Unit 7.

Education options for school-leavers

LANGUAGE
PRONUNCIATION
I. Circle the option that indicates the right intonation of the following questions.
1. When will you leave your secondary school?
A. rising B. falling
2. Do you want to study abroad?
A. rising B. falling
3. Have you asked them about the course fee?
A. rising B. falling
Choose the word that has a different stress pattern from the others.
4. A. decision B. mechanic C. company D. important
5. A. education B. information C. academic D. vocational

VOCABULARY
II. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the words in brackets.
1. More and more school-leavers are interested in specific trades, so they plan to go to (vocation)
________ schools.
2. Certain jobs require (high) ________ education at colleges or universities.
3. After his (graduate) ________ , my father started working for an NGO.
4. If you want to become a (profession) ________ cook, please apply for our cooking course.
5. My sister has spent months studying for her (enter) ________ exam into a famous university.
6. At present, our restaurant needs ten (apprentice) ________ now, so if you are interested, let us know
immediately.
7. During her college years, my mother (manage) ________ to study and do two part-time jobs at the
same time.

III. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the words/phrases in the box.
brochure education fair academic education
vocational education qualification institution school-leaver
1. You don't really need ________ or qualifications in order to work as a shop assistant. You will just
need on-the-job training.
2. ________ is getting more and more popular these days because it is cheaper than higher education.
3. Many universities often organise ________ to help school students with their career orientation.
4. A lot of ________ still don't know what they want for their future careers.
5. Certain jobs require applicants a lot of ________ in order to be selected.
6. Here are ________ that provide information about our courses. Please take one.
7. These educational ________ provide more options for school-leavers.
IV. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined
word(s) in each of the following questions.
1. Our university has a fair selection procedure to all school-leavers to ensure that education
opportunities are for all.
A. equal B. flexible C. checked D. limited
2. Many universities are under pressure to trade off short-term benefits against long-term goals.
A. exchange B. buy C. sell D. balance
V. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined
word(s) in each of the following questions.
1. In our country, formal education is compulsory until students finish their lower-secondary school.
A. received in a school B. institutional
C. receive through practical training D. local
2. An order came down from on high that school uniforms were to be compulsory on every weekday.
A. tall people B. unimportant people
C. short people D. people in senior positions

GRAMMAR
VI. Choose the correct options to complete the following sentences.
1. My mother admitted ________ .
A. not having paid much attention to our schooling
B. not to pay enough attention to our schooling
2. ________ helped me choose my education plan.
A. In order to talk with my parents and teachers
B. Having talked with my parents and teachers
3. My grandfather forgot ________ .
A. having told us his childhood stories many times
B. have told us his childhood stories many times
4. My mother regretted ________ .
A. not having chosen to become a maths teacher
B. not have chosen to become a maths teacher
5. ________ , he has limited choice of careers.
A. Not have finished primary school
B. Not having finished primary school
VII. Choose the best answer to complete each of the sentences.
1. My father was proud of ________ many beautiful places in Viet Nam.
A. having visited B. visited C. have visited D. has visited
2. She denied ________ her sister not to go to university.
A. to have told B. having told C. has told D. have told
3. My mother succeeded in ________ her parents to let her go to university.
 A. has persuaded B. have persuaded
C. persuading D. having persuading
4. My mother didn't remember ________ me about her childhood dream.
A. tell B. told C. tells D. having told
5. ________ my parents for advice, my sister decided to go to a teacher training college after leaving
school.
A. Asking B. Asks C. Having asked D. Asked
VIII. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of
the following questions.
1. Not have revised carefully for the exams, my brother didn't get good results.
A B C D
2. Not having check his essay for grammar and spelling mistakes, he didn't get a high mark.
A B C D
3. My grandfather is always proud of having study at a famous upper-secondary school.
A B C D
4. My father didn't remember having asking my friends so many personal questions.
A B C D
5. My aunt regretted not having choose to study at a vocational school as suggested by her teacher.
A B C D

