Objective IELTS Advanced Unit 1
Brainstorming education vocabulary
In pairs or small groups, brainstorm at least three things into each of the categories below. You will get one point for each correct word or phrase that isn’t in the answer key.
Educational institutions
Qualifications
Things connected to education and money
People connected to education
Collocations with “test” and “exam”
Things which are different in British and American English (including because the educational systems are different)
Abbreviations (= short forms) of education vocabulary
Opposites
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Education words which have similar but different meanings
Answer key
Educational institutions
cram school, secondary school (= junior high school), primary school (= elementary school), kindergarten/ nursery/ pre-school/ playschool, uni, grad school, (technical/ vocational/ junior/ two year/ 6th form) college, language school, prep school, boarding school
Qualifications
school leaving certificate, BA/ BSc/ bachelor’s degree/ first degree/ four year degree/ university degree/ undergraduate degree, junior college degree/ two year degree, master’s degree/ master’s/ MA/ MSc/ MPhil/ MBA, postgraduate degree, PhD/ doctorate, post-doc
Things connected to money
grant, scholarship, living expenses, tuition (fees), fine
People
(fellow) alumni, pupil, professor, lecturer, lab assistant, (mature/ postgrad/ undergraduate) student, fresher (= freshman), second year student (= sophomore), third year student (= junior), senior, final year student, post-doc, TA (= teaching assistant)
Collocations with “test” and “exam”
take, retake, fail/ flunk, pass with flying colours, scrape through, entrance, end of term, final, open book, multiple choice, national, school leaving, essay-based, oral, mid-term
Different in British/ American English
primary school/ elementary school, secondary school/ junior high school, high school/ 6th form (college), grad school, term/ semester, revise/ review, sophomore/ second year student, junior/ third year student, final year student, senior, three year degree/ four year degree, fresher/ freshman, Oxbridge/ Ivy league, redbrick universities, the meaning of public school, GCSEs, straight A student, school transcripts, A levels/ high school leaving certificate, IB, tutor/ homeroom teacher, (student) halls/ dorms
Abbreviations
BA, BSc, BEd, MA, MSc, MBA, MPhil, PhD, post-doc, SAT, uni, finals, co-ed, PTA, Oxbridge, lab, postgrad, dorm, grad school, TA, post-doc
Opposites
pass – fail, undergraduate – postgraduate, attend – skip, major – minor, co-ed – single sex, fresher/ first year student/ freshman – final year student/ senior
Words which have similar but different meanings
pupil/ student, quiz/ test/ exam, essay/ dissertation, university/ college, freshman/ new recruit, lecture/ lesson, lecturer/ professor, grant/ scholarship, certificate/ qualification, academic year/ calendar year, hearing test/ listening test, BA/ BSc, diploma/ degree, cram school/ private tutor, lecture/ lesson/ seminar/ workshop
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What does “skip” mean (in this context)?
What does the “bachelor” in Bachelor of Science mean?
Does “freshman” mean a first year student?
Does “seminar” mean the same thing in Japanese and English?
Is “a nursery” the same as “a kindergarten”?
What’s the difference between “a lecturer” and “a professor”?
Can you give me an example of a postgraduate qualification?
What’s the opposite of “a fresher”?
How do you pronounce this word? – uni
What does MBA stand for?
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Without looking above, try to remember the questions you were just using (or think of similar ones).
mean x 3
same x 2
difference
example
opposite
pronounce
stand
Ask each other similar questions about the vocabulary.
What do these things mean? (You should be able to guess)
Sandwich course
Gap year
Scrape through
Demerit
What is wrong with these phrases and sentences?
1. My PhD major is…
2. I study English since I was in junior high school./ I started studying English in my childhood, so it’s been more than 15 years.
3. When I was junior high school student,…/ When I was high school,…
4. I will study in the UK the year after next./ I want to go to an Ivy College.
5. I want to career up./ I have to speak to foreigners at work.
6. I’ve been having man to man Chinese lessons for the last few weeks.
7. No, I just want to improve my English as possible as I can./ I wish I could study Chinese./ I want to challenge French.
8. When I graduate from my Master’s,…
9. When I was in the first grade at university,…
What could the questions be for the answers above? Write the questions down.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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Compare with these questions:
What are you studying?
How long have you been studying English?
Did you like English at school?
Do you have any plans to study abroad?
What are your reasons for studying English?
Have you ever studied any other languages?
Do you want to study any other languages?
Do you want to study anything else in the future?
When did you last…?
Ask similar questions in different pairs.
Education trends
What are the past, present and future trends for these things in your country? Choose one topic and see if your partner agrees with your description.
Academic standards
Cheating
Dropping out of uni
English-medium courses/ Use of English in universities
Entrance requirements/ The difficulty of entering university
Fees
Fees/ The cost of education
Foreign students
Funding/ Scholarships
Grades
Mature students
MBAs
Number of hours studied at school/ university/ Length of the school week
People taking undergraduate degrees (percentage and overall numbers)
Postgraduate study
Pre-school education
Respect for teachers
Skipping school
Students working part time
Study of English
Study of other languages
Studying abroad
Use of cram schools
Use of student halls
Use of technology in education
What phrases can you use to talk about trends?
With a partner, brainstorm at least two phrases into each of the categories below.
Upward trends
Downward trends
Going up and down
Not changing
Big changes
Small changes
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PDF for easy saving and printing: IELTS education vocabulary and trends Version 2
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