Brainstorming Education Vocabulary

Brainstorming education vocabulary

with comparing/ contrasting practice

In pairs or small groups, brainstorm at least three things into each of the categories below. You will get one point for each correct word or phrase that no one else writes and/ or isn’t in the answer key, so make sure that you write vocabulary that isn’t too basic.  

Educational institutions/ Places where you study

 

 

 

 

Places within an educational institution (rooms in a university, etc)

 

 

 

 

Subjects/ Majors/ Departments and faculties

 

 

 

 

Qualifications

 

 

 

 

Documents related to education

 

 

 

 

Things connected to education and money

 

 

 

 

People connected to education

 

 

 

 

Collocations with “test” and “exam” (= words which commonly go before or after “test” or “exam” such as “progress” + “test”)

 

 

 

 

Educational vocabulary which is different in British and American English (including because the educational systems are different)

 

 

 

 

 

Educational abbreviations (= short forms of education vocabulary)

 

 

 

 

 

Words connected to education with opposite meanings

 

 

 

 

 

Education words which have similar but different meanings

 

 

 

 

 

Positive words connected to education

 

 

 

 

 

Negative words connected to education

 

 

 

 

 

Other education vocabulary

 

 

 

 

 

Compare with the list below, ask about any you don’t know, and share your extra answers.

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Suggested answers

Ones in italics and brackets () with “X” are typical mistakes and so you should be careful not to say or write those things

Educational institutions/ Places where you study

• academy school
• boarding school
• Catholic school
• co-ed school
• (technical/ vocational/ junior/ two year/ 6th form) college
• correspondence school
• cram school
• elite university (Ivy League university, Oxbridge, etc),
• grad school/ graduate school
• grammar school
• independent school/ private school/ public school
• international school
• kindergarten/ nursery (school)/ pre-school/ playschool/ creche
• language school/ conversation school
• medical school
• online course provider
• (ex-)polytechnic
• prep school
• primary school/ elementary school
• redbrick university
• secondary school/ (junior) high school
• single-sex school
• state school/ public school
• (open/ private/ public) university/ uni/ university of the third age

 

Places within an educational institution

• auditorium
• cafeteria/ canteen/ dining hall
• clock tower
• dorm/ (student) halls
• head teacher’s office
• (front/ main/ back) gate
• gym
• lab/ laboratory
• lecture theatre/ lecture hall
• library/ media centre
• music room
• playground
• reception
• sport field
• staff room
• students’ union
• the… department/ faculty

 

Subjects/ Majors/ Departments and faculties

• art(s) and design (English lit, fine arts, history of art, drama, creative writing, graphic design, etc)
• classics (Ancient Greek, Latin, etc)
• education (PGCE, BEd, etc)
• ethics/ moral education
• home economics (cooking, sewing, etc)
• humanities/ social studies/ liberal arts (sociology, RE/ RS/ religious studies, geography, history, anthropology, economics, ethnography, gender studies, law, philosophy, PPE, PPL, etc)
• medicine (nursing, midwifery, dentistry, pharmacology, psychiatry, etc)
• modern languages
• PE/ sports science
• STEM subjects (physics, theoretical physics, applied physics, chemistry, bio sciences, forensic science, environmental science, neuroscience, civil engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, maths, geology, IT, etc)

 

Qualifications

• A levels
• BA/ BSc/ bachelor’s degree/ first degree/ four-year degree/ university degree/ undergraduate degree
• (postgraduate/ undergraduate) diploma
• (I)GCSEs
• honorary degree
• IB/ international baccalaureate
• junior college degree/ two-year degree
• master’s degree/ master’s/ MA/ MSc/ MPhil/ MBA
• PGCE
• PhD/ doctorate
• post-doc/ post-doctorate
• (post)graduate degree
• school leaving certificate

(NOT master course X NOT doctor course X)

 

Documents related to education

• academic reference
• application form
• (degree/ diploma/ school leaving) certificate
• dissertation/ thesis
• student ID (card)
• student visa
• (school) transcripts

 

Things connected to education and money

• bank of mum and dad
• exam (registration) fees
• funding
• grant
• late payment
• living expenses
• repayment
• scholarship
• student loans/ student debt
• tuition (fees)

 

