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Teaching in the US

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Published: 7 Feb 2021
Level 5 (B2)   |   Time: 4:38
Accent: American
Source: Vox

Vox Media explains why teachers in America have a uniquely tough job and why it doesn't have to be that way.


Directions 이용안내 Direcciones Instruções Інструкції

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  1. READ the VOCABULARY

    It is important to read the vocabulary before you watch the video. This will improve your ability to understand the video. It will also help you understand how the new vocabulary is used naturally.

  2. WATCH the VIDEO

    The first time you watch the video, just try to understand the overall situation.

  3. ANSWER the QUESTIONS

    First try to answer all the questions from memory. Then rewatch the video and try to answer the questions that you missed.

  4. WATCH and READ the SCRIPT

    Watch the video again while you read the script. Reading and listening at the same time will help you hear each individual word and improve your listening accuracy.

  5. DO the ACTIVITIES

    There are several different activities that focus on test preparation, vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure.

  1. LEA el VOCABULARIO

    Es importante leer el vocabulario antes de ver el video. Esto mejorará su capacidad para comprender el video. También le ayudará a comprender cómo se usa el nuevo vocabulario de forma natural.

  2. VER el VIDEO

    La primera vez que vea el video, intente comprender la situación general.

  3. RESPONDE a las PREGUNTAS

    Primero intente responder todas las preguntas de memoria. Luego, vuelva a ver el video e intente responder las preguntas que se perdió.

  4. MIRAR Y LEER

    Mire el video nuevamente mientras lee el guión. Leer y escuchar al mismo tiempo lo ayudará a escuchar cada palabra individual y mejorará su precisión auditiva.

  5. HACER LAS ACTIVIDADES

    Hay una serie de actividades diferentes que se centran en la preparación de la examen, el vocabulario, la gramática y la estructura de las oraciones.

  1. 어휘 읽기

    비디오를 보기 전에 어휘와 배경을 읽는 것이 중요합니다. 이렇게 하면 비디오를 이해하는 능력이 향상됩니다. 또한 새로운 어휘가 어떻게 자연스럽게 사용되는지 이해하는데 도움이됩니다.

  2. 비디오 보기

    비디오를 처음 볼 때 전체 상황을 이해하려고 노력하세요.

  3. 문제에 답하기

    먼저 모든 질문에 답을 해보세요. 그런 다음 비디오를 다시보고 놓친 질문에 답해보세요.

  4. 비디오 보면서 대본 읽기

    대본을 읽는 동안 비디오를 다시 보세요. 읽기와 듣기를 동시에 하면 각각의 단어를 듣고, 듣기 정확도를 향상시킬 수 있습니다.

  5. 액티비티 하기

    듣기 정확도, 발음, 어휘, 문법 및 문장 구조에 초점을 맞춘 다양한 액티비티가 있습니다.

  1. LER o VOCABULÁRIO

    É importante ler o vocabulário antes de assistir ao vídeo. Isso melhorará sua capacidade de entender o vídeo. Também ajudará você a entender como o novo vocabulário é usado naturalmente.

  2. ASSISTA ao VÍDEO

    Na primeira vez que assistir ao vídeo, tente entender a situação geral.

  3. RESPONDA às PERGUNTAS

    Primeiro, tente responder a todas as perguntas de memória. Em seguida, assista novamente ao vídeo e tente responder às perguntas que você errou.

  4. ASSISTA e LEIA o SCRIPT

    Assista ao vídeo novamente enquanto lê o roteiro. Ler e ouvir ao mesmo tempo ajudará você a ouvir cada palavra individualmente e a melhorar sua precisão auditiva.

  5. FAÇA as ATIVIDADES

    Existem várias atividades diferentes que se concentram na preparação para o teste, vocabulário, gramática e estrutura de frases.

  1. ПРОЧИТАЙТЕ СЛОВНИК

    Важливо прочитати словник перед переглядом відео. Це покращить вашу здатність розуміти відео. Це також допоможе вам зрозуміти, як нова лексика використовується природно.

  2. ПЕРЕГЛЯНЬТЕ ВІДЕО

    Коли дивитеся відео вперше, просто намагайтеся зрозуміти загальну ситуацію.

  3. ВІДПОВІДАЙТЕ НА ЗАПИТАННЯ

    Спочатку спробуйте відповісти на всі запитання з пам'яті. Потім перегляньте відео ще раз і спробуйте відповісти на запитання, які ви пропустили.

