1. Choose the adjectives you need to describe the building of our college. Make a diagram. Our College

Key-words: new, modern, old, ancient, high, low, fine, splendid, magnificent, two-storeyed, three-storeyed, miserable, common.

2. Read and translate the text. Our College

According to the Constitution of Ukraine every citizen has the right to education. Universal secondary education is compulsory in Ukraine. It means that everybody from six to seventeen must study. We don’t pay for universal secondary education, because it is free of charge.

There are many higher and secondary special educational establishments in our country. Our Pedagogical College is one of them. It was founded in 1915 and in 1939 was named after Ivan Franko. I should like to show you the main building of our college. I can’t help admiring this fine old building. The first students entered it more than 95 years ago. Teachers for secondary schools are trained there. In 2006 it got a status of Pedagogical College for Humanities and a new Publishing Department was opened.

There are five departments at our College. They are: School Department, Pre-School Department, Labour Department, Publishing and Editing Department, Physical Training Department.

I study at the second course of School Department. Our studies begin at eight o’clock. We have six, seven or sometimes eight lessons a day, because we study five days a week. At twenty minutes past eleven we have a long break for lunch. We have a splendid canteen on the ground floor and some students and teachers have their meals there admiring the modern furniture, curtains and flowers of the canteen. The picturesque aquarium is worth watching too. There is also a buffet in the canteen. Many students go to the buffet during a long break to have a bite at reasonable prices there. So the canteen is at students` disposal.

Our Pedagogical College has three floors. When we enter the hall we can see the timetable on the wall. Many students always stand near the timetable especially in September. They look for the numbers of the auditoriums where they must go. Opposite the timetable you can see a luxurious sofa and a lot of flowers around it. Students enjoy having a rest and a chat here during their breaks. In the hall there is the head master’s office too which is also worth seeing. There are many light and spacious specialized studies, laboratories, workshops in the college. They are equipped with modern teaching materials, necessary devices and facilities.

On the ground floor there is a library, workshops for students of Labour Department, the English Resource Centre and some classrooms. The English Resource Centre is the pearl of our college. It is a well-equipped study either for teachers of English or for English–speaking students. It contains valuable native and foreign literature in English Grammar, Phonetics and Practice. One cannot help admiring multicoloured childish textbooks of Longman Edition, such as Blue Skies, Friends, Discovery, Opportunities, Headway and others. Our new conference-hall attracts our guests too. It is a luxurious hall of modern design where different meetings and conferences are held.

There is the Physics study, the Biology study, the Teachers’ room and the gymnasium, where we have physical training lessons and all kinds of competitions on the first floor. For those who go in for sports there are some more good gymnasiums and a stadium. Physics and Chemistry studies are well equipped for different experiments and tests, which are made by our students. There is also the computer science study on the first floor. For those who are interested in art there is a museum on this floor too. Our students are able to conduct excursions both in English and in mother-tongue there.

We study History, Chemistry, Ukrainian and Russian in the classrooms on the second floor. There is the splendid assembly hall on the second floor too. Different meetings and concerts are held there.

At present we have quite a lot of work as we have Practical Course of English, Professional English and other subjects. There is an English speaking club at our faculty. It gives us a good opportunity to master the language, but I don’t take part in it yet. I’m working hard at my grammar and I have my private classes twice a week. Doing many exercises helps me to find out my mistakes and to get rid of them in the shortest possible time. What I find especially useful and interesting is working at different presentations. Interactive methods are paid much attention to in this college.

Our College has two hostels. A lot of our students live in them.

Our academic year consists of two terms. At the end of each term the students have tests, credits and exams. Many students pass their exams successfully.

We are proud to be studying at our college though it isn’t easy. Our college attracts many applicants from various villages and towns of our country. It is an open secret our college enjoys great popularity in Ukraine.