People connected to education

• (fellow) alumni
• apprentice
• (exam) candidate
• caretaker/ janitor
• chancellor
• (ex-)classmate
• dean
• deputy head
• dinner lady
• exchange student
• final year student
• fresher/ freshman
• governor
• head teacher/ headmaster/ headmistress/ principal
• homeroom teacher/ tutor
• invigilator
• lab assistant
• lecturer
• PhD candidate
• post-doc
• postgrad
• professor
• (primary school) pupil
• receptionist
• school friend
• second year student/ sophomore
• senior
• special needs student
• (mature/ postgrad/ undergraduate) student
• (PhD) supervisor
• TA
• third year student/ junior
• (private/ university) tutor
• undergrad
• vice chancellor

 

Collocations with “test” and “exam” (= words which commonly go before or after “test” or “exam” such as “progress” + “test”)

• end of term
• (school/ university) entrance
• essay-based
• fail/ flunk
• final
• mark/ score/ grade
• mid-term
• mock
• multiple choice
• national
• nerves
• open book
• oral
• pass (with flying colours)
• placement
• practice
• school leaving
• scrape through
• (re)take

 

Educational vocabulary which is different in British and American English (including because the educational systems are different)

• A levels/ high school leaving certificate
• homework/ assignments
• final year student/ senior
• fresher/ freshman
• grad school/ postgraduate courses
• (student) halls/ dorms
• maths/ math
• Oxbridge/ Ivy league
• primary school/ elementary school
• redbrick unis
• revise/ review
• second year student/ sophomore
• secondary school/ (junior) high school
• sixth form (college)/ high school
• term/ semester
• the meaning of “professor”
• the meaning of “public school”
• third year student/ junior
• three-year degree/ four-year degree
• tutor/ homeroom teacher

 

Educational abbreviations (= short forms of education vocabulary)

• ADHD
• ALT
• BA
• BEd
• BSc
• CAE
• CLIL
• CPE
• co-ed
• dorm
• EFL/ ESL/ ESOL
• English lit
• exam
• FCE
• finals
• (I)GCSE
• grad school
• IB
• IELTS
• IT
• lab
• MA
• maths/ math
• MBA
• MPhil
• MSc
• OU
• Oxbridge
• PE
• PISA
• post-doc
• postgrad
• PTA
• PhD
• RE
• SAT
• TA
• TOEIC
• TOEFL
• uni/ varsity

 

Words connected to education with opposite meanings

• attend – skip
• co-ed – single sex
• drop out – graduate
• fresher/ first-year student/ freshman – final-year student/ senior
• major – minor
• pass – fail
• postgraduate – undergraduate

 

Education words which have similar but different meanings

• academic year/ calendar year
• BA/ BSc
• certificate/ qualification
• college/ university
• cram school/ private tutor
• degree/ diploma
• essay/ dissertation
• first year student/ first grader
• freshman/ new recruit
• grade/ year
• grant/ scholarship
• hearing test/ listening test
• kindergarten/ nursery school
• lecture/ lesson/ seminar/ workshop
• lecturer/ professor
• MA/ MSc
• private school/ the British meaning of “public school”
• pupil/ student
• quiz/ test/ exam
• the different meanings of “tutor”

 

Positive words connected to education

• concentrate
• discipline
• graduate
• holistic education
• honours students
• motivation
• pass (with flying colours)
• real life skills
• straight As
• top of the class

 

Negative words connected to education

• ADHD
• behavioural problems/ discipline problems
• bully(ing)
• chalk and talk
• cheating/ plagiarism
• cramming
• distracted
• drop out
• dyslexia/ dyslexic
• fail/ flunk
• illiteracy
• learning difficulties/ learning disabilities
• misbehaviour
• naughty kids
• punishment (detention, corporal punishment like caning, lines, suspension, expelled)
• rote learning
• skip (class/ school)
• slow student

 

Other educational vocabulary

• bridging course
• critical thinking skills
• English-medium courses/ English as a language of instruction
• gap year
• group work (case study, etc)
• home schooling
• sandwich courses
• streaming
• study skills
• studying abroad
• tertiary education

 

Work together to explain the differences between the ones in the similar meanings section above.

 

Useful phrases for explaining differences
… and… are very similar but … and… are almost the same but … and… are similar in terms of…, but … and… have… in common, but … and… share…, but	…. whereas,… … In contrast,… …, but… The biggest difference between… and… is… The main difference between… and… is… … is much more… than… … is far …er than… … is quite a lot more… than… … is slightly …er than… … is not (nearly/ quite) as… as… Compared to…, … is… Unlike…, … is… … is (almost) the opposite of…

 

Test each other with any expressions which are on the same line above, seeing if your partner can say if they have the same meaning or not, and what any difference is.

Useful phrases for explaining similarities They are exactly the same./ They are absolutely identical./ They are synonyms. They have exactly the same meaning (but…)