MOSCOW INTERACTIVE

What job would you like to do in the future? Why? Will it suit your personality? 

What projects are there in Moscow that can help students decide on their future career and find out all about their future job?
 Listen, read and check.

  What job should you choose? Almost every teenager asks themselves this question at some point in their life. Some ask for their parents' advice; others listen to friends. In many schools, you can get advice from specialists. These specialists carry out tests to find the best possible future career for pupils.
In Moscow schools, there are many career guidance programmes to help pupils choose their perfect career as well as learning important life skills at all educational levels.

- Within the framework of the "Young Experts" progamme, primary school pupils take Design & Technology lessons. These lessons teach them important practical skills.
- In the career guidance quest game "Travel to the City of Experts" college students arange master classes for preschool and primary school pupils to help them find jobs which would suit them in the future.
- Within he framework of the "Moscow pupil's Saturdays" project, secondary school pupils can attend various events like lessons, lectures and workshops in the leading universities, colleges and museums of Moscow. This project is very popular among young Muscovites. Keen pupils, whole classes with teachers as well as families with chidren often attend the events
-Another worthwhile project is "Professional Environment". Pupils and their parents get to know a lot of things about different professions. For example, to work in a specific profession: what skills and competences does a person need? What training is necessary? Each event focuses on a specific area of professional education and helps create productive, open conversations. The project also allows each "professional environment" to show the best aspects of their profession. During the project pupils and parents take part in workshops as wel as attend exhibitions. At each event pupils get the chance to make different items using modern equipment.

  These projects in Moscow teach pupils that, while it may seem scary trying to find what job to choose, guidance will always be available.

Read the text again and answer the questions.

Which career guidance programme in Moscow ...

1 ... is for primary school pupils?
2 ... is for preschool students?
3 ... is for secondary school students?
4 ... gives lectures to students?
5 ... is organised by college students?
6 ... has events about specific professional areas each time?
7 ... can have an event in a museum?
8 ... organises master classes?
9 ... offers an important practical lesson?

 How important is it to get professional advice on your future career? Discuss with your partner. 

  Imagine you attend an event under the project "Professional Environment" with your family. Which specific area of professional education would you like to learn about? Who would you like to meet there? What would you like to ask? Make notes to take with you to the event.

What means of transport do you use? How often? Do you find it convenient? 

 How much do you know about the history of the metro in Moscow? What would you like to learn? Write down a few questions. Listen to and read the text to see if you can answer your questions.

  Moscow metro has a wonderful history starting as early as 1875. At that time the number of Muscovites was increasing and the city was growing. Moscow transport system couldn’t cope with the large number of citizens so, in 1931, the Soviet authorities made their final decision. On 15th May 1935, the first metro line – Sokolnicheskaya – was ready to use. The line had 13 beautifully decorated stations which surprised their first passengers.

  In 1938, the second line was opened. It was the section from Teatralnaya to Sokol which included some of the most elegant metro stations: Sokol, Aeroport and Dinamo stations which are places of cultural heritage. Mayakovskaya station, which was designed by the architect Alexey Dushkin is one of the most significant stations in the network. According to numerous surveys, Muscovites think it is the most beautiful metro station.

  Despite World War II, the construction of the metro continued. Seven stations were added from 1941 to 1945. “Built in Wartime” plaques appear in these stations. During the war people used the metro system as a bomb shelter which could shelter up to 500 thousand people. Soon after the war, Moscow authorities built the circle line.

  Between 2000 and 2010 Moscow authorities built 18 more stations. The network now includes up-to-date trains with screens and climate control systems, new transport card called “Troika”, ticket machines, and free wi-fi. As a result, Moscow’s metro holds first place in Europe in terms of annual passenger flow and, because of the short time between trains during rush hour (90 secs.), the Moscow metro holds first place in the world in terms of frequency.

  In September 2016 the Moscow Central Circle was opened. It was an incredibly important event. During the reign of Tsar Nicholas II in the early 20th century this circle railway was used for transporting goods and passengers. But, due to the small number of passengers it stopped transporting people after 1934. 1. Almost 100 years later Muscovites got a new transportation line, integrated into the current metro system, suburban trains and ground transport. It has 31 stations with 33 modern “Lastochka” trains running every 6 minutes during peak hours.

