Vocabulary chapter 1-75
Look in the book for context and common collocations with words etc.!
Chapter 1: study and academic work
Cram – study in a very concentrated way for a short time
Genius – an exceptionally clever person
Revision – rereading and going over
Past papers – exam papers from previous years
By heart – by memory
Rote-learning – learning purely from repetition
Mnemonics – tricks that help you remember something
Bury yourself in books – spend the maximum time studying
Intensively – in a very focused way
Inside out – know it completely
Mind map – diagram that lays out ideas for a topic and how they are connected to one another
First draft – first, rough version
Plagiarism – using other people’s work as if it was yours
Acknowledge – give details of
Deadline – date by which you must hand in the work
Submitted – handed in
Assessed – evaluated and given a grade
Feedback – comments from the teacher/tutor
Carry out research – do research
Academic journals – magazines with academic articles
Access it online – get hold of it on the internet
Inter-library loan – system where libraries exchange books/journals with one another
Open education resources – online materials that can be freely used by teachers/students anywhere
Drop out – leave the course before the end
Finals – last exams before the end of a college or university course
Well-qualified – with the right formal qualifications
Composition – 50-100 words, used for school work
Essay – longer than a composition, more serious, 100s – 1000s of words
Assignment – a long essay, part of a course, 1000s of words
Project – like an assignment, but emphasis on student’s own material and topic
Portfolio – a collection of individual pieces of work
Dissertation – long, research based work, 10k-15k words, for a degree or diploma
Thesis – very long, research based work, 80k-100k words, for a higher degree (phd)
Chapter 2 education: debates and issues
Equality of opportunity – when everyone has the same chances
Selective schooling – pupils are chosen for entry, usually for academic reasons, though, in the case of
some private schools, parents ability to pay school fees may be a factor in selection
Comprehensive schooling – everyone enters without exams and education is free, paid for by the
government
Schooling – education received at school
Elitism – when you favour a small, privileged group
Inherent in – existing as a basic part of something
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,League tables – list of schools or colleges, from the best down to the worst, based on exam results
and sometimes other criteria
Perpetuate – make something continue
Two-tier system – a system with two separate levels, one of which is better than the other
Perceives – sees, considers
Better-off – richer
Well-endowed – receiving a lot of money in grants, gifts from rich people (= endowments)
Depressing (opportunity) – reducing
Less well-off – poorer
Excel – achieve an excellent standard
Scholarships – money given to pay for studies, usually provided on the basis of an academic merit
Bursaries – money given to pay for studies, usually provided on the basis of need
Tertiary (education) – education at university or college level
Student loans – money that students can borrow while studying
Undergraduates – students doing a first degree
Tuition fees – money paid to receive teaching
The three Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic
Literacy – the ability to read
Numeracy – the ability to count / do basic maths
Curriculum reform – changes to what is covered in the syllabus (= plan of what is to be studied)
Lifelong/continuing education – education for all ages
Mature students – adult students older than the average age
Special needs education – education for people who can not learn in a normal way, because of a
disability they have
One-to-one – one teacher on one pupil teaching
Bullying – threatening behaviour
Guidelines – advice on how something should be done
Distraction – takes the attention away
Chapter 3 Applying for a job
Communication skills – communicatie vaardigheden
Passion for – liking something a lot
Challenging – positive word for something that’s exciting and difficult
Fast-paced – if an environment is fast-paced, things happen very quickly there
Openings – available jobs
Reporting to – you report information to your boss/supervisor
Previous experience – experience of this type of job from before
Full training – all the training you need
Post – job
Career prospect – opportunities for promotion and career development
Leadership qualities – the ability to lead a group
Competitive salary – as good as, or better than, other salaries for similar jobs
Benefits package – all the extra benefits that a company offers
Subsidised – partly paid for by the company
Stand out – be better than others
Cover letter – a letter sent with a job application (also called a covering letter)
Dear sir or madam – how you start a letter when you do not know the name or gender of the person
you are writing to
Hands-on (experience) – practical, direct (not theoretical)
