The Argument Against University (Upper-Intermediate Lesson)

ESL/EFL Level: Upper-Intermediate (B2/C1)
Lesson Topics: college/university, educational reform
Skill Focus: Speaking, Reading, Vocabulary, Listening
Approximate Class Time: 2 hours
Lesson Plan Download: university-degree-value-upper-intermediate-112023.docx
Lesson Overview:

  • After warm-up questions, students guess which countries have the most highly-ranked universities worldwide, which degrees are the most popular in the US, and which degrees are the most regretted.
  • The reading passage is fairly short, at 270 words. It summarizes the reasons why interest in college in the U.S. appears to be on the decline. (The passage also contains some statistics about the UK to make it a little more inclusive). The article focuses on the high costs, the appearance of other educational options, and potential issues with bias.
  • After a memory recall activity, students complete comprehension questions. This is followed by a vocabulary-matching exercise and an activity where students make questions using the target vocabulary.
  • The first speaking activity is a debate either on the value of obtaining a degree or whether education should be free. Next, students imagine they are on a high education reform committee and suggest changes to the university system.
  • The lesson includes two fun roleplays; the first is between a college applicant and an admissions officer, and the second is between an indebted student and a banker.
  • As a bonus, the lesson includes a link to a short YouTube video (in BrE) about ways to make university worthwhile. Some discussion questions accompany the video.
  • The lesson ends with a few famous quotations related to higher education, a final vocabulary review, final discussion questions, and a review of collocations.

Note: Perhaps confusingly, the terms 'college' and 'university' are used somewhat interchangeably in this lesson, despite having different meanings in different parts of the world.

An image of a university surrounded by question marks and dollar signs

UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2/C1) EFL Lesson Plan on Getting a Degree

Warm-up Questions

  1. Have you gone to university or college? If so, what was your experience like? If not, do you plan to?
  2. Is having a university degree needed to have a successful career (or life)?
  3. Predicting: You are going to read some arguments against attending college. What ideas do you think will be presented in the passage?
  4. This chart is from Statista’s ‘World University Ranking 2024’. It shows the number of top universities in each country. Which countries do you think represent each value? (Answers atop next page)
  5. Is your home country’s education system ranked highly?
  6. Place the below degrees into one of the tables on the right. Discuss your choices.Nursing             Business

    Journalism        Liberal Arts/General Studies

    Psychology       Sociology


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-- Lesson plan on the value of university written by Matthew Barton of EnglishCurrent.com (copyright). ChatGPT was used to suggest expressions for speaking activities and generate answer keys. Site members may photocopy and edit the file for their classes. Permission is not given to rebrand the lesson, redistribute it on another platform, or sell it as part of commercial course curriculum. For questions, contact the author.

Possible answers to follow-up questions:

  • …
  • ….
  • Many students in North America afford their tuition by taking out student loans, which can take an average of twenty years to repay.
  • According to the passage, 38% of students in the U.S. who start college do not complete their degree. This might be significant because it suggests that a large number of students are incurring debt without obtaining the degree that could potentially increase their earning power.
  • The pandemic may have caused changes in the educational marketplace by accelerating the shift to online learning and increasing the popularity of alternative educational options like online certifications and on-the-job training.
  • The passage states that 45% of respondents from the 2022 survey believe that getting a college degree is not worth the investment because they cannot afford to go into debt when a future career path is not guaranteed.
  • Some adults may avoid university because of claims that the university curriculum tends to favor left-wing ideas. In a world that is increasingly divided, this could be unappealing to those with conservative views and contribute to a decline in college attendance.

Vocabulary Answers: 1-b, 2-j, 3-c, 4-a, 5-f, 6-i, 7-h, 8-d, 9-e, 10-g

Vocabulary Review Answers: See original passage

Collocation Answers: 1-c, 2-a, 3-d, 4-e, 5-f, 6-b

Footnotes:

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