  However, all these changes are just the beginning. The plan is to open 41 new stations of metro for passengers from 2017 to 2019. Moscow metro is not only a transport system and a work of art, but also a venue for cultural exhibitions, concerts and shows.

Read the text again. Make notes under the years. Then, tell the class the history of Moscow’s metro.

1875, 1931, 1938, 1941-1945, 2000-2010, 2016

 In three minutes write four things that impressed you from the text. Compare with your partner.

 Collect some interesting facts about a few metro stations in Moscow. Use photos to illustrate your texts. Present your work to the class.

Are there any green parks in your area? How often do you go there? What can you see and do there? Are there any projects in your school about vegetation?

What project is offered in Moscow schools about green areas in schools? What do students do in that project?
 Listen and read to find out.

  Moscow is a beautiful modern city with many parks and green zones. Muscovites like to spend their free time in the open air and take care of the green areas in their city. Moscow pupils are also happy to take part in Moscow’s conservation projects.

  The project “Children’s list of green vegetation” aims to develop Moscow children’s thinking, planning and artistic skills. The goal of the project is to make a complete electronic list of all the improvements in school areas as well as green vegetation there. This list is updated every year.

  Pupils that take part in the project learn alot about the natural world. They learn how to identify different kinds of trees, bushes and landscapes in and around their school’s local area. They also work as ecologists, dendrologists and cartographers to understand the world around them. Pupils research the state of trees, bushes, their school’s area plan and learn how and where to put green plantations and small landscape objects. In this project, they also learn how to be landscape designers.

  On Saturdays, pupils get the chance to join the “Eco Saturday” project. Participants attend master classes on how to use natural resources and care for the environment. They learn how to collect and separate rubbish, use recycled materials and learn about the natural diversity of Moscow.

  Each of us whether we’re an adult or a child can do something to make our city cleaner and greener and these projects go a long way to achieving just that.

Read the text again and answer the questions.

1 What skills do participants in the project “Children’s list of green vegetation” develop?

2 What do participants in this project do?

3 What do participants in this project learn?

4 What can you do in the “Eco Saturday” project?

 If plants could speak, what would they tell us about the problems they face? How does the project “Children’s list of green vegetation” help face these problems? Write a few sentences. Read them to the class.

Collect more information about ways to save our plants. Create your own project for the students in your school. Think about aims, goals, activities and events. Present your work to the class.

Do you like playing sports or just watching them? What are your favourite sports to watch? to play? How often do you go to a stadium?

Look at the photo and the title of the text. What changes have been made to the Luzhniki Stadium since it was first built?

Listen and read to find out.

  The Luzhniki Stadium was opened on 31st July, 1956. Its original name was “Lenin Central Stadium”. Since then, the stadium has been renovated many times.

  To complete this renovation project architects and engineers made a lot of changes to the stadium. For example, they took apart the football pitch, running tracks and internal engineering systems. They restored the front coating of the building, strengthened the walls, and added architectural lightning to the stadium.

  Engineers also updated the stadium’s technical systems to meet all of FIFA’s requirements and built new raised seating areas close to the pitch for people to watch the games more comfortably. They designed new seats and let the public choose what colours they should be. After the vote at the Active Citizen website red and gold were chosen. Engineers also replaced the screen on the roof of the stadium with a modern one using up-to-date materials. They also increased its length to 11 metres so as to protect the visitors. They added three more entrances to the stadium, increasing their number from 13 to 16. They also increased the capacity of the stadium by 3,000 seats so it can now hold 81,000 people.

  The playing field of the renovated Luzhniki also meets all the modern requirements and technical recommendations of FIFA. There’s a natural grass cover on the field, instead of a synthetic surface. The gates of the stadium have an automatic locking system.

  There is an observation point on the upper level of the Luzhniki Stadium which is open to visitors. From there you can see the centre of the city, Novodevichy convent, Moscow City, Moscow State University and other sights.

Interesting facts:

• They used 35 kilometres of pipes under the field which serve the 35 sprinklers as well as the six, 8,000-litre containers in the technical room.
• Workers laid the turf in August 2016. They planted 410 kg of seed (about 50 g of seed per one square metre). When the grass reached 3 cm high, they stitched the turf using a special thread to support the roots of the plants. In winter, the football pitch’s heating system works to keep the temperature of the pitch at exactly 15°C. This helps the turf keep growing.