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,Field – area of business or activity
Customer-facing – dealing directly with customers
Team player – a person who is good at working with others
Managerial experience – experience of managing other people
Yours faithfully – how you finish a letter when you do not know the person you are writing
Chapter 4 Job interviews
Recruiting – hiring (new staff)
Criteria – requirements you use to make a decision
Shortlisted – selected from a larger group
Trial run – a practice of something new
Boost (your confidence) – improve or increase
Panel – a group of people
Line manager – the person who is directly responsible for your work
Body language – physical movements which show how you are feeling
Speak up – speak (more) loudly and clearly
Talk us through – tell us about in more detail
Trainee – a person who is learning a new job
Professional development – training given to employees to improve their knowledge or skills
In-house – within the company
New recruits – people who have just joined (the company)
Supervisor – the person who checks your work
Take on – start to have
Fill the post – find someone to do the job
Notice period – time you need to work in your job after you have officially told the company you are
leaving
An ideal fit for – very suitable for
Outlining – giving an overview of
Paid leave – time off you are paid for, such as holidays or parental leave
Reporting structure – company structure and who you report to
Chapter 5 at work: colleagues and routines
Opposite number – someone with the same job/position as you
Working relationship – way of communicating and working together
Collaboration – working together to achieve shared goals
Counterpart – more formal equivalent of opposite number
Rapport – communication/relationship
Take the initiative – make decisions without being told what to do
Hierarchical – has a structure with important and less important people
Pecking order – a system where some people have the right to get benefits/promotions first
Job-share – an agreement where two people each share the same job
Hot-desking – a policy of sharing desks in an office, so people sit at whichever desk is free on a
particular day
Workmates – colleagues you are friendly with
Talk shop – talk about work
Mundane – ordinary, not interesting
Meet a deadline – have something finished by a fixed day or time
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, Volunteer – offer to do something without being asked or told to do it
Rewarding – making you feel satisfied that you have done something important or useful, or done
something well
Stimulating – encouraging new ideas or new thinking
Workload – amount of work I have to do
Mechanical – you don’t have to think about what you’re doing
Repetitive – the same thing is repeated every day
Knocking off – finishing work
Monotonous – boring because it never changes
Satisfying – make me feel pleased by providing what I need or want
Challenging – that tests my ability or determination
Glamorous – very exciting, which everyone admires
Anti-social (hours) – do not enable one to have a normal social life
Stuck behind a desk – sitting at a desk all day
Mind-numbing – extremely boring
Tight schedules – very strict or limited timetables
Stuck in a rut – stuck/trapped in a job you can’t escape from
Dead-end (jobs) – with no prospects of promotion
Technician – person whose job involves practical work with scientific or electrical equipment
Went in with – formed a business partnership with
Start-up – a small business that has just started
Freelance – works for several different companies when they need work done
Programmer – someone who writes computer programs
Chapter 6
Job satisfaction – a feeling that your job is worth doing and fulfils you
Workplace – the place where you work
Run-of-the-mill – ordinary, not special or exciting
Short-term – immediate; opposite is long term
Financial reward – money gained
Morale – amount of confidence felt by a person or group
Teamwork – working together for a common purpose
Job stability – not likely to change
Fast-moving – developing or changing very quickly
Work-life balance – the amount of time spent working compared to the amount of time spent doing
things you enjoy
Dynamic – continuously developing
Looking to work in/seeking a career in – the act of looking for employment
Maternity leave – a period of absence from work granted to a mother before and after the birth of
her child
Paternity leave – a period of absence from work granted to a father after or shortly before the birth
of his child
Adoption leave – a period of absence from work to prepare for and look after an adopted child
Perks / (extra) benefits – extra things apart from salary, e.g. a car, health insurance
Health insurance – a type of insurance coverage that typically pays for medical, surgical, prescription
drugs and sometimes dental expenses incurred by the injured
Holiday entitlement – number of days you have the right to take as a holiday
Increments – increases/rises; formal
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