Advertisements

In a seminar

1. Philip and Ana are undergraduate students at college. They are taking part in a seminar. Listen and tick the topic of the seminar.

crime ……      education ……      sport ……      science ……      politics ……

Answer

The topic of the seminar is education.

2. Listen again and tick True or False for each statement.

 

True

False

a   EFA is programme run by the United Nations.

b   EFA stands for Education For Anyone.

c   EFA aims to make sure education is free for everyone.

d   The report Ana read is for countries in Africa and Asia.

e   There are 10 million more primary students than 10 year ago.

Answer & Transcript

a  True     b  False (it stands for Education for All)

c  True     d  True     False (there are around 20 million more)

Transcript

(Ana = Brazilian)

Ana:   … Erm, but because of the United Nations EFA programme, the situation for kids has got a lot better recently.

Philip:   Oh, sorry, can you say a bit more about that please, Ana?

Ana:   Sure. The UN have a special programme called EFA, which stands for Education for All, and one of its goals is to make sure children everywhere have free primary education.

Philip:   I see. So that programme is for all countries around the world?

Ana:   Yes, but this latest report is for Africa and Asia. It says there are 20 million more children in primary schools than there were around ten years ago.

Understanding opinions

1. Listen to Teresa, Kate and Sam discuss the future of computers in education. Match each person with their opinion(s).

Sam ……

Teresa ……

Kate ……

a   everyone will learn at home, on a computer

b   computers will become more important in education

c   computers will one day replace teachers

d   children need to learn from each other

e   there will always be schools

Answer

Sam: b, e      Teresa: d      Kate: a, c

2. Listen again and complete the expressions for agreeing and disagreeing.

Agreeing

I ………………. 

Disagreeing

I don’t ……………….

I’m not ………………. I agree.

Answer & Transcript

I agree.

I don’t agree.

I’m not sure I agree.

Transcript

(Kate = American; Teresa = Italian)

Sam:   … So, to sum up then, computers will definitely become more important in both what we learn and how we study. Now, are there any questions?

Kate:   Yes, Sam. I have a question.

Sam:   Go ahead, Kate.

Kate:   I’d like to ask you about computers in schools. Do you think that computers will one day replace teachers in the classroom?

Sam:   Well, in my opinion, no. There are some things you can’t learn from computers.

Kate:   I don’t agree. If you ask me, everyone will learn at home, on a computer. There won’t be any schools anymore! What do you think, Teresa?

Teresa:   The idea it’s interesting, Kate, but I’m not sure I agree. I can’t imagine a world with no schools. Children need to learn from each other, as well as from a computer!

Sam:   That’s a good point, Teresa. I agree. There will always be schools because …

Interrupting to make your point

1. Listen to this discussion and complete the expressions you can use to interrupt someone.

a   Sorry, do you ………………… if I interrupt?

b   Can I say ………………… here?

c   Sorry, but can I make a …………………?

Answer

a   mind      b   something      c   point

2. Listen again and complete these responses.

a   Can you ………………… while I finish?

b   Sure, go …………………

c   Yes, of …………………

Answer

a   wait a minute      b   ahead      c   course

3. Which response in Exercise 2 does not allow someone to interrupt? …………………

Answer & Transcript

b

Transcript

A:   … So I think that tourism, although it has its benefits, basically it …

B:   Sorry, do you mind if I interrupt?

A:   Can you wait a minute while I finish? So while tourism has its benefits, in many parts of the world it creates a lot of problems for local communities and the local environment.

C:   Can I say something here?

A:   Sure, go ahead.

C:   I think tourism brings a lot of benefits to a local community. For example, there are a lot of people who make money from tourism.

B:   Sorry, but can I make a point?

A:   Yes, of course.

B:   A lot of the money from tourism doesn’t go to the local people. It goes to large hotels and tour companies.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This