Education vocabulary word list

Tertiary education

Timetable (UK)/ Schedule( US)

A list of the times when classes in school happen. (education related vocabulary)

 Principal (UK) 

1. The person who is in charge of a college or a university.
2. A teacher who is in charge of a school.

Headmaster (US)

A teacher who is in charge of a school, especially a private school.

Staff

A group of people working together for the same school, college, university, organization, etc.

Textbook (US)

A book that teaches a particular subject and that is used especially in schools and colleges.

Coursebook (UK) 

A book that is used regularly in a class for studying.

Homework (uncountable)

Work that a teacher gives to students to do at home.

Course

A series of lessons or lectures on a particular subject, usually leading to an exam or qualification.

Curriculum

The subjects which are included in a course of study or taught in an educational institution; a school, a college, or an institute.

Syllabus 

A list of the topics, books, etc. that students have to study in a particular school subject or a particular subject at university.

E-learning

It is a type of education and training that uses information technology such as computers and the Internet.

Active learning 

In this type of learning, students learn by doing things rather than sitting at their desks reading, listening to a teacher, or doing exercises inside or outside of school. Education vocabulary

Mental agility

The ability to think quickly and clearly.

Library

A building where a collection of books, CDs, newspapers, etc. are kept for people to read, study or borrow.

Seminar

A class at university or college when a teacher and a group of students meet so as to study and discuss something.

Lecture

A formal event at a university or college where a larger group of students listen to a lecturer and take notes.

Student counselor 

A person who is trained to listen to students and give them pieces of advice about their personal problems.

A student

A student who always gets higher marks.

Tutor

A teacher who works with a student / a learner or a small group of students.

Professor 

A university teacher of the highest rank. ( a senior university academic)

Lecturer

Somebody who teaches at a university or college.

Freshman

A student in his or her first year at a university or college.

Sophomore

A student in the second year of a course of study at a college or university.

Junior 

A third-year student at university or college.

Senior 

A fourth-year student at college or university.

Graduate student

A student with a bachelor’s degree (e.g. BA, BSc)

Fees

The amount of money that students pay to go to a private school, university, etc.

Scholarship

An amount of money paid by a school, university, etc. to a student who has a lot of ability, but not much money.

A student loan

The money that a student borrows from a bank while at university or college.

MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) (Distance education/ distance training)

A course of study that is made available over the Internet. It is usually followed by a large number of learners.

Education vocabulary list of verbs: Education collocations (education vocabulary)

• Attend

To go regularly to a school or university

• Learn

to acquire knowledge, a skill, or an ability to do something.

• Learn by heart

memorize, commit to memory.

• Study

take a course or a number of courses on a particular subject.

• Prepare for an exam/a test /a quiz

To review what you have already learned to get ready for an exam…

• Take an exam/ a test/a quiz

To do an exam/a test/a quiz.

• Sit an exam/a test/a quiz

To do an exam/a test/a quiz.

• Pass an exam/a test /a quiz

To achieve a successful outcome from an exam…

• Fail an exam/a test /a quiz

Not to succeed in an exam…

• Resit an exam

To take an exam a second time.

• Do well

Do well in an exam/a test/a quiz

• Do badly

Do badly in an exam/a test/a quiz.

• Skip classes

miss classes deliberately.

• Skip lectures

miss lectures deliberately.

• Graduate

To complete a university degree successfully.

• Secure a place

To be accepted as a student; get a place.

• Acquire knowledge

To learn and get to know about different things.

Education Vocabulary: Adjectives with prepositions (words for education)

• Good at: Successful

She is good at languages.

• Bad at: Not successful

She is very bad at Physics and Science and she hates them.

• Be interested in: To want to do something or know more about it.

I’m really interested in history.

• Be keen on sth: To like something very much.

My son is really keen on Mathematics. He likes it very much and he never skips it.

• Bored with: Not interested

He is usually bored with Philosophy. He finds it boring.

Education vocabulary: School vocabulary (school subjects)

Core subjects:

Subjects which all the students on a course have to do.

• Languages
• Physical Education (Sport)
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Science
• Biology
• History
• Geography
• Mathematics
• Art
• Computers
• Literature

IELTS education vocabulary

Online education vocabulary/ Vocabulary about education

Apps

An app is a short term for “application”. It is the same as a software program.

