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20 Mins • B1 Level University Vocabulary & Pronunciation

🎓 Choosing a University Course

Learn 10 essential words to talk about higher education, course choices, and degree requirements.

📌 How to use this lesson

For Teachers

Guide learners through the 10 core words and allow 20 minutes for study.

Have students check answers in pairs and monitor their voice recordings.

For Learners

First, read the word table and listen to each pronunciation carefully.

Next, complete the 16 practice questions and record your voice in shadowing.

📖 Word table

Study all 10 key words across three common study themes.

Theme 1: Before you start

Word	Meaning	Common collocations	Word forms	Example sentence	Memory tip
scholarship	Money given to a student to pay for education	win / apply for a scholarship	scholar (n)	"She won a full scholarship to study chemistry in London."	Scholar is inside scholarship: the money helps a scholar to study.
tuition	The money you pay to be taught in a college	pay / raise tuition fees	–	"Many students work part-time to pay their annual tuition."	Sounds like "tutor": paying your college tutor.
admission	Permission to enter a college or university	gain / seek admission	admit (v)	"He received his admission letter from Oxford yesterday."	"Admit" means let inside: the door is open.
campus	The land and buildings of a university	on / off campus	–	"Our campus has a huge library and green gardens."	Picture camping on the university lawn.

Theme 2: On the course

Word	Meaning	Common collocations	Word forms	Example sentence	Memory tip
lecture	A formal talk on a subject given to a large student group	attend / deliver a lecture	lecturer (n), lecture (v)	"We have an economics lecture at nine every morning."	A lecturer lectures: one person talks and many people listen.
module	One specific unit or part of a whole study program	core / elective module	–	"I chose a special module on environmental law."	Like a building block or LEGO brick of a course.
semester	One of the two main study periods in an academic year	fall / spring semester	–	"The autumn semester ends just before Christmas."	Two semesters make one school year: think of two halves.

Theme 3: Describing a course

Word	Meaning	Common collocations	Word forms	Example sentence	Memory tip
demanding	Needing a lot of time, energy, and deep effort	demanding course / workload	demand (v, n)	"Medicine is a demanding degree that requires hard work."	The course "demands" all your free time.
practical	Relating to real action and experience, not just ideas	practical experience / skills	practice (n), practically (adv)	"Engineering provides practical training in labs."	Connect to "practice": doing things with your hands.
optional	That you can choose to do or not do; not compulsory	optional course / module	option (n)	"Spanish is an optional subject in the second year."	You have an "option" to pick it or skip it.

✏️ Practice

Try these 16 questions to test your words.

Task 1: Collocation grid

Match each pair of verbs to the noun they naturally pair with.

Verbs

tuition

lecture

scholarship

admission

1. win / be awarded

____ tuition ____ lecture ____ scholarship ____ admission

2. pay / raise

____ tuition ____ lecture ____ scholarship ____ admission

3. gain / seek

____ tuition ____ lecture ____ scholarship ____ admission

4. attend / deliver

____ tuition ____ lecture ____ scholarship ____ admission

Word Bank for Questions 5 to 8

campus module semester demanding

Question 5 • Dialogue

Sarah: "Do you live far away from the university?"

Alex: "No, my room is right on the main university [ ... ], so I can walk to class in two minutes."

Type the word: ____

Question 6 • Dialogue

Tutor: "Are you ready for your final exams?"

Mark: "Yes, I have four written tests at the end of this autumn [ ... ]."

Type the word: ____

Question 7 • Course Description

"In the second year of the business degree, every student must choose one specialist [ ... ] in international finance."

Type the word: ____

Question 8 • Student Review

"Medical school is extremely [ ... ] because students must study long hours and complete hospital shifts."

Type the word: ____

Question 9 • Choose the word

"I prefer courses with plenty of hands-on laboratory experiments because I want to learn _____ skills."

____ a. practical ____ b. demanding ____ c. optional

Question 10 • Choose the word

"You do not have to study French this term; it is an entirely _____ class for your degree."

____ a. demanding ____ b. practical ____ c. optional

Question 11 • Choose the word

"The college wants to lower its yearly _____ fees, so lessons cost less for families."

____ a. scholarship ____ b. tuition ____ c. admission

Question 12 • Choose the word

"The new university _____ has sports fields, student cafes, and three modern residence halls."

____ a. lecture ____ b. module ____ c. campus

Question 13 • Word formation

Complete the sentence with the correct verb form of admission:

"The college decided to ______ five hundred international students this year."

Form: ____

Question 14 • Word formation

Complete the sentence with the person noun form related to scholarship:

"Dr. Miller is a respected ______ who has published several books on ancient Greek art."

Form: ____

Question 15 • Word formation

Complete the sentence with the person noun form of lecture:

"Our psychology ______ explained the research results very clearly."

Form: ____

Question 16 • Word formation

Complete the sentence with the noun form of optional:

"Students have the ______ to spend one semester studying abroad."

Form: ____

🎙️ Shadowing

Listen, speak clearly, and record your voice.

Part A: 4 Common Collocations

Item 1 • Collocation

win a university scholarship Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 2 • Collocation

pay expensive tuition fees Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 3 • Collocation

gain admission to college Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 4 • Collocation

attend an early lecture Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part B: 6 Everyday Sentences

Item 5 • Sentence (8 words)

Our campus has a large modern sports hall. Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 6 • Sentence (8 words)

This semester feels very busy but quite fun. Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 7 • Sentence (8 words)

Every module gives us useful skills each week. Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 8 • Sentence (7 words)

The course is demanding but very rewarding. Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 9 • Sentence (8 words)

Spanish is an optional subject for new students. Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 10 • Sentence (8 words)

We need more practical training in this class. Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part C: 2 Key Pronunciation Words

Item 11 • Target Word

scholarship /ˈskɒl.ə.ʃɪp/

Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 12 • Target Word

semester /sɪˈmes.tər/

Listen 🔊

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Vocabulary: Choosing a University Course

🎓 Choosing a University Course

📌 How to use this lesson

📖 Word table

✏️ Practice

Task 1: Collocation grid

🎙️ Shadowing

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