Text 5 Modern Examinations

1. Most teachers and students would probably agree that examinations – spoken or written – are unsatisfactory. Students dislike taking them, teachers dislike giving them and scoring students’ answers. During examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines, there is nothing very human about the examination process.

2. Success or failure in spoken examinations greatly depends upon the examiner’s feelings at the time of the examination. If he is feeling tired or bored, the students may receive a lower mark than he should. Very often attendance is taken into account, too.

3. From this standpoint written examinations give the student a fairer chance.

4. Two types of tests are commonly used nowadays. The first type is sometimes called an “objective” test (or multiple choice questions). To make it up the teacher writes a series of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly. The student must recognize the correct answer and circle it (or copy the letter/number on his examination paper).

5. For testing some kind of learning, however, such a test is not satisfactory: a lucky student may guess the correct answer without really knowing the material.

6. To get a clear picture of what the student knows, most teachers use “essay” tests, which require students to write long answers to broad general questions.

7. One advantage of the essay test is that it reduces the element of luck. Another advantage is that it shows the examiner more about the student’s ability to put facts together into a meaningful whole. Sometimes, though, essay tests have disadvantages. Some students are able to write rather good answers without really knowing much about the subject, while other students who actually know the material have trouble expressing their ideas in essay form.

8. As you see, written examinations also have their pros and cons.

Questions:

1) What do teachers and students think about examination process?

2) What does success or failure in examinations depend upon?

3) What types of tests are commonly used nowadays?

4) What types of tests do the teachers use to get a clear picture of what the

students know?

5) What are advantages of the essay test?

6) Has the essay test any disadvantages?

Text 6

The Open University

1. The Open University was founded in 1964 by the Labour Government for those people who, for some reason, had not had a chance to enter any of other universities, especially those above normal student age. It takes both men and women at the age of 21 and over. No formal academic qualifications are necessary for entry to these courses, but the standards of its degrees are the same as those of other universities. The first course began in 1971, and in a decade the number of undergraduates reached 65,000. It’s a non-residential university. In teaching the university uses a combination of television and radio broadcasts, correspondence courses and summer schools, together with a network of viewing and listening centers. Lecturers present their courses on one of the BBC’s television channels and by radio. They have also produced a whole library of short course-books, which anyone can buy at bookshops. Students write papers based on the courses and discuss them with tutors at meetings or by correspondence once a month.

2. Degrees are awarded on the basis of credit gained by success at each stage of the course. Six credits are necessary for a BA degree and eight credits for a BA Honours degree. The time of staying on at the Open University is unlimited.

3. At the beginning of the 1990s some 150,000 students followed the Open University courses.

Notes:

Non-residential – без постоянного помещения

Viewing and listening centres – видео- и аудиоцентры

Credit – «успешно» (оценка за сданные экзамены)

BA degree – Bachelor of Arts degree

Questions:

1) When was the Open University founded?

2) When did the first course begin?

3) What means does the University use in teaching?

4) How are degrees awarded?

5) How long do students stay on at the Open University?

6) How many students followed the Open University courses at the beginning of the 1990s?