Blog (also web blog)

A website where a blogger writes regularly about topics or events that interest them, usually with photos and links to other websites.

Cookies

Cookies are computer files that a website uses to track a (visitor) user’s online activity. Cookies also recognize when a visitor returns to a source website.

Fully Online Learning

Fully online learning refers to the learning where all the work and activities are done completely online, especially when you are enrolled in a course at a school or university that is physically far from you. (Education vocabulary)

Hyperlink

A word, phrase, or picture on an electronic document that you can click on to jump to a new section or another document. Hyperlinks are also found on web pages.

Netiquette

The standards or rules that people should follow when working online (when using the Internet).

URL

URL stands for Uniform/Universal Resource Locator. An URL is the address of a specific website or file on the Internet.

Virtual classroom

A virtual classroom is an online classroom learning space that allows both educators (teachers) and learners to interact with each other over the Internet rather than in a physical classroom. A virtual classroom may include a variety of features such as videoconferencing, instant messaging, a digital whiteboard, group chats, etc.

Webliography

A list of websites of electronic works about a particular subject that have been used by a person writing a book, an article, etc.

Webzine

A magazine that is published on the Internet, not on paper.

Vocabulary words related to education pdf

Education vocabulary pdf

This list of education vocabulary is not exhaustive. More vocabulary education, education collocations, school vocabulary, and education advanced vocabulary will be added to the list.

If you are interested in online education, check this article about the best online colleges and universities.

If you are an English teacher, these free online courses with certificates are perfect for you.

You might like these posts on: 

Learn English online with Englishdotcom

1. biology
2. chemistry
3. physical education
4. extra curricular activities
5. math’s
6. natural science
7. cheating
8. literature
9. geography
10. music

1. graduated
2. on / in
3. scholarship
4. research

1. literacy
2. comprehensive education
3. student loans
4. gap year
5. scholarship

• Educational institutions

• Course types & levels

• Qualifications

• People in education

• Subjects & facilities

• Academic work

• IELTS-style questions on the topic of
  education

• Sample answers

• Links to online reading &
  listening resources

Part
1

1) At what age do children begin school in your country?

Formal education starts at five
years of age but most children go to preschool
when they are around three. This isn’t compulsory
but really helps them to develop socially.

2) What kind of school did you go to as a child?

My family moved around a lot when
I was growing up so I went to many different schools including three primary
schools, a grammar school and a co-educational
comprehensive school. I even attended a private school
for a year.

3) Did you enjoy your time at school?

I can’t say that I particularly
enjoyed my early education.
With changing schools so often, I was always the new kid which I found hard.

4) Would you say you were a good student?

Yes,
I was definitely a good pupil.
I was a quiet, shy child who never caused my teachers any trouble or played
truant. I worked hard on my coursework
and got on well with my peers.

5) Did you do any extra-curricular activities?

Back in my
day, there weren’t many opportunities to do extra-curricular activities.
However, I was in the school choir at my secondary
school. We use to put on concerts and one year we did a tour of
Germany.

Part 2

There There were
three subjects I particularly enjoyed at school, English, geography
and P.E. but if I had to
choose a favourite, I guess it would be geography.

I suppose you
start learning about the natural features around you and other countries in primary school but geography first appeared on the curriculum as a specific subject
in secondary school. I’d been
fascinated with other places and cultures for as long as I could remember. My
dad had travelled a lot and had a large map on the wall with pins in all the countries he’d been to. I loved looking at it so perhaps that’s where my interest in geography first started.

The geography classroom was great; full of globes, atlases and books about
places that were very different to where I lived. We had a nice teacher called Mrs Rose who used
lots of pictures and maps in her lessons.
This was perfect for me as I’m a visual learner. If Mrs Rose had just talked
all the time, as some of our teachers
did, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the subject so much or learnt so easily.

I even liked doing
geography homework. I can remember sitting
at my desk at home spending hours carefully drawing maps and adding all the
features. When my mum took me to the library
on a Saturday morning, I’d look for adventure stories set around the world or
books on how people live in other countries.

When I
reached the sixth form and had to choose just three subjects to study, geography was one of them,
although I actually failed my final exam. My family moved house yet again just
before I took it and I was very unsettled. I had a private tutor for a few months then retook the exam and got a good grade.

