❖ Unit 3 ❖ Education ❖ Vocabulary ❖

Education Vocabulary

Words about the education system, types of education, collocations, and key word families. This vocabulary is also useful for writing reports and essays on education-related topics.

Types of education

Type	Definition
Formal education	System for students from primary school to university.
Non-formal education	Teaching children or adults not attending schools (literacy classes, evening courses).
Informal education	Learning from daily experience by watching and doing.
Vocational education	Prepares learners for a job (e.g. carpentry, IT, hairdressing).
Special education	Education of children with special needs (physical, mental, sensory).
Gifted education	Education of children who are particularly talented.
Basic education	Teaching basic needs: reading, writing and numbers.

Collocations

boarding school — students live at school
literacy classes — classes for adults learning to read/write
multimedia room — a classroom equipped with computers, projectors
critical thinking — logical reasoning that questions assumptions
school uniform — clothes pupils must wear
note-taking — writing down key ideas during class
dropping out of school — leaving school before finishing
active learning — pupils participate, not just listen
problem-solving — finding ways to overcome difficulties
have access to education — to be able to attend school
sensitisation campaign — awareness-raising programme

Word families

Verb / Adjective	Noun
educate	education / educator
graduate	graduation / graduate
aware	awareness
conscious	consciousness
sensitise	sensitisation
illiterate	illiteracy
poor	poverty
assist	assistance
prior	priority
important	importance
responsible	responsibility

Practice 1 — Fill in the collocations

Use the right collocation

As his family used to live in the countryside, Nabil had to go to a boarding school.
Students prefer active learning to sitting in class and listening to a teacher.
Before she joined literacy classes, my grandmother wasn't able to read or write.
Dropping out of school is a serious phenomenon that affects our society negatively.
Logical thinking that draws conclusions from facts is called critical thinking.
In my school all students have to wear school uniform.
The ministry of education launched a new program to equip schools with multimedia rooms.

Practice 2 — Word formation

Put the word in brackets in the correct form

The Moroccan government is doing great efforts to fight (illiterate) illiteracy in rural areas.
Our (education) educational system needs improvement.
A lot of students drop out of school because their parents are (poverty) poor.
We should provide poor families with (finance) financial assistance to be able to send their children to school.
"(Educate) Education is the most powerful weapon," said Nelson Mandela.
After students (graduation) graduate from high school, they can go to university.
NGOs and associations need to (collaboration) collaborate.

❖ Key Takeaways ❖

① Seven types of education

Formal, non-formal, informal, vocational, special, gifted, basic. Each describes a different population or method.

② Master the suffixes

Illiterate → illiteracy. Aware → awareness. Educate → education / educational.

③ Use collocations naturally

"Drop out of school", "have access to", "raise awareness", "sensitization campaign". These appear in writing tasks on education.

❖ Exam tip

The Education unit is one of the most tested in the National Exam. Make a personal sheet with the 30 most important words and their families.