SKILLS
READING
I. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to choose the word or phrase that
best fits each of the numbered blanks.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) (1) ________ people with the workplace skills and
technical knowledge they need to meet current and future (2) ________ demands. Put simply, VET is
skill-based education and training.
VET is the education option that offers a(n) (3) ________ alternative to university through standalone
qualifications. It also gives you apprenticeships and traineeships that let you learn in the workplace
while in paid employment.
There are VET courses for all occupations reporting a shortage of labour. In today's competitive job
(4) ________ , it's important for you to have the right technical skills and qualifications. A practical
approach to (5) ________ prepares you for the real world.
(Adapted from education.nsw.gov.au)
1. A. provides B. asks C. increases D. realises
2. A. opportunity B. employment C. advantage D. knowledge
3. A. educational B. challenging C. practical D. difficult
4. A. supermarket B. shop C. store D. market
5. A. education B. participation C. school D. qualification
II. Read the text and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
Language and cultural barriers facing international students
International students face a lot of academic concerns as well as cultural and language barriers,
especially during their first few months. Academics, in particular, is bound to suffer unless students are
comfortable with the language and cultural context. Foreign students who are not proficient in English
are usually offered assistance through additional language courses, but often the structure of these
lessons is not designed to deal with the academic requirements.
In a survey of international students in the U.K., 50% experienced difficulty in meeting the
required standard of English to follow their courses. Meanwhile, 43% said their overall education and
grades were affected by language barriers and 30% of students had to switch from their main courses
to English language courses. Cultural barriers also made a negative impact on students' abilities to
develop academics and language. The same survey reported that 17% of students said cultural
differences did not affect their education compared to 40% who said they were very much affected by
the difference (Bukhari, 2015).
(Source: https://research.com/education/studying-abroad)
1. Language barrier is the only problem facing international students. ___________
2. The provided language courses help students deal with the academic ___________
requirements.
3. Half of international students in a survey struggled to meet the required ___________
standard of English.
4. Nearly forty percent of surveyed students' overall education and grades ___________
were affected by language barriers.
5. Students' abilities to develop academics and language were negatively ___________
influenced by cultural barriers.
III. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, or C to indicate the correct answer to each
of the questions.
The job market is extremely competitive and skilled employees are high in demand. In fact,
degrees are required for a wide range of careers such as Medicine and Education. A university
education will help young people succeed in today's workforce and establish an enjoyable career of
their choice.
University education helps you improve prospects for life. University graduates gain professional
qualifications that are recognised and respected worldwide. Besides, they are offered higher pay and
greater financial stability. In addition, they are also given the option to fast-track their career with
graduate study.
University education also helps students learn and discover. It exposes students to new research
and technology. Studying at university encourages creative and independent thought as well. And
university life exposes students to other cultures and backgrounds through training activities, such as
student exchange programmes.
Studying at university, students conquer intellectual challenges and develop a sense of
achievement. University builds initiative and leadership skills that can be used for life. That is why
university education has always been in many school-leavers' plan after school.
(Source: adapted from https://www.monash.edu/study/)
1. This passage is mainly about ________ .
A. The benefits of university education
B. The challenges facing the job market
C. The expensive cost of university education
2. Why are Medicine and Education used in Paragraph 1?
A. To show that the job market is very competitive
B. To give examples of the careers that require a university degree
C. To give examples of successful careers in our competitive job market
3. Why is Besides used in paragraph 2?
A. To compare with the previous point
B. To give an additional example
C. To provide another point
4. The word It in paragraph 3 refers to ________ .
A. university education
B. research and technology
C. independent thought
5. The word conquer in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ________ .
A. want to achieve
B. succeed in dealing with
C. avoid talking about
SPEAKING
IV. Mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the option that best completes each of the following
exchanges.
1. Tom: Mrs Hoa, ________ tomorrow morning? I would like your advice on my options after leaving
school.
Mrs Hoa: Sorry, I have classes tomorrow morning. But I'm free in the afternoon.
A. could I meet you B. will I meet you
C. do I meet you D. do you want to meet me
2. Mr Kien: I'm sorry, I can't meet you this Saturday, Lan. Another time, perhaps?
Lan: Would this Sunday ________ , Mr Kien?
A. work well B. suit you C. do good D. have time
V. Complete the dialogue, using the phrases from the box.
A. I'll see you this Sunday at around 2 p.m.
B. When's convenient for you?
C. I'm afraid I can't make it at that time.
Mark: Mr Quang, I'd like to make an appointment with you about our group project.
(1)________
Mr Quang : I'm quite busy this week. Are you free on Saturday morning?
Mark: (2) ________ Would Sunday afternoon be OK for you?
Mr Quang : Sounds good. (3) ________

WRITING
VI. Choose the sentence that has the closest meaning to the given sentence.
1. Having visited the education fair helped me know more education options for school-leavers.
A. I know more education options because I have visited the education fair.
B. I know more education options before I visited the education job fair.
C. Before visiting the education fair, I have visited many other job fairs.
D. Although I have visited the education fair, I already know more about education options.
2. My father was proud of having studied at a top university in Viet Nam.
A. My father took no pride in having studied at a top university in Viet Nam.
B. Having studied at a top university in Viet Nam made my father proud.
C. My father was made to be proud of his top university in Viet Nam.
D. Being proud of Viet Nam, my father had studied at a top university.
3. Having asked his parents for advice, Lam decided to go to a vocational school.
A. Before asking his parents for advice, Lam didn't want to go to a university.
B. Without asking for anyone's advice, Lam's parents forced him to go to a vocational school.
C. Lam decided to go to a vocational school after he had asked his parents for advice.
D. Lam decided to go to a vocational school despite his parents' objection.
4. Having studied the available courses, Lan decided to register for the cooking course.
A. The cooking course wasn't the one that attracted Lan's attention after having studied the courses.
B. Without having studied the courses carefully, Lan decided to register for the cooking course.
C. Lan registered for the cooking course because it has been studied carefully.
D. After having studied the available courses, Lan made up her mind to choose the cooking course.
5. Not having asked anyone for advice, my brother made a wrong choice in his higher education.
A. My brother made a wrong choice in his higher education because he didn't ask anyone for
advice.
B. Even though my brother asked everyone for advice, he still made a wrong decision in his higher
education.
C. My brother made a wrong choice in his higher education, so he didn't ask anyone for advice.
D. My brother didn't ask anyone for advice because he made a wrong choice in his higher
education.
6. My mother regretted not having taken the entrance exam into a teacher training college.
A. Not having taken the entrance exam into a teacher training college wasn't my mother's choice.
B. My mother felt regretful because she hadn't taken the entrance exam into a teacher training
college.
C. Having taken the entrance exam into a teacher training college made my mother regretful.
D. Feeling regretful, my mother took the entrance exam into a teacher training college.
7. Having considered things carefully, my grandmother didn't make any wrong decisions in her life.
 A. Although my grandmother had considered things carefully, she still made a lot of wrong
decisions in her life.
B. My grandmother considered things carefully because she had made a lot of wrong decisions in
her life.
C. My grandmother didn't make any wrong decisions in her life because she had considered things
carefully.
D. Due to her careful considerations, my grandmother didn't make many wrong decisions in her
life.

VII. Write a letter (140-170 words) to request information about the course in the following
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