At university, I trained as a teacher myself. I
chose primary education so
taught geography along with
many other subjects. However, during one of my training placements, the headteacher asked me to spend
three weeks teaching the subject to every class in the small village school, from
5 year olds up to 11 year olds. It was one of the happiest times in the whole
of my career even though I hadn’t even got my teaching qualification yet.

Part 3

1) What impact do
universities have on the places where they’re located?

I
believe that the presence of a university
in a town or city has a significant positive impact on the area. For a
start, it’s often the largest employer, offering jobs at all levels from
cleaners and maintenance staff to lecturers
and top academics.

Large
educational institutions like
this bring in lots of investment from around the world from foreign students
and for important research
projects. The presence of thousands of students
during term times is also a massive boost to the local economy.

In
addition to the financial benefits, there several ways in which universities contribute socially.
For example, university towns and cities tend to be vibrant, with a great social life due to the large numbers
of young adults living there. What’s more, the campus itself usually has a number of facilities that can be
used by local people. A university city I used to live in had an excellent
theatre that attracted top plays, shows and performers from around the country.

2) What is it more
important for academics to do, research or teaching?

It
was only recently, after reading an article about a local university, that I realised just how much research goes on in them. It was
about a new facility in the medical faculty
and outlined the important research
they will now be able to carry out on stem cells and brain tumours. This
type of work is vital if we are to combat illness and disease in the future.

For
most people though, universities
are places of learning where you go to get your degree and prepare for your future career, so teaching must
have a high priority. As teachers,
academics have the role of passing on knowledge to the next generation.

Weighing
it up, I think that the teaching side of their work is the most important
because unless they instruct and inspire their students, there will be no-one to fill the most
important jobs in society or to carry on the research work the academics do.

3) What are the advantages of studying
a distance learning course?

For
many people, especially mature
students who work, distance
learning is the ideal way to study. There are several benefits that
immediately come to mind. Firstly, the cost is far less than it would be to attend
a college or university with their high tuition fees.

Secondly,
you can study anywhere and in your own time and at your own pace. Some students,
myself included, find that this method of learning suits them better than
sitting in lectures or going
to tutorials. You do have to be
self-motivated to keep up with the coursework
though, and you still get assignments
to write and sometimes a dissertation,
but you can fit these around your daily life.

Thirdly,
there’s a huge range of correspondence
courses and online courses
available these days so you can take almost any subject you want to and
even study for a degree qualification this way. So all
in all, distance learning courses
have many advantages over other methods of study.

Click
this link to get a PDF download of these practise questions & sample
answers.

• Do not try
  and learn this list of education vocabulary.

• Identify
  the vocabulary you find useful for answering practise questions about this topic.

• Record it in your vocabulary notebook and practise using it regularly.

Education Vocabulary Set 1: Key Definitions

education – the process of teaching or
learning, especially in a school, college or university, or the knowledge that
you get from this

— Education
is a low priority for the governments of some developing countries.

— Most children receive their education in schools but some are taught at home.

to educate
– to give someone intellectual, moral or social instruction, typically at a
school, college or university

— At the school I visited in Kenya the children are educated in classes of over 60 pupils.

educational – relating to
the provision of education

— When I was at school we had an educational visit to the British Museum in London to see
Tutankhamun’s treasures.

educational institution – a place where people gain an
education, such as a school

— We are
fortunate to have many excellent educational
institutions in our area.

formal education – education normally
delivered by trained teachers in a systematic way in a school, college or
university.

— In Norway, formal education
starts when children reach the age of six.

compulsory education – the
legally-required period of time that children are expected to attend school. In
the western world, these laws generally require that children attend school
from the ages of 5 to 16 or 18.

— One day, a formal education will hopefully be compulsory for all children.

Education Vocabulary Set 2: Educational institutions

preschool
– a school for children who are too young to begin their formal education

— Most children in the UK go to a preschool but it isn’t compulsory.

nursery
school (UK)/kindergarten
(US) – preschool education

— In the UK, most children begin nursery school at the age of four.

primary school
(UK)/elementary school (US) – the type of
school for children ages 5-11

— Bindi was so excited about starting primary school when the new term started in September.

primary
education
– the education of 5-11 year olds

— In an ideal world, primary
education would be compulsory in every country.

secondary
school (UK)/high school (US)  – the type of school for children age 11 to 16, sometimes 18

— I want to teach in a secondary
school when I finish my teacher training as I really enjoy working with
older pupils.

co-educational/mixed
– a school where girls and boys are taught together.

