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1. UNIVERSITIES: Walk around the class and talk to other students about universities. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

top spot / universities / tied / institutions / dominated / rankings / global list / leapfrogged / funding / research / significant / donors / partners / support / ideas

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. THE TOP SPOT: Who gets it for the things in the table? Share what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners and share again.

	Who / What?	Why?
Country
Sport
Company
Person
Charity
Dessert

4. US UNIS: Students A strongly believe the best universities in the world will always be in the USA; Students B strongly believe not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. STUDY: What’s the best thing to study at university? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

English IT medicine history

event management accountancy engineering astrophysics

6. RANKING: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘ranking’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Harvard University has dropped out of the top ten universities.	T / F
b.	A technology college from California is now the world’s top uni.	T / F
c.	Stanford and Harvard universities share the same spot on the rankings.	T / F
d.	Cambridge and Oxford universities are both in the top five.	T / F
e.	Caltech got the top spot because if found more funds for research.	T / F
f.	There was a huge difference between Harvard and Caltech last year.	T / F
g.	Caltech can invest in new ideas before public universities can.	T / F
h.	Private universities in the U.S. are facing problems getting funding.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	spot	a.	lucky
2	tied	b.	the others
3.	annual	c.	more
4.	the rest	d.	drew
5.	climbed	e.	jumped over
6.	leapfrogged	f.	place
7.	greater	g.	chances
8.	fortunate	h.	money
9.	opportunities	i.	yearly
10.	funds	j.	rose

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	lost its top spot	a.	Harvard
2	It was knocked off its	b.	second spot
3.	tied with Harvard for	c.	places in the rankings
4.	dominated the	d.	list
5.	climbed two	e.	over in its favor
6.	Caltech leapfrogged	f.	in the ranking
7.	a significant increase	g.	new ideas
8.	tipping the balance	h.	perch by Caltech
9.	steadfast	i.	in its research income
10.	invest in	j.	donors

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Harvard University has lost its top (1) ____________ in the ranking of world universities for the first time in eight years. It was (2) ____________ off its perch by Caltech (the California Institute of Technology). Another California college, Stanford University, (3) ____________ with Harvard for second spot. The (4) ____________, global list of the planet’s top educational institutions is (5) ____________ by London’s Times Higher Education and the Thomson Reuters Corp. Universities from the U.S.A. and U.K. (6) ____________ the list, with 75 American schools in the top 200. Seven of the top 10 colleges were in the U.S. and the (7) ____________ were in Britain. Oxford University (8) ____________ two places in the rankings to fourth; Princeton University came fifth and the University of Cambridge was sixth.		compiled climbed knocked annual tied dominated spot rest
Phil Baty, (9) ____________ of the rankings, explained that Caltech leapfrogged Harvard because it had found                   (10) ____________ funding for its research. He said: “The difference between Harvard and Caltech last year was minuscule. What’s happened this year is Caltech has seen a                     (11) ____________ increase in its research income. A 16 percent increase. It’s quite significant in (12) ____________ the balance over in its favor.” Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, president of Caltech, said: “Caltech is fortunate to have steadfast (13) ____________ and partners whose support gives [the university] the             (14) ____________ to invest in new ideas long before they would be (15) ____________ for public funding opportunities.” Baty said private universities in America like Caltech are becoming more successful in (16) ____________ funds.		significant eligible greater donors editor raising tipping ability

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Harvard University ____________________ in the ranking of world universities for the first time in eight years. It was ____________________ by Caltech (the California Institute of Technology). Another California college, Stanford University, ____________________ second spot. The annual, _______________________ top educational institutions is compiled by London’s Times Higher Education and the Thomson Reuters Corp. Universities from the U.S.A. and U.K. ____________________, with 75 American schools in the top 200. Seven of the top 10 colleges were in the U.S. and the rest were in Britain. Oxford University ____________________ the rankings to fourth; Princeton University came fifth and the University of Cambridge was sixth.

Phil Baty, ____________________, explained that Caltech leapfrogged Harvard because it had ____________________ for its research. He said: “The difference between Harvard and Caltech last year was minuscule. What’s happened this year is Caltech has seen ____________________ in its research income. A 16 percent increase. It’s quite significant in tipping the balance over in its favor.” Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, president of Caltech, said: “Caltech is ____________________ steadfast donors and partners whose support gives [the university] the ability to invest in new ideas long before they would ____________________ funding opportunities.” Baty said private universities in America like Caltech are ____________________ in raising funds.

 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘top’ and ‘spot’.

top

spot

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

lost knocked annual 75 10 sixth

found last seen 16 gives private

STUDENT UNIVERSITIES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about universities in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

• Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

UNIVERSITIES DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)	What did you think when you read the headline?
b)	What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘university’?
c)	What are the good and bad things about universities?
d)	Do you think universities today are better than those in the past?
e)	How important is it to go to a university?
f)	What do you know about Harvard University and Caltech?
g)	What are the universities like in your country?
h)	Why do you think so many of the top unis are in the U.S.A.?
i)	How might your life improve by getting a degree from a top university?
j)	Is it more difficult to be successful in life without graduating from university?

