Exam. School Traditions

School Traditions 

1. Let’s talk about education. What can you tell me about the place where you study?

Our modern world makes a person be flexible and mobile, creative and inventive. Modern life makes a person broaden his horizons, use modern technologies and learn foreign languages.

To get knowledge people need education, they need to turn theoretical knowledge into practical skills. Nowadays we can get education at school, college and university. There are also many possibilities for self-education.

According to our Constitution each citizen of the Republic of Belarus is guaranteed the right to get education. Preschool education is not compulsory in Belarus but around 70% of children attend nursery and kindergarten before they start school. Getting primary and basic secondary school education is compulsory. All students must follow the basic education curriculum up to the age of 15, and the vast majority of them stay at school until they finish secondary school at 17. Children study at school for 9 years then they may either continue their education at school or go to colleges and vocational schools.

Pupils start going to school at the age of 6 or 7. The school year lasts from the first of September to the end of May and is divided into 4 terms. The school day lasts from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The school uniform in our schools and gymnasiums is required.

It's common knowledge that the success of school education depends mainly on the teachers, their professional skills, the kind of relationship they can establish with pupils. The task of school is not only to pass some information. Children's characters and perception of the world are formed here.

To begin with, when I am talking about my school I mean a whole complex of things which made up my life there, influenced my views and outlook, formed my character to some degree. I study at school №94 in Minsk. It is famous for its high quality of education. Here I'd like to say that my teachers are highly educated people. They are strongly devoted to their work. My favorite subject at school is mathematics. We have a very good and enthusiastic teacher who inspired in me an interest in the exact sciences. She is a very fair person and the manner of her teaching is perfect. The pupils are well-disciplined and well-behaves at her lessons.

To come second, I like friendly atmosphere at my school. It gives me a real pleasure to go there and to communicate with my friends. I like my class. I always fell at home there. Everybody is so friendly and easy to get along with. I am on good terms with my classmates and we often spend our free time together.

In conclusion I should say that our school looks nice and lovely. It's a clean and attractive three-storeyed building. The school building itself is of a typical design with the same layout and the distribution of classrooms, administrative offices, canteens, gyms and libraries as you can see in most other schools.

2. Does your school have any traditions?

Pupils spend at school the most important years in their lives. Their character and perception of the world are formed there. In this period they grow up, get stronger, find friends, develop their talents and skills and begin to understand life. Therefore school remains in our hearts all our life.

At our school there is everything necessary for our study and leisure. The 3-storeyed school building itself is of a typical design. But its corri­dors and classrooms are very beautiful. There are a lot of indoor plants and flowers in it. Its corridors are decorated with ceramics made by our pupils and teachers. There are cosy benches where one can sit and talk to friends.

We have a modern library where we can read books, enjoy pictures and virtual galleries, surf the Internet. There is a tradition to organize exhibitions and meetings there. I have been able to see pictures of fa­mous artists from our town, listen to poets, writers, artists and journalists in our library. To my mind it’s a good tradition when both pupils and teachers come to the library to meet a famous person, have a look at the beauty of fine arts or just discuss an interesting book.

The school hall is decorated with photos of our teachers and people who studied in our gymnasium. It shows another tradition we have. Twice a year our pupils and teachers arrange Project Days which give everybody a unique possibility to learn some skills. The participants do some research and prepare all necessary things beforehand and on the Project Day they make exhibitions, decorate the walls with pictures and handmade things, decorate old furniture, learn dances and songs and do a lot more. In my opinion, this tradition helps us to be united and learn new things which are important to us.

I have always been fond of taking part in extra-class activities such as concerts, debate clubs, intellectual games, sports competitions, picnics and excursions. These activities are popular with pupils, teachers and parents as they help to create a kind of team spirit.

I'd like to say once again that school means a lot to me in many ways. My teachers are highly educated people. And what is no less im­portant, their attitude to the pupils is always friendly and tolerant. My heart is full of gratitude to the teachers for the knowledge they give me and to many of my friends for making my school life enjoyable.

3. Ask me whether I liked school when I was a pupil.

1. Was your school life interesting?

2. What did you like most of all during your school years?

3. What was your favourite subject?

4. Did you take part in extra-class activities?

5. Did you have any problems when you were a student?

4.  What can you advise a student who is not very good at languages to do to achieve better results?

Learning a new language can be difficult, but if you follow certain techniques, soon you'll be able to learn any language. Although there's no magical way to go about it, with some hard work and practice you'll be fluent in no time.

Everybody knows that English is an international language. It gives a good opportunity to find a well-paid job, that's why you should learn it. First, start learning vocabulary and grammar. Every day try to memorize and practice English phrases. Watch videos and TV programs to learn informal English. Master your language and remember that practice makes perfect. And I wish you good luck.

5. Nowadays some young people complain that they have lots of problems at school. Do you agree with them?

Ups and downs at school are a part of life for many young people. School problems can show up as poor academic performance, lack of motivation for school, loss of interest in school work, or poor relationships with peers or teachers.

School difficulties range from minor to severe, might be very short-lived or last for longer. Even short-term school problems can have a negative impact on how young people feel about school – and themselves.

Talking about my school I can say that the main reason for complaining is lack of free time. Students of our school are very busy during the school year. They need to do a lot of homework every day. They don’t have much time to have fun or to meet with friends.

References:

• Your English Exam Support: Подготовка к экзамену по английскому языку: пособие для учащихся учреждений общего среднего образования / [сост. Н.А. Сергиенко]. – Мозырь: Белый Ветер, 2015. – 97, [3] с.

• Английский язык: билеты для подготовки к выпускному экзамену / Л.В. Данилович. – Минск: Экоперспектива, 2015. – 67 с.

• How to Learn any Language

•School Problems: Children 9-15 Years