— These days, most schools in the UK are co-educational.

single-sex school – a school for either male or female students but not both

— Both my parents went to single-sex
schools but it’s more normal these days to go to a mixed school.

state
school – a school that is funded
and controlled by the government and for which no fees are charged

— The
government is facing growing criticism for the underfunding of state schools.

comprehensive school – a state school that accepts pupils
regardless of their level of academic ability or achievement

— There is an
ongoing debate as to whether all young people should attend comprehensive schools or if schools that select pupils on academic ability are still relevant.

grammar school (UK) – state secondary school that selects their pupils by means of an examination
taken by children at age 11

— Although many
people are against selective education where some school places go to the most
academically able pupils, grammar
schools are still popular.

private
school – a school that is not supported
by government money, where education must be paid for by the children’s parents

— Jonah’s
parents decided to pay for him to go to a private
school because most classes only had 20 pupils in.

private
education – education parents have to pay for

— Only a small percentage of parents can afford to give their
children a private education.

public school (UK) – an exclusive, expensive
school, run independently

public school
(US) – a school which
is free and paid for by the government

higher
education (also
called tertiary education) – education
beyond the age at which it is compulsory, usually in a college or university

— Most
of Vijay’s friends wanted to leave school and get a job as soon as possible but
he was determined to go on to higher
education to improve his career prospects.

boarding school – a school where students live and
study during the school term.

— Yu Yang hated
boarding school as she missed her
family and felt very homesick.

college – a place of higher education where people study
specialized subjects or undertake vocational training for a skilled job

— Hugo applied for a place at the local college to train to be a chef.

university – a high-level educational institution where students study for
degrees and academic research is done.

— Fuyuko wanted
to study nursing at university in
Australia but had to get a band 7 in her IELTS exam to be accepted.

Education Vocabulary Set 3: Course types & levels

course – a series of lessons in a particular
subject

undergraduate – studying for
a degree but having not yet achieved it.

postgraduate – having
achieved a degree and now studying for a higher qualification, possibly a
professions qualification

vocational – education or training directed at
a particular occupation and its skills, often requiring practical skills

intensive
– fast-paced courses
which give a lot of information quickly and in a short time

Education Vocabulary Set 4: Qualifications

qualification – an official
record showing that you have achieved a certain level of education or skill in
a particular subject or skill area

— Riya was determined to leave
school with good qualifications so
she could get a well-paid job to support her family.

certificate
– an official record of achievement, generally issued for a short course

— Shona was delighted to be presented her TEFL certificate on passing her course to
become an English teacher.

diploma
– issued for a higher education course that is shorter than a degree

— Greg did so well in his two-year engineering diploma that his tutor persuaded him to
study for another year to qualify for a degree.

bachelor’s degree/or just degree (BA/BSc
etc) – qualification issued by a university or college at the end of three or
four years of study

— I’m studying for a bachelor’s degree in marine
biology.

— I’m studying for a BA in history.

master’s
degree/or just master’s
(MA/MSc etc) – qualification
issued by a university when the student has completed further study beyond a
degree, often in a more specialisn’ted field than a bachelor’s degree

— Alonso wanted to stay on at university an extra year to
study for his master’s but his
parents couldn’t afford the fees.

doctorate (PhD) – the highest level of degree
qualification issued by a university

— I’m so proud of my sister for achieving a PhD in biochemistry.

fellowship – a teaching or research post given
to a person studying for an advanced degree.

— Being awarded a research fellowship
at my university is a dream come true as it enables me to stay on and study for
my doctorate.

Education Vocabulary Set 5: People in education

headteacher/principal – the person
in charge of a school

— Our headteacher had been principal
for 12 years when he retired.

teacher – a
person who teaches, especially in a school

— My favourite teacher at
school was Mr Webber because he made lessons so interesting.

tutor – a teacher who works privately with
one student or a small group

— Our son struggles with maths so
we’ve got him a private tutor to
help him with his work.

lecturer – a person who teaches at a college
or university.