  4. ПЕРЕГЛЯНЬТЕ і ПРОЧИТАЙТЕ СЦЕНАРІЙ

    Перегляньте відео ще раз, читаючи сценарій. Читання і слухання одночасно допоможе вам почути кожне окреме слово і покращити точність сприйняття на слух.

  5. ВИКОНАЙТЕ ЗАВДАННЯ

    Існує кілька різних завдань, які зосереджені на підготовці до тесту, лексиці, граматиці та структурі речень.

Vocabulary 어휘 Vocabulário Vocabulario Словник

Check the words you already know. Marca las palabras que ya conoces. Marque as palavras que você já conhece. 이미 아는 단어에 체크하세요. Позначте слова, які ви вже знаєте.

  • ☐ ☐ ☐ for good exp. - forever
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ shrink v. - get smaller
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a shortage n. - not enough
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ turnover n. - the rate at which employees leave and are replaced
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ the OECD n. - the Organization for Economic Development (the 38 richest countries)
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ colleagues n. - coworkers
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ collaborate v. - work together
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ translate to better results exp. - result in better outcomes
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ extracurricular activities exp. - after school activities
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ on par with exp. - equal to, similar to
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ their college-educated peers exp. - people with a similar level of education
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a figure n. - a number
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ vary v. - be different, be various
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ a share n. - a part of, a percentage of
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ security n. - safety
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ non-instructional costs n. - costs not directly related to teaching
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ GDP n. - Gross domestic product, a (outdated) way to measure the economic strength of a country
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ keep (them) around phv. - let (them) stay, prevent (someone) from quitting
  • ☐ ☐ ☐ take a page from XXX's book exp. - copy XXX's idea

n. - noun,    v. - verb,    phv. - phrasal verb,    adj. - adjective,    exp. - expression


Questions 문제 Questões Preguntas Запитання

  1. The video is comparing middle school teachers in the US and Finland.
    True
    False

  2. Teachers in Finland are more likely to quit teaching than teachers in the US.
    True
    False

  3. The number of qualified public-school teachers in the US is shrinking.
    True
    False

  4. The number of public-school students in the US is shrinking.
    True
    False

  5. US teachers work more hours per day than teachers from most other OECD countries on average.
    True
    False

  6. US teachers work the most hours per day among OECD countries.
    True
    False

  7. US teachers teach the most hours per day among OECD countries.
    True
    False

  8. US students score below the OECD average on the PISA exam.
    True
    False

  9. Finnish teachers earn about the same amount of money as people with a similar level of education in their country.
    True
    False

  10. US teachers earn about the same amount of money as people with a similar level of education in their country.
    True
    False

  11. The US spends much less per student than most other OECD countries.
    True
    False

  12. Most states in the US spend about the same amount of money on education for each student.
    True
    False

  13. The majority of Finnish teachers believe that people in their country value teachers.
    True
    False

  14. The majority of US teachers believe that people in their country value teachers.
    True
    False

Score:


Sentence Building 문장 만들기 Construção de sentença Construcción de oraciones Побудова речень

Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instruções:: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.

Інструкції: Напишіть речення про відеокліп, використовуючи подані слова. Ви можете змінювати форму слова або додавати слова, але не можете змінювати порядок слів.



Sentence 1

US / public / school / teacher / twice / likely / Finland / teacher / leave / teach / good

US public school teachers are twice as likely as Finnish teachers to leave teaching for good.



Sentence 2

while / number / new / certify / teacher / US / shrink / number / public / school / student / grow

While the number of new certified teachers in the US is shrinking, the number of public school students is growing.



Sentence 3

teacher / US / work / hour / half / long / teacher / other / OECD / country / average

Teachers in the US work an hour and a half longer than teachers in other OECD countries on average.



Sentence 4

teacher / Japan / work / more / hour / day / teacher / US / but / teach / few / hour

Teachers in Japan work more hours per day than teachers in the US, but (they) teach fewer hours.



Sentence 5

US / teacher / spend / about / five / half / of / nine / quarter / work / hour / teach

US teachers spend about five and a half of their nine and a quarter work(ing) hours teaching.



Sentence 6

student / US / score / slight / above / OECD / average / PISA / exam

Students in the US score slightly above the OECD average on the PISA exam.



Sentence 7

US / student / score / low / student / country / like / Finland / South Korea / Singapore / where / teach / hour / much / low

US students score lower than students in countries like Finland, South Korea, and Singapore, where teaching hours are much lower.