  The Luzhniki Stadium is a unique stadium, there is no other stadium like this in Russia!

Read the text again and answer the questions.

1 What was the first name of the Luzhniki Stadium?

2 Does the Stadium look the same today?

3 How did the seats change?

4 What is the new screen on the roof like?

5 How many entrances are there today in the stadium?

6 What can you see from the observation point?

 Tell the class three facts you remember from the text.

 Collect information about another building in the Luzhniki Stadium. Write a short text about its construction and its technical features. Present it to the class.

Tests and formal assessment aim at improving your level of knowledge. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons and examples.

What does Moscow offer in relation to online evaluation?

Listen and read to find out.

  A new up-to-date testing application is now available for all pupils in Moscow. If you want to check your knowledge in all subjects, you can now do it online. This new independent online self-check service “My Progress,” is proving a big success with students.

  “My Progress” keeps track of academic achievements and helps pupils check their knowledge at any time and in any place. Pupils can also see what level of knowledge they have in various subjects by taking tests and completing tasks from international surveys. They can check how fast they are progressing.

  The service is open to pupils and parents. It has a user-friendly interface and high-quality content. Every task is clearly explained using visuals. And it’s easy to register on the “My Progress” portal even through your social network account. All tasks are prepared by experts from the Moscow Centre for Quality of Education and by highly qualified specialists in the field of education.

  There is a variety of tasks on “My Progress.” These include tasks with full and short answers, audio tasks and dictations. Pupils can also take a photo of their answers, or scan them, and use a QR-code to upload it to the application. The image is automatically attached to their work. Certain tasks, such as essays, are checked by an expert. If you scan your work in, it is automatically sent to an expert who checks it.

  The results of the tasks are available really fast. For tasks that are checked automatically by the computer results are available as soon as you finish the test. For tasks that are checked by an expert results are available in three days. Every pupil gets their final score and a detailed review of their work.

  “My Progress” also offers an exclusive option – an online consultation with a specialist. It means that pupils can discuss their work with a specialist online and get advice.

  The “My progress” service makes independent evaluations of a pupil’s knowledge and prepares them for the exams. Moscow makes sure that pupils have the best possible opportunities for improvement.

Read the text again and say if the sentences below are T (true) or F (false).

What do you like most about “My Progress” service? Write a few sentences. Compare with your partner.

  Imagine you are a specialist working in the Moscow Centre for Quality of Education. How can “My service” be improved? What other features could be available in that online service? Write your suggestions and read your text to the class.

Would you like to study at University or at a vocational college? What job would you like to do when you grow up?

Why the Police College in Moscow is one of the best colleges? Listen and read to find out.

  Choosing your future profession and deciding where to study is a very difficult decision. The choice you make can influence your whole life and your future prospects. Therefore, you should aim to get as good an education as possible and a profession which is in demand in the workplace and that allows you to build a successful career.

  Moscow offers a wide range of vocational schools and colleges. Students who want to dedicate their lives to defending law and order can come to study at the Police College. It is one of the leading institutions for vocational and professional training in Moscow. The College consists of a Cadet Corps and a college. Boys can go to the Cadet Corps after finishing the 6th grade. In the corps, students prepare for military and public service. After the 9th grade, cadets have the right to choose either to continue studying in the Cadet Corps, or go to the College. The College offers boys and girls a course on “Law Enforcement”. This course is in demand across all departments of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as other law enforcement agencies.

  Today, the Police College is a prestigious institution. It provides a good education and enhances patriotism, love for the country and respect for the law. The Police College also organises sports events, large cultural and military events as well as meetings with veterans of the Great Patriotic War and police officers. The Police College – like any other college in Moscow – is a very special organisation. It has all the necessary resources to provide excellent professional education for students and prepare them for the workplace. 

Read the text again and complete the sentences.

 Imagine you are a police officer and you give a master class to primary school students. Use the information from the text to give a lecture about your experience as a student in the Police College. 

 Collect more information about Cadet Corps. What subjects are there? What activities do they do? Do they practise any sports or martial arts? Write a short text. Present it to the class.