— My cousin is
a lecturer in physics at the
University of London.

professor – a teacher of the highest rank in
a department of a British university, or a teacher of
high rank in an American university or college

— Professor Stephen Hawking was one of the most influential figures
in modern science.

an
academic – a person who teaches in a college or university and
continues to research and increase knowledge about their specialist subject

— She was such a bookworm at school and always in the library
researching some topic or other, so it’s no surprise that she became an academic.

pupil – a person,
usually a child at school, who is being taught

— The pupils loved
Miss Lefebvre’s French lessons as she gave them fun learning games to play.

student – a person,
usually a college or university, who is being taught

— The beginning of the academic year was so busy with all the
new students starting their college
courses.

mature student – an adult student who attends college or university some years
after leaving school

— Jose was so grateful for the chance to study for a degree as
a mature student having left school with very few qualifications.

a graduate – a person who has finished their college
or university education

— University graduates can usually get higher paid jobs than people with
vocational skills.

peer – a person who is in the same
class, age group or social group as someone else

Pupils these days are under a lot of
pressure to dress and behave like their peers.

Education Vocabulary Set 6: School subjects

curriculum – the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or
college

— Her parents
chose the school because it offered a broad curriculum including drama and dance which were her favourite
subjects.

syllabus – an outline or summary of the subjects to be covered in a course

— The new syllabus
included environmental science which was becoming more popular as a school
subject.

maths/math/mathematics – the study of
numbers, shapes and space

literature – the study of written works (such
as poems, plays, and novels) that are considered to be very good and to have
lasting importance

the three
R’s – the basic
educational skills of reading, writing and arithmetic
(maths)

— Most schools put a high priority
on teaching the three R’s.

language – a
system of communication used by a particular country or community often studied
as a subject by non-native speakers

— To her surprise, Jenna found that she was quite good at languages at school.

humanities – studies about human culture, such
as literature, languages, philosophy, and history.

— Tuma couldn’t decide whether to study history or philosophy
at university so opted for a degree in humanities.

science – the study of the structure and
behaviour of the physical world, divided into subjects such as physics, biology
and chemistry

• physics – the
  branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy
• biology – the
  study of living organisms
• chemistry – the
  branch of science concerned with the substances of which matter is composed

geography – the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these

religious studies – the study of religion and belief systems

history – the study of past events, particularly in human affairs

information technology (IT or ICT) – the study of the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and networks for the processing and distribution of data

physical education (PE) – instruction in physical exercise and games, especially in schools

art – the study of artistic techniques such as drawing, painting, sculpture, etc. or the appreciation of works of art

music – the study of how to play a musical instrument or sing, how to read music, how to compose music, etc

drama – the study of acting and theatrical performance

home economics – cooking and other aspects of household management, especially as taught at school

Education Vocabulary Set 7: School vocabulary

to play truant – to be absent without permission
from parents or teachers

— Helios was
always playing truant from school
which he regretted when he failed his exams and struggled to find a good
job.

to skip classes – to be absent from lessons you are
supposed to attend

— I was never
brave enough to skip classes as my
parents would have been furious if they’d found out.

bookworm – a person who loves reading and/or
studying

— My best
friend is a real bookworm but is a great person to have on your quiz
team because his general knowledge is excellent.

rote learning – a teaching style based on learning
by memorisation through repetition

— My parents’
education was based on rote learning but
there was more emphasis on learning by investigation by the time I went to
school.

literacy – the ability to read and write, sometimes
use as a subject title for reading and writing

— Afghanistan
has one of the lowest literacy rates
in the world with just 28% of people able to read and write.

literate – to be able to read and write

— In the past
20 years, the proportion of adults in the world
who are literate has increased from
75% to 84% which is a great
improvement.

illiterate – 
to be unable to read and write

— There are many
children in the poorest countries of the world who have little or no access to
education and are illiterate.

remedial – involving
pupils who need extra help with a particular area of study or subject

— Pupils who got poor grades use to be
put in a remedial class but now they
are given extra support from a learning assistant.

additional needs/special needs – related to students who need special help due to a learning or physical
difficulty

— Shona spend the later part of her teaching
career working in a school for students with additional needs.

extra-curricular activities
– activities or subjects offered in addition to the normal curriculum usually offered
outside normal class hours, such as art, cooking or computer clubs and extra
sporting activities

— The most popular extra-curricular activities at
Westcroft School were pottery, badminton and computer programming.

school
uniform
– a particular set of clothes that has to be worn by pupils

— Do Hyan looked so smarting setting off for school on his
first day wearing his new school uniform.

discipline – a set of rules governing conduct or
behaviour

— Schools where
a high level of discipline is maintained, generally have above average exam
results

• impose discipline
• maintain discipline
• lack of discipline

timetable – a chart showing
times of particular events, such as lesson times in the school day

— Ruby wasn’t very happy with her new timetable
as she had double maths followed by double science on a Monday, both subjects
she found hard.

