PEC Learning to be Speaking 4 Unit 5

UNIT 5: EDUCATION
VOCABULARY
SCHOOL LIFE
analytical thinking: Schools should emphasize graduate from: I
analytical thinking. graduated from a
famous university.
assignment: I spend my weekends doing the
assignment. independent
work: Many
bachelor's/master's degree: First, I'll get my teachers prefer
bachelor's degree, and then I will study for a students that are
master's degree. able to carry out
competitive: Education is getting more and more independent work.
competitive. interaction: There isn't enough interaction in
creativity: Creativity is important in a student's language classrooms in this high school.
development. key school: Many parents hope their kids will get
critical thinking: We need to sharpen students' into key schools.
critical thinking skills. major in: I major in economics.
develop: I hope my child will develop an interest memorize: I used to memorize vocabulary but I
in playing the piano. realize that is not a good way to learn.
discipline: Strict discipline is important for our obedience: Obedience is still used to judge
teachers. whether a student is good or not.
emphasize: Education should emphasize personal obey: We were taught to obey teachers.
development.
post-graduate study: I am thinking of doing my
encourage: Children should be encouraged to be post-graduate studies in England and then come
independent. back to my country to work.
exam-based: The Vietnamese school system is problem-solving: We should try to encourage
exam-based. more active problem-solving.
extracurricular: I often spend my time doing project: Sometimes students can learn more from
extracurricular activities, such as playing ping- projects.
pong, and I am a member of the English club at
school. scholarship: I hope to get a scholarship to go
abroad.
facility: Many schools lack facilities because of
lack of money. teaching style: My English teacher's teaching style
is very relaxed.
focus: This scholarship focuses more on leadership
instead of grades. training: We need to give students special training
in certain areas.
foundation: Education provides a good foundation
for job seeking. well-rounded: Schools should aim to produce
well-rounded graduates.

IELTS Speaking at PEC www.pec-edu.vn https://www.facebook.com/anhngupec/?pnref=about.overview

PEC Learning to be Speaking 4 Unit 5

TYPES OF EDUCATION
adult education method full-time education
continuing education ideological / ethical education
distance education compulsory education
education in patriotism/collectivism/ online education
internationalism
preschool education
exam-oriented education
quality education
forced-feeding teaching
vocational and technical education

EXAM PRACTICE PART 2

1. Describe a year at school that was very 2. Describe a teacher that you had at school
important to you. who was special to you.
You should say: You should say:
what type of school it was where your school was
who was in your class how long you had this teacher
what happened that year what he/she taught you
and explain why it was important to you. and explain why he/she was special to you.

EXAM PRACTICE PART 3

What do you think of the education system in Vietnam?
How important is education to an individual?
How important are the roles of theory and practice in your discipline?
What do you think are the major problems in the Vietnamese education system?
How important do you think the computer is in education today? Are there any subjects computers
cannot
teach today?
What do you think are the best qualities a good teacher should have?

IELTS Speaking at PEC www.pec-edu.vn https://www.facebook.com/anhngupec/?pnref=about.overview

PEC Learning to be Speaking 4 Unit 5
Sample answers

Question 1: What do you think of the education system in Vietnam?

I suppose we have quite a comprehensive education system, especially the basic education. But it still
has some problems. For example, the focus of the teaching is on exams instead of problem-solving,
and teachers still use the traditional force-feeding method. So, the students are always busy with their
endless homework without any time to play.
Question 2: How important do you think education is to an individual?
I think education is very important to an
individual. In my opinion, with education, one
can learn a lot of knowledge, which can enrich
one's life. From my personal experience, in the
course of learning, I discovered many new
things, for example, learn to do my own
learning, how to train my critical thinking skills.
One thing which is really important to me is that
I discovered my potential, that means, what I am
really good at. With this understanding, I could
put my potential into full play and realize my dream and my ambitions. As you know, knowledge
is so important in modern society. Actually, knowledge is power. With education, I improved myself
in the quality of life, giving myself a chance to go out of the remote mountain village to receive higher
education in this capital city of Hanoi, to meet and learn from many people from different cultural
background. Now, I feel so lucky to have received the education that I'm able to live a colorful and
fulfilling life.
Question 3: How important are the roles of theory and practice in your discipline?
In my discipline, theory and practice are equally important. Having a strong back-ground in theory,
you will be able to analyze and design new and big software. On the other hand, having sound
practical experience will enable you to have new ideas realized, then you can transform your ideas
into products very rapidly and establish your business within a short period.
Question 4: What do you think are the major problems in the Vietnamese education system?
I think the main problem is the teaching approaches in Vietnam. The majority of teachers and students
work for exams in schools nowadays in Vietnam. As you know, Vietnam basically has an exam-
oriented education system, with force-feeding approaches dominating. So, some students are very
good at memorizing facts but what they really need is creativity, imagination and originality. But
actually some improvements are being made gradually. For example, in some good schools, quality
teaching is being practiced, which means that the students are learning to be independent with practical
problem-solving skills.
Question 5: How important do you think the computer is in education today? Are there any
subjects computers cannot teach today?
Computers can't possibly replace human teachers although there are some subjects in which a
computer can be used successfully to teach, especially elementary mathematics and elementary
language learning. In fact, any area which requires a student to memorize basic facts through

IELTS Speaking at PEC www.pec-edu.vn https://www.facebook.com/anhngupec/?pnref=about.overview

PEC Learning to be Speaking 4 Unit 5
repetition is well suited to computer learning. The computer can be programmed to provide an endless
number of simple questions, and as the student answers these questions the facts are learned and
reinforced. However, in the learning and practice of more complex ideas, the computer is not
adequate. A computer can evaluate an answer as right or wrong, but it cannot determine why. It cannot
find out why a student is making mistakes, and then represent important concepts in a different way so
the student will understand. So you see, while computers may be useful as a tool for practicing simple
skills, they cannot monitor a student's grasp of concepts, nor evaluate a student's reasoning. It will
certainly be used only as a tool, not a substitute for human nature.
Question 6: What do you think are the best qualities a good teacher should have?
Well, it's an interesting question. I think a good teacher should
have several qualities. First of all, he should love and dedicate
himself to his teaching and he should be responsible for his
students. He should be very patient with them and always ready
to listen to them and help them solve their problems in their
studies. Of course, he should be open-minded and
knowledgeable in his field. And a good voice is also very
important for him to make a clear speech in front of his students.

IELTS Speaking at PEC www.pec-edu.vn https://www.facebook.com/anhngupec/?pnref=about.overview