow. Be careful with the phrase pass an exam. This means to be successful, not simply to take an exam: He worked hard and passed all his exams. If you are not successful, you fail.

This blog post has focused on very general words and phrases; in my next post I will provide some language to talk about the experience of studying.

Writing a Story 1º Bto

Watch these two short films: Paperman and Signs. Choose ONE of them to WRITE A STORY.

Watch the one you have chosen again and don´t forget to take notes while you are watching it.

Reorder all the events and start writing! Which film did you like best?.

WRITING PLAN:

Paragraph 1:  Introduce the people, set the scene.
                       Give name to the people and the place.

Paragraphs 2 and 3: Say: When?, Where?

                                  What happened/was happening/had happened?

                                  How did they feel/were they feeling?

Paragraph 4: End  the story. Try to write an interesting last line with

                     a general comment on the story.

(Use Past Tenses, Used to or Would, some -ED/ -ING adjectives
Use an adverb at the beginning of a sentence like Surprisingly / Amazingly/ Luckily ...)



How Would you Like your Steak?

VOCABULARY: DEGREES OF DONENESS

 

On our last class we were dicussing about how to say when one can´t chew some kind of meat.

We usually say it is tough. Now , have a look at the picture above  to see  the different

degrees of doneness for meat (=punto de la carne).

 

 If you want to learn to cook the perfect steak, watch this video:
 

 

Past Habit: Used to // Would // Past Simple

When we talk about things that happened in the past but don’t happen anymore we can do it in different ways.

Used to + infinitive / didn´t use to +infinitive / did you use to +infinitive?

• We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
• There didn’t use to be a petrol station there. When was it built?
• What sports did you use to play when you were ten ?

We can use ‘used to’ to talk about past states ….

• I used to go swimming every Thursday when I was at school.
• I used to smoke but I gave up a few years ago.

… or we can use ‘used to’ to talk about repeated past actions

Remember that ‘used to’ is only for past states/actions that don’t happen now – we can’t use it for things that still happen now. Also, ‘used to + infinitive’ should not be confused with ‘be/get used to + ‘ing’ form’ – this is covered in a separate section.

Would

• Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride.
• My teachers would always say “Sit down and shut up!”

We can use ‘would’ to talk about repeated past actions.

Often either ‘would’ or ‘used to’ is possible. Both of these sentences are possible.

• Every Saturday, I would go on a long bike ride.
• Every Saturday I used to go on a long bike ride.

However, only ‘used to’ is possible when we talk about past states.

• We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
• We would live in New York when I was a kid.

Past simple

• We went/used to go/would go to the same beach every summer.

We can use the past simple in the same way as ‘used to’ and ‘would’ to talk about repeated past actions.

• I had/used to have a dog called Charlie.

We can also use the past simple for past states.

• I went to Egypt in 1988.

However, if something happened only once we can’t use ‘used to’ or ‘would’ – we must use the past simple.

To talk about present habits we use the Present Simple and an adverb of frequency (usually, always, often, never, etc.)

I usually study at the library. 

Now watch this video about Childhood and complete the exercises:
 

 CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO

TEST YOURSELF HERE (B2 LEVEL)

Exercise English Grammar

Live from London: Halloween | Onestopenglish

Live from London: Halloween | Onestopenglish: This video includes interviews with Londoners talking about Halloween.