| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| elite | a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status | When economics students returned one winter to the elite École Normale Supérieure in Paris, copies of a simple one-page petition were posted in the corridors demanding an unlikely privilege: French as a teaching language. |
| petition | a formal message requesting something that is submitted to an authority | When economics students returned one winter to the elite École Normale Supérieure in Paris, copies of a simple one-page petition were posted in the corridors demanding an unlikely privilege: French as a teaching language. |
| corridor | an enclosed passageway that rooms usually open onto | When economics students returned one winter to the elite École Normale Supérieure in Paris, copies of a simple one-page petition were posted in the corridors demanding an unlikely privilege: French as a teaching language. |
| demand | request urgently and forcefully | When economics students returned one winter to the elite École Normale Supérieure in Paris, copies of a simple one-page petition were posted in the corridors demanding an unlikely privilege: French as a teaching language. |
| privilege | a special advantage or immunity or benefit not enjoyed by all | When economics students returned one winter to the elite École Normale Supérieure in Paris, copies of a simple one-page petition were posted in the corridors demanding an unlikely privilege: French as a teaching language. |
| discipline | a system of rules of conduct or method of practice | "We understand that economics is a discipline, like most scientific fields, where the research is published in English," the petition read, in apologetic tones. |
| tone | (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound) | "We understand that economics is a discipline, like most scientific fields, where the research is published in English," the petition read, in apologetic tones. |
| academia | the activities and work done at universities and colleges, or the teachers and students involved in it | In the shifting universe of global academia, English is becoming commonplace. |
| revenue | the entire amount of income before any deductions are made | In the last ten years, the world’s top business schools and universities have been pushing to make English the teaching tongue in order to raise revenues by attracting more international students and as a way to respond to globalization. |
| trend | a general tendency to change (as of opinion) | Business universities are leading the trend, partly because changes in international accreditation standards in the late 1990s required them to include English-language components. |
| accreditation | the act of granting credit or recognition (especially with respect to educational institution that maintains suitable standards) | Business universities are leading the trend, partly because changes in international accreditation standards in the late 1990s required them to include English-language components. |
| undergraduate | a university student who has not yet received a first degree | But English is also spreading to the undergraduate level, with some South Korean universities offering up to 30 percent of their courses in the language. |
| admission | the act of admitting someone to enter | In Madrid, business students can take their admissions test in English for the elite Instituto de Empresa and enroll in core courses for a master’s degree in business administration in the same language. |
| enroll | register formally as a participant or member | In Madrid, business students can take their admissions test in English for the elite Instituto de Empresa and enroll in core courses for a master’s degree in business administration in the same language. |
| administration | the act of governing; exercising authority | In Madrid, business students can take their admissions test in English for the elite Instituto de Empresa and enroll in core courses for a master’s degree in business administration in the same language. |
| management | the activity of controlling and organizing the work that a company or organization does | The Lille School of Management in France stopped considering English a foreign language in 1999, and now half the postgraduate programs are taught in English to accommodate a rising number of international students. |
| accommodate | have room for; hold without crowding | The Lille School of Management in France stopped considering English a foreign language in 1999, and now half the postgraduate programs are taught in English to accommodate a rising number of international students. |
| executive | a person responsible for the administration of a business | Over the last three years, the number of master’s programs offered in English at universities with another host language has more than doubled, to 3,300 programs at 1,700 universities, according to David A. Wilson, chief executive of the Graduate Management Admission Council, an international organization of leading business schools that is based in McLean, Va. “We are shifting to English. |
| council | a body serving in an administrative capacity | Over the last three years, the number of master’s programs offered in English at universities with another host language has more than doubled, to 3,300 programs at 1,700 universities, according to David A. Wilson, chief executive of the Graduate Management Admission Council, an international organization of leading business schools that is based in McLean, Va. “We are shifting to English. |
