For the past few years, Russian education has been actively working to expand the list of exams that students must pass at the end of grade 11. So, the question of whether the USE in English will become mandatory and from what year turned out to be one of the most controversial: it was this decision that caused the most controversy.
Why do we need a mandatory USE in English?
English is a discipline that an ordinary student studies for 10 years: from the second to the eleventh grade. It would seem that during this time you can learn it at a good level. However, the news that the USE in English will become mandatory caused a lot of negative feedback from not only children, but also parents. This is due to the fact that most of them simply do not understand why another mandatory exam is needed if the graduate does not want to connect his life with linguistics or internationalrelationship.
The official position of the Ministry of Education, which is in charge of secondary general education, is as follows: English is the language of international communication, and in a world tuned to globalization, the ability to communicate with representatives of other cultures is especially relevant. Therefore, every student who has received an education should be able to understand English speech and speak it. It is the development of these skills that is the goal of introducing a mandatory English exam.
Positives
Despite a lot of complaints and dissatisfaction, the mandatory for all the exam in English has its advantages. Firstly, it is an incentive to learn a foreign language at least at a basic level. So, having shown a little more diligence and perseverance in school lessons, the student will have key ideas about the structure, grammar and vocabulary of the English language. So in the future, if desired, he will be able to restore the remaining gaps and improve his knowledge to the desired level. If in adulthood he will never need professional English, at least his knowledge will be enough to support everyday dialogue abroad or place an order in an online store.
In addition, the need to take the exam in English will probably encourage not only children, but also their parents to study it.
Cons
Although the above advantages seem to be enough, there are still negative consequences, and there are many of them. First of all, let's be honest, an ordinary comprehensive schoolThis is not the place to learn a foreign language. Despite the allotted three hours a week, students are at best able to complete typical grammar tasks and form sentences according to a template.
An additional exam will only increase the level of workload and stress, which is already going through the roof.
Due to the inefficiency of school lessons, the demand for tutors and language courses is likely to increase, but not every family can afford the additional costs, especially for a subject that is not needed for admission.
From what year is the USE in English a mandatory exam?
Whether ordinary schoolchildren and their parents like it or not, the decision to introduce English into the list of compulsory exams has already been made. In many interviews and public speeches, the Minister of Education O. Yu. Vasilyeva says that in some regions a trial exam will be held as early as 2020. The USE in English will become mandatory by 2022. This means that the current eighth graders will be the first to write it, and in some regions, tenth graders. It is believed that it is by this moment that the Russian education system will be completely rebuilt in accordance with the requirements of the new time, and schoolchildren will be ready to write an exam without the help of tutors.
Basic and core level: what's the difference
The current English exam is quite difficult. According to official sources, in order to write it "excellent",you need to have a level corresponding to B2 according to the common European system. It includes tasks of increased complexity, such as an essay, or a detailed written statement, as well as oral analysis and comparison of pictures, which requires the ability to spontaneously and quickly express one's thoughts in a foreign language. Without a long and thorough study of English, it is extremely difficult to achieve such results, therefore it is not surprising that for the mandatory delivery, the USE is divided into two levels: basic and specialized.
Profile level is designed for graduates who are serious about languages and who need an exam to enter a university. It will be very similar to the existing USE, both in structure and level of difficulty. Probably won't even undergo any major changes.
To create a basic level, judging by the statements of the ministry, the existing VLOOKUP format in English will be taken as a basis.
What skills are required to pass the required English exam?
The basic level will correspond to the level A2-B1, the ministry says. This means that the student should be able to communicate on everyday topics: talk about his family, interests, hobbies, plans for the future. It should not be a problem for him to order food in a restaurant, pay a bill, go to the store. He is able to discuss operational issues at a basic level, which is within the scope of his permanent competence.
A student must understand non-adapted English speech in simple dialogues or texts, but formore complex topics, such as reading serious foreign media, his knowledge is not enough.
Format of assignments
Probably, the basic level will include four blocks: listening, reading, grammar and vocabulary, speaking. To complete the tasks, it is enough to know the simplest vocabulary, be able to understand and apply basic grammatical constructions in practice.
In listening, students are asked to listen to a short friendly dialogue and answer questions that are directly answered in the recording.
When completing reading tasks, students should match headings and short, no longer than 3-4 sentences, texts.
The grammar and vocabulary block includes the simplest word formation, where you need to transform a given word so that it fits correctly into the text, as well as a task to match spaces in the text and matching words.
Oral utterance involves a description of a photo from a choice of three. At the same time, the student must imagine that he is telling his friend about it and use the vocabulary appropriate for the situation, be able to accurately name the objects shown in the picture, and also clearly articulate their thoughts.
Important note: This assignment description is based on an existing English VLOOKUP. It is likely that some tasks may change or disappear altogether, some may be added. It depends on the year from which the mandatory USE in English will be introduced, and how the approaches and requirements for monitoring students' knowledge will change by that time. However, the general level of knowledge testingstay the same.
How to prepare for the English exam?
Given that basic English is positioned as an easy exam, in which every student who regularly attends school lessons can get credit, he will not require special preparation. It is probably worth taking English lessons more seriously, doing homework on your own and sorting out existing mistakes with the teacher, knowing the vocabulary and grammar provided by the school textbook.
Additionally, you can watch films and series in English to better understand spoken language, as well as read adapted literature or at least entertaining English-language media to expand your vocabulary. If you wish, it is useful to find a pen pal in order to learn in practice how to formulate your own thoughts into statements in a foreign language.
Summing up, we can say that no matter what year the mandatory USE in English will be introduced, you can start studying it now, because this is a truly important skill in the modern world.