Education Vocabulary Set 8: Facilities

classroom – where lessons take place in a school

— The noisy
classroom fell silent when the
headteacher walked through the door.

lecture theatre/hall – a room or hall for lectures with seats in tiers

— There was excitement in the lecture theatre as the famous actor stood up to give the drama
students a lecture on method acting.

studio – a room where students studying art, photography, media
studies, etc. create work

— The studio was set
up with recording equipment for the students to practice editing techniques.

library – a building or room containing collections of books, professional
journals and other academic literature and material relevant to student’s studies

— Sabiha spent all day in the university library doing research for her essay on globalisation.

laboratory – a room or building with scientific equipment for doing
scientific tests or for teaching science

— Kate’s favourite part
of her degree course in molecular biology was the laboratory work.

campus – the buildings and grounds of a university or college

— It took me a long time to find my way around the campus when I first started at
university.

halls of residence – a college or
university building where students live

— In his first year at college,
Somchai lived in a hall of residence,
but in his second year, he rented a house with some other students.

student accommodation – living
accommodation for college or university students

— The
university offered a range of student
accommodation including studio apartments, flats, halls of residence and
shared houses.

Education Vocabulary Set 9: Academic work 

assignment – a piece of work given to someone
as part of their studies

— I have three more written assignments to complete this term.

coursework
– written or practical work done by a student during a course
of study, often assessed in order to count towards a final mark or grade

— Helga was really bad at exams so she chose a course where 50 per cent of the overall marks
came from assessed coursework.

dissertation – is a long formal piece of writing on a particular
subject, especially for a university degree.

— It was hard getting my dissertation finished by the deadline
and I handed it in on the very last day.

thesis – a long piece of writing on a
particular subject, especially one that is done for a higher degree

— Adao wrote his PhD thesis on the effect of organic
fertilizers on soil fertility in tropical climates.

presentation – a speech or talk given
in front of an audience

— As part of their end of year assessment, the students had to give a presentation on the theories of
learning for children under 3 years of age.

lecture
– a formal talk on a subject given to a large group of students who would
normally take notes

— She was so pleased that the lecture was cancelled as it gave her time to catch up on some
coursework.

tuition – teaching or instruction, especially of individual pupils or
small groups

— Dana was
unable to get to lectures after breaking her leg but the college provided
individual tuition for her until she
recovered.

tutorial – a small group study session with a
tutor often following a lecture

— He always
found tutorials helpful as it was a chance to ask questions about what they’d
heard in the lecture.

seminar – a class at university in
which a specific topic is discussed by a teacher and a small group of students

— At university, I found seminars far more useful than lectures as I learn best in a small
group.

lesson – a period of learning or teaching, usually in a school

— Walter was late for the history lesson and got into trouble with the teacher.

homework – additional coursework work given to pupils to complete
in their own time outside school hours

— Most pupils
hate homework as they’d rather be
out with their friends or playing computer games than studying.

correspondence course
– a course of study in which
student and tutors communicate by post

— Juan’s
local college didn’t offer a course in accountancy but he found a good correspondence course to give him the
qualification he needed.

distance
learning – a way of studying in which lectures are
broadcast or lessons are conducted by post or via the internet without the
student needing to attend a school or college or have in-person teacher
interaction

— I
prefer to study by distance learning
as I can work when I want and at the pace I want.

online learning – Similar to distance learning but
done 100% via the internet and often involving in-person interaction with a
teacher online

— I
find online learning ideal for
preparing for my IELTS exam and enjoy connecting with my teacher via Skype.

to
sit an exam – to take an exam.

— I
want to carry on learning for the rest of my life but after I finish my
training I hope I never have to sit an
exam again.