| suburb | a residential district located on the outskirts of a city | Why?” said Laurent Bibard, the dean of M.B.A. programs at Essec, a top French business school in a suburb of Paris. |
| advantage | the quality of having a superior or more favorable position | Essec has also taken advantage of the increased revenue that foreign students — English-speaking ones — can bring in. |
| population | the people who inhabit a territory or state | Its population of foreign students jumped by 38 percent in four years. |
| tuition | a fee paid for instruction (especially for higher education) | The tuition for a two-year master’s degree in business administration is 19,800 euros for European Union citizens, and 34,000 euros for non-EU citizens. |
| accelerate | move faster | Its ambition is to accelerate the English offerings to 50 percent. |
| consequence | a phenomenon that follows and is caused by some previous phenomenon | Santiago Iñiguez de Ozoño, dean of the Instituto de Empresa, argues that the trend is a natural consequence of globalization, with English functioning as Latin did in the 13th century as the lingua franca most used by universities. |
| lingua franca | the common language used by those whose native languages are different. | Santiago Iñiguez de Ozoño, dean of the Instituto de Empresa, argues that the trend is a natural consequence of globalization, with English functioning as Latin did in the 13th century as the lingua franca most used by universities. |
| analysis | the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations | When younger French students at Essec start a required course in organizational analysis, the atmosphere is marked by long, uncomfortable silences, said Alan Jenkins, a management professor and academic director of the executive M.B.A. program. |
| atmosphere | the general feeling or mood in a given place | When younger French students at Essec start a required course in organizational analysis, the atmosphere is marked by long, uncomfortable silences, said Alan Jenkins, a management professor and academic director of the executive M.B.A. program. |
| professor | someone who is a member of the faculty at a college or university | When younger French students at Essec start a required course in organizational analysis, the atmosphere is marked by long, uncomfortable silences, said Alan Jenkins, a management professor and academic director of the executive M.B.A. program. |
| M.B.A. | Master of Business Administration | When younger French students at Essec start a required course in organizational analysis, the atmosphere is marked by long, uncomfortable silences, said Alan Jenkins, a management professor and academic director of the executive M.B.A. program. |
| reticence | the trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary | “They are very good on written tasks, but there’s a lot of reticence on oral communication and talking with the teacher,” Dr. Jenkins said, adding that he used role-playing to encourage students to speak. |
| tutelage | instruction; teaching | Officials at Ewha Womans University in Seoul are also aware that they face a difficult task with their Global project, which require new students to take four classes in English, two under the tutelage of native English-speaking professors. |
| efficiency | skillfulness in avoiding wasted time and effort | At the beginning, “teaching courses in English may have less efficiency or effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer than those courses taught in Korean,” said Anna Suh, program manager for the university’s office of global affairs, who said that students eventually see the benefits. |
| transfer | move from one place to another | At the beginning, “teaching courses in English may have less efficiency or effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer than those courses taught in Korean,” said Anna Suh, program manager for the university’s office of global affairs, who said that students eventually see the benefits. |
| manager | someone who controls resources and expenditures | At the beginning, “teaching courses in English may have less efficiency or effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer than those courses taught in Korean,” said Anna Suh, program manager for the university’s office of global affairs, who said that students eventually see the benefits. |
| affair | a vaguely specified social event | At the beginning, “teaching courses in English may have less efficiency or effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer than those courses taught in Korean,” said Anna Suh, program manager for the university’s office of global affairs, who said that students eventually see the benefits. |
| equip | provide with (something) usually for a specific purpose | “Our aim for this kind of program is to prepare and equip our students to be global leaders in this new era of internationalization.” |
| era | a period marked by distinctive character or reckoned from a fixed point or event | “Our aim for this kind of program is to prepare and equip our students to be global leaders in this new era of internationalization.” |
| competition | the act of competing as for profit or a prize | “Internationally, the competition is everywhere,” Dr. Bredillet of the Lille management school said. |
| curriculum | an integrated course of academic studies | That’s why we’re delivering the curriculum in English.” |
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.