US students' scores are lower than students in countries like Finland, South Korea, and Singapore, where teaching hours are much lower.



Sentence 8

America / teacher / earn / much / less / people / similar / level / education

American teachers earn much less than people with similar levels of education.

American teachers earn much less than people with a similar level of education.



Sentence 9

although / US / spend / lot / money / education / it / vary / great / state

Although the US spends a lot of money on education, it varies greatly by state.

Although the US spends a lot of money on education, it varies greatly (from) state to state.



Sentence 10

two / three / Finland / teacher / think / people / country / value / teacher / while / only / one / three / America / teacher / believe / so

Two [in/out of] three Finnish teachers think (that) people in their country value teachers, while only one [in/out of] three American teachers believe so.



Discussion 논의 Questões de discussão Discusión Обговорення

  1. What statistics or facts from this video most surprised you?
  2. Why do you think the teaching conditions in Finland are (apparently) better than in the US?
  3. The US crisis is too few teachers for a growing student population. Do you think your country has a similar crisis?
  4. What solutions would you recommend for the US crisis? How could they attract more teachers and improve their quality of education?
  5. What are the pros and cons of being a public school teacher (in your country)?
  6. Where do you think your country ranks for teaching salaries? [ Link ]
  7. Do you think teachers in your country earn too much? Too little? Just enough? Why? What do you think is a fair wage for a public school teacher?
  8. Finnish teachers seem to believe that they are valued in their country. American teachers do not. Do you think teaching is a valued profession in your country? Why?

Script 대본 Roteiro Guion Сценарій

This is Anna. She just graduated from college in the United States.

And this is Sophia. She also just graduated from college in Finland.

Anna and Sophia both want to be middle school teachers. But it turns out, there's a good chance their experiences will be very different. So different that Anna is twice as likely as Sophia to leave teaching for good.

That's causing a problem. The supply of new certified teachers in the United States is shrinking, but the number of public-school students keeps growing.

Massive teacher shortages.

Warnings about teacher turnover.

Educators call Colorado's teacher shortage a crisis.

So what makes Sophia stay and Anna leave? And how can the United States keep more of its teachers in the classroom?


In the US, teachers work about nine and a quarter hours a day. That's an hour and a half longer than the average for teachers in other countries in the Organization for Economic Development or OECD for short. That's a group of mostly wealthy countries that economists often compare to one another.

Teachers in the US work more than two and a half hours longer than their colleagues in South Korea, Finland, and Israel.

There are some countries with similar teacher work hours to the United States, like New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK. Teachers in Japan for example work nearly two hours more per day than teachers in the US, but in all of these countries teaching hours are much lower.

Of the nine and a quarter hours that American teachers work every day, they spend about five and a half of those hours actually teaching. That's more than the OECD average and significantly more than teachers in New Zealand, the UK, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Teachers in these countries get more time for planning, grading, and collaborating with each other.

So do all those extra teaching hours translate to better results?


Students in the US score slightly above the OECD average on the PISA exam, which tests 15-year-olds all over the world in reading, science, and math. But they score lower than students in countries like Finland, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, where teaching hours are much lower.

If we look inside Anna and Sofia's classrooms in the US and Finland, we'd see Anna teaching an hour and a half more per day than Sofia. Anna also spends more time planning lessons, grading student work, and leading extracurricular activities.

But those extra hours aren't necessarily reflected in Anna's paycheck. If you compare Sofia to other people in Finland with college degrees, she makes about 98 cents for every dollar that they make. That's on par with the pay ratio between teachers and college graduates in similar countries.

But Anna and other American middle school teachers only make about 65 cents for every dollar that their college-educated peers make.

Still, as politicians in the US never tire of pointing out we spend more per student than almost any country I think than nearly every other country in the developed world.

But that figure varies a lot by state. New York spends twice as much as California on each student. Mississippi spends less than half as much as Alaska. And American schools generally spend a lot more on security and other non-instructional costs than schools in other countries.

Plus, if you look at the share of its national wealth or GDP that each country spends on education, you can see there are plenty of countries spending a bigger share than the US.


There's one other difference between Anna and Sofia. When they're asked whether people in their country value teachers, two out of three Finnish teachers say yes. But just one in three American teachers agree.

There are a lot of reasons why teachers like Anna leaves a classroom, but if the US wants to keep more of them around, we might want to take a few pages from Finland's book.