Lesson goal: Students can talk about their school and university experience, discuss how education is paid for and reflect on past choices with the third conditional and should have.
Add the lesson to get your own copies of the word set and exercises; the lesson opens in the builder, where you can adjust the steps and teach it.
Lesson plan
- 1
Warm-up
Questions to get the student talking and lead into the topic.
- What was your favourite subject at school, and why?
- Did you prefer exams or assignments during the term?
- If you could study anything now, what would it be?
- 2
New words
Meet the words and practise them in games.
AnagramFill the gapdegree · graduate · scholarship · tuition fees · lecture · assignment · essay · term · revise · cheat · fail · pass · subject · compulsory · enrol
All words in the set - 3
Exercises
The lesson's words in context. Only you see the answers.
- Fill the gap
Students who can't afford the ___ can apply for a loan or a scholarship.
Answer: tuition fees - Fill the gap
PE is ___ in most schools — you can't choose not to do it.
Answer: compulsory - Fill the gap
I stayed up all night to ___ for my history exam.
Answer: revise - Fill the gap
If I ___ (revise) more, I would have passed the exam.
Answer: had revised / 'd revised - Fill the gap
You ___ (should / start) the essay earlier — now you'll have to write it in one night.
Answer: should have started / should've started - Multiple choice
Someone who has finished a university degree is ...
a graduatea lecturera pupila scholarship - Multiple choice
She ___ on a photography course last month.
enrolledsubscribedattendedapplied - True / false
Read: "Marta failed her final maths exam at school, and a teacher told her she would never study science. Ten years later, after an evening course and two years of hard work, she graduated with a degree in engineering. 'Failing taught me how to study,' she says." Marta started studying engineering straight after school.
Answer: False - True / false
Read the text again. Marta believes that failing the exam helped her in the end.
Answer: True - Discussion question
Think about your education. What is one thing you should have done differently, and what would have happened if you had?
Sample answer: I should have taken languages more seriously at school. I only did the minimum and often copied my homework from friends. If I had worked harder, I would have passed my English exam with a better mark and I wouldn't have needed extra lessons later.
- Fill the gap
- 4
Speaking
The student answers using the new words.
- Should university education be free for everyone?
- Is cheating in exams ever understandable?
- Which school subjects should be compulsory, and which should be optional?
- Are exams a fair way to measure what students know?
- Do you still need a degree to get a good job?
- 5
Review
A quiz on the lesson's words. With a student, it's homework on their link.
Quiz