TEXT 5. Read the text. Render its contents into Russian.
The Open University
The Open University offers degrees for people who do not have a formal education and qualifications, or who are older.
The OU provides university education to those wishing to get higher education on a part-time and/or distance learning basis, including people with health disabilities (nearly 13,000 OU students have health disabilities).
The University has Faculties of Arts; Education & Language Studies; Health and Social Care; Law; Mathematics, Computing and Technology; Science; Social Science; and Business and Law.
The OU Business School is the largest provider of MBAs in the UK, producing more graduates than all the rest of the business schools in the UK put together.
The OU uses a variety of methods for distance learning, including written and audio materials, the Internet, disc-based software and television programmes on DVD. Course-based television broadcasts by the BBC, which started on 3 January 1971, ceased on 15 December 2006. For most modules, students are supported by tutors who provide feedback on their work and are generally available to them at face-to-face tutorials, by telephone or on the Internet.
The OU now produces mainstream television and radio programming aimed at bringing learning to a wider audience. Most of this programming, including series such as Rough Science and "Battle of the Geeks", are broadcast at peak times, while older programming is carried in the BBC Learning Zone. The OU now plans to focus on mainstream programmes.
Teaching at the OU has been rated as "excellent" by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. The English national survey of student satisfaction has twice put the Open University in first place.
The OU offers a large number of undergraduate qualifications, including certificates, diplomas, and Bachelors degrees, based on both level and quantity of study. An OU undergraduate degree requires 300 (or 360 for honours) CATS credits.
Students generally do not undertake more than 60 credits per year, meaning that an undergraduate degree will take typically six years to complete.
TEXT 6. Read and translate the text. Make a scheme and speak on the contents.
Education in the USA
Schooling is compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range from state to state. Compulsory education is provided by public schools, state-certified private schools, and an approved home school program. In most public and private schools, education is divided into three levels: elementary school, middle school (sometimes called junior high school), andhigh school (sometimes referred to as senior high school).
Most children enter the public education system around ages five or six. The American school year traditionally begins at the end of August or the day after Labor Day in September, after the traditional summer recess. Children are assigned into year groups known as grades, beginning with preschool, followed by kindergarten and finishing in twelfth grade. The US uses ordinal numbers (e.g., first grade) for naming grades (In the UK students would use cardinal numbers, e. g. year ten.) The school year ends up usually in late May or early June.
After pre-school and kindergarten, there are five years in elementary school. After completing five grades, the student will enter junior high or middle school and then high school to get the high school diploma.
Students completing high school may choose to attend a college or university(post-secondary education). Undergraduate and graduate degrees may be associate's degrees(AA, AS) after two year program orbachelor's degrees (B.A., B.S., B.F.A., B.S.W., B.Eng., B.Phil.) normally after four years of study.
Curriculum varies widely depending on the institution. Typically, an undergraduate will be able to select an academic major or concentration, which comprises the main or special subjects, and students may change their major one or more times.
Postraduate degrees may be either master's degrees (M.S., M.B.A., M.S.W.) or doctorates (Ph.D., J.D., M.D.).
Private institutions are privately funded and there is wide variety in size, focus, and operation. Some private institutions are large research universities, while others are small liberal arts colleges.
(AA, AS)– Associate of Arts, Associate of Science
(B.A., B.S., B.F.A., B.S.W., B.Eng., B.Phil.) – Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Philosophy
(M.S., M.B.A., M.S.W.) – Master of Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Social Work
(Ph.D., J.D., M.D.) – Doctor of Philosophy, Juris Doctor, Doctor of Medicine
TEXT 7. Read and translate the text. What university would you choose?