Education Vocabulary Set 10: The cost of education

tuition
fees – the money paid for a
course of study, especially at a private school or a college or university

— High tuition fees mean that many young people can’t afford to go to
university.

a grant – money given by the government to
support a student while studying

— Bernice was
successful in her application for a grant
which meant that she could attend her local university.

a student loan – money which a student can borrow
while they are studying, but which has to be repaid

— Geraint took
out student loans of £9000 a year to
pay for his tuition of fees and left university heavily in debt.

a scholarship – money
given to someone, often by the institution they are studying at, to help pay for their tuition

— He was
overjoyed to receive a scholarship to
Oxford University as his parents couldn’t afford to pay the fees.

internship – a period of work experience (often unpaid) offered by an
employer to give students and graduates experience of working in an industry
related to their field of study

— All students on the course were expected to secure an internship during the long vacation
between the second and third years of their degree course.

Education Vocabulary Set 11: Common terms
related to college or university

unconditional offer – the offer of
a place at an educational institution for which you already meet the entry
requirements

— Mustafa was delighted to receive an unconditional offer from his first
choice university and accepted immediately.

conditional offer – the offer of
a place at an educational institution which requires you to meet certain entry
requirements, usually specific exam grades

— She was fairly confident that she
would get the exam grades she needed to take up the conditional offer at Bristol University.

to major in – to choose as your
main subject

— I want to major in primary
education with a specialism in science.

to read (a subject) – to
study a specific subject

— Hans read geology at university
and is now working for an oil company in the States.

faculty – department in a
university that specialises in a specific subject

— It was a proud day for the university when the faculty of science move
into the new, state-of-the-art building.

research – a detailed study of a particular
subject

— I’m really enjoying this research project on the migratory
behaviour of the golden eagle.

• conduct research
• carry out research

Education Vocabulary Set 12: More common words, phrases & expressions

to
work your way through university – to have a paid job while
studying to support yourself financially

— With
the steep increase in tuition fees, many students are forced to work their way through university.

to
keep up with your studies – to not fall behind with your
work

— Giang
would have to limit his time socializing with his friends if he was going to keep up with his studies.

to
fall behind with your studies – to not get your coursework and
assignments done in the time allowed

— She
was a hard-working student but fell
behind with her studies after catching pneumonia and having to spend time
in hospital.

to
learn something by heart – to memorise it

— By
the end of his first week learning English, Elisha had learnt all the days of the weeks and months of the year by heart.

gap year – a
period, typically an academic year, taken by a student as a break between
school and university or college education

— Many students spend their gap
year travelling to get more experience of life before they settle down to
studying for a degree.

to
take a year out – to take a gap year

— Before
going to the university, I took a year
out to travel and also earn some money.

to enrol – to officially register on a course
at a college or university

— She didn’t
know an old friend had enrolled on
the same course until they met up on the first day.

sign
up for
– to commit to something
for a specific period such as the duration of a course

— Having signed up for the
photography course, she now had to ask her brother if she could borrow his
camera.

to
drop out – 
to leave a course before completing it

— Hiran was forced to drop
out of university when his father became ill and he had to take over the
family business to support his family.

a
dropout – a student who
fails to complete a course of study and leaves the educational institution with
no qualifications

— Many famous and very wealthy entrepreneurs are college dropouts, which proves that you don’t
need a degree to succeed in life.

well-educated – someone who has received a high level or good standard of education

— You could tell that he was well-educated by the way he spoke.

to meet a deadline – to complete a piece of work by the required date

— I didn’t think I’d get my essay written in time but I just met the deadline.

note-taking – to take notes in a lesson or lecture when the teacher is talking

— I find note-taking in a lecture really difficult as I miss much of what is being said while I’m writing.

to revise – study or read something again in order to remember it better, often before exams

— No matter how hard I revise, my mind goes blank as soon as I get into the exam room.

to review – to read over something again. Similar to revise, but generally done just after a lesson or lecture rather than in preparation for an exam

— Bella found that reviewing her notes just before going to sleep helped her to remember the key points.

workload – the amount of work that has to be done

— The course workload felt overwhelming at first but became more manageable once the students had covered the theory and moved on to the more practical part of the course.

to pass with flying colours – to pass an exam or test easily and with excellent result

— He was sure he was going to fail his maths exam but passed with flying colours.

scrape through – to just pass an exam

— She ran out of time in the exam and left many questions unanswered but just scraped through with a pass mark.

to resit/retake an exam – to take an exam again in order to get a better result

— Madee needed band 7 in her IELTS Speaking test but only got 6.5, so she had to retake the exam.

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