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STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)	Did you like reading this article?
b)	Why is funding for research so important for universities?
c)	In some countries, a university education is free? Do you think it should be free
d)	Which are better, public or private universities?
e)	What would you really love to study at university?
f)	Who gives funds to universities and why?
g)	Do you think all universities will be totally online in the future, with no buildings?
h)	What do you think of Oxford and Cambridge university?
i)	Should all university subjects be practical?
j)	What questions would you like to ask Phil Baty?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Harvard University has lost its top spot in the (1) ____ of world universities for the first time in eight years. It was knocked off its (2) ____ by Caltech (the California Institute of Technology). Another California college, Stanford University, (3) ____ with Harvard for second spot. The annual, global list of the planet’s top educational institutions is (4) ____ by London’s Times Higher Education and the Thomson Reuters Corp. Universities from the U.S.A. and U.K. (5) ____ the list, with 75 American schools in the top 200. Seven of the top 10 colleges were in the U.S. and the rest were in Britain. Oxford University (6) ____ two places in the rankings to fourth; Princeton University came fifth and the University of Cambridge was sixth.

Phil Baty, editor of the rankings, explained that Caltech leapfrogged Harvard because it had found greater funding (7) ____ its research. He said: “The difference between Harvard and Caltech last year was (8) ____. What’s happened this year is Caltech has seen a significant increase in its research income. A 16 percent increase. It’s (9) ____ significant in (10) ____ the balance over in its favor.” Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, president of Caltech, said: “Caltech is fortunate to have steadfast donors and partners whose support gives [the university] the ability to invest (11) ____ new ideas long before they would be (12) ____ for public funding opportunities.” Baty said private universities in America like Caltech are becoming more successful in raising funds.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	reeking	(b)	wrangling	(c)	raking	(d)	ranking
2.	(a)	rod	(b)	perch	(c)	table	(d)	book
3.	(a)	tied	(b)	tired	(c)	tread	(d)	tiered
4.	(a)	complied	(b)	compered	(c)	compiled	(d)	compared
5.	(a)	dominance	(b)	domination	(c)	dominated	(d)	domineering
6.	(a)	scaled	(b)	climbed	(c)	upped	(d)	pulled
7.	(a)	for	(b)	by	(c)	at	(d)	to
8.	(a)	minis	(b)	minutes	(c)	ministerial	(d)	miniscule
9.	(a)	quit	(b)	quite	(c)	quiet	(d)	quote
10.	(a)	tapping	(b)	topping	(c)	tripping	(d)	tipping
11.	(a)	by	(b)	of	(c)	in	(d)	as
12.	(a)	eligible	(b)	alleged	(c)	allegory	(d)	elitism

 
 

WRITING

Write about universities for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

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HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about universities. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. UNIVERSITIES: Make a poster about top universities. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. HARVARD: Write a magazine article about Harvard. Include imaginary interviews with Harvard students and the head of one of its rivals.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to the head of Harvard. Ask him/her three questions about no longer being number one. Give him/her three ideas on how to get the top spot back. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

 

 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

T

c.

T

d.

F

e.

T

f.

F

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.	spot	a.	place
2	tied	b.	drew
3.	annual	c.	yearly
4.	the rest	d.	the others
5.	climbed	e.	rose
6.	leapfrogged	f.	jumped over
7.	greater	g.	more
8.	fortunate	h.	lucky
9.	opportunities	i.	chances
10.	funds	j.	money

PHRASE MATCH:

1.	lost its top spot	a.	in the ranking
2	It was knocked off its	b.	perch by Caltech
3.	tied with Harvard for	c.	second spot
4.	dominated the	d.	list
5.	climbed two	e.	places in the rankings
6.	Caltech leapfrogged	f.	Harvard
7.	a significant increase	g.	in its research income
8.	tipping the balance	h.	over in its favor
9.	steadfast	i.	donors
10.	invest in	j.	new ideas

GAP FILL:

Harvard no longer world’s top university

Harvard University has lost its top (1) spot in the ranking of world universities for the first time in eight years. It was (2) knocked off its perch by Caltech (the California Institute of Technology). Another California college, Stanford University, (3) tied with Harvard for second spot. The (4) annual, global list of the planet’s top educational institutions is (5) compiled by London’s Times Higher Education and the Thomson Reuters Corp. Universities from the U.S.A. and U.K. (6) dominated the list, with 75 American schools in the top 200. Seven of the top 10 colleges were in the U.S. and the (7) rest were in Britain. Oxford University (8) climbed two places in the rankings to fourth; Princeton University came fifth and the University of Cambridge was sixth.

Phil Baty, (9) editor of the rankings, explained that Caltech leapfrogged Harvard because it had found (10) greater funding for its research. He said: “The difference between Harvard and Caltech last year was minuscule. What’s happened this year is Caltech has seen a (11) significant increase in its research income. A 16 percent increase. It’s quite significant in (12) tipping the balance over in its favor.” Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, president of Caltech, said: “Caltech is fortunate to have steadfast (13) donors and partners whose support gives [the university] the (14) ability to invest in new ideas long before they would be (15) eligible for public funding opportunities.” Baty said private universities in America like Caltech are becoming more successful in (16) raising funds.

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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