9. Required Work Experience
Author
admin
Reading (45 seconds)
Required Work Experience
The business studies department at State University will now require all students enrolled in its program to complete one semester of work experience in a local corporation or small business. It is felt that students will benefit from this work experience by developing leadership and organizational skills that would not normally be learned in a classroom or campus setting. Furthermore, the relationships that students establish with the company that they work for may help them to secure permanent employment with that company once they have completed the program and graduated.
Listening
Preparation time: 30 seconds
speaking time: 1 minute
Texts
M: Read this announcement?
W: Yeah. And I disagree. I don’t think it’ll actually help students.
M: Really? Why not?
W: Well, they talked about leadership and organizational skills, but that’s not really the kind of work you do. Like my older brother’s had the kind of job they are talking about. And typically, you’re just there to do basic tasks, like typing and filing stuff, nothing very meaningful.
M: oh, so you wouldn’t actually learn anything new.
W: Exactly.
M: Oh, I guess I see what you mean. But what about the other point they make?
W: About this helping us after we graduate? I don’t agree.
M: How come?
W: Well, the problem is that there are lots of other universities in our area that have the same requirement. So there are lots of other students on these positions.
M: I guess I hadn’t thought of that.
W: So if you take a position like this in a company while you are still a student. Once you graduate, the competition for permanent jobs would be impossible. I mean, there just wouldn’t be enough jobs available for all the business graduates in the city who will be looking for full-time work.
M: Umm. I see what you’re saying.
Explanation
Reading part summary
The announcement in the reading passage: All business studies students are mandated to undertake a semester of work experience at either a local corporation or small business.
The first reason: Students stand to gain valuable benefits from this hands-on work experience beyond the confines of the classroom.
The second reason: Completing this requirement may enhance students’ prospects of securing permanent employment with the company.
Listening part summary
The female student’s opposition: The woman thinks that it is not a good idea.
The first reason: The tasks assigned to students during their work experience, such as typing and filing, are often of an entry-level nature and may not significantly contribute to the development of leadership or organizational skills. In essence, the jobs they are given may lack meaningfulness.
The second reason: Given that many other universities also have similar work experience requirements, the attainment of work experience may not necessarily guarantee or significantly enhance students’ prospects of securing permanent employment. Furthermore, upon graduation, students may face heightened competition for permanent jobs, as many of their peers will also have similar experiences.
(Sample asnwer)
The reading passage introduces an announcement proposing that all business studies students undertake one semester of work experience at a local corporation or small business. However, in the ensuing conversation, the woman expresses opposition to this idea, offering two key objections.
Firstly, she contests the notion that the tasks assigned to students during their work experience would significantly contribute to their development of leadership or organizational skills. Instead, she argues that the assigned duties, such as typing and filing, are largely entry-level and lack meaningfulness, thus failing to provide valuable learning experiences.
Secondly, the woman raises concerns about the effectiveness of such work experience in enhancing students’ employment prospects. Given that similar requirements exist in many other universities, she suggests that the value of work experience may be diluted, leading to intense competition for permanent jobs after graduation. This suggests that the proposed mandate may not yield the desired outcomes in terms of students’ long-term career prospects.
Required Work Experience
The business studies department at State University will now require all students enrolled in its program to complete one semester of work experience in a local corporation or small business. It is felt that students will benefit from this work experience by developing leadership and organizational skills that would not normally be learned in a classroom or campus setting. Furthermore, the relationships that students establish with the company that they work for may help them to secure permanent employment with that company once they have completed the program and graduated.
Listening
Preparation time: 30 seconds
speaking time: 1 minute
Texts
M: Read this announcement?
W: Yeah. And I disagree. I don’t think it’ll actually help students.
M: Really? Why not?
W: Well, they talked about leadership and organizational skills, but that’s not really the kind of work you do. Like my older brother’s had the kind of job they are talking about. And typically, you’re just there to do basic tasks, like typing and filing stuff, nothing very meaningful.
M: oh, so you wouldn’t actually learn anything new.
W: Exactly.
M: Oh, I guess I see what you mean. But what about the other point they make?
W: About this helping us after we graduate? I don’t agree.
M: How come?
W: Well, the problem is that there are lots of other universities in our area that have the same requirement. So there are lots of other students on these positions.
M: I guess I hadn’t thought of that.
W: So if you take a position like this in a company while you are still a student. Once you graduate, the competition for permanent jobs would be impossible. I mean, there just wouldn’t be enough jobs available for all the business graduates in the city who will be looking for full-time work.
M: Umm. I see what you’re saying.
Explanation
Reading part summary
The announcement in the reading passage: All business studies students are mandated to undertake a semester of work experience at either a local corporation or small business.
The first reason: Students stand to gain valuable benefits from this hands-on work experience beyond the confines of the classroom.
The second reason: Completing this requirement may enhance students’ prospects of securing permanent employment with the company.
Listening part summary
The female student’s opposition: The woman thinks that it is not a good idea.
The first reason: The tasks assigned to students during their work experience, such as typing and filing, are often of an entry-level nature and may not significantly contribute to the development of leadership or organizational skills. In essence, the jobs they are given may lack meaningfulness.
The second reason: Given that many other universities also have similar work experience requirements, the attainment of work experience may not necessarily guarantee or significantly enhance students’ prospects of securing permanent employment. Furthermore, upon graduation, students may face heightened competition for permanent jobs, as many of their peers will also have similar experiences.
(Sample asnwer)
The reading passage introduces an announcement proposing that all business studies students undertake one semester of work experience at a local corporation or small business. However, in the ensuing conversation, the woman expresses opposition to this idea, offering two key objections.
Firstly, she contests the notion that the tasks assigned to students during their work experience would significantly contribute to their development of leadership or organizational skills. Instead, she argues that the assigned duties, such as typing and filing, are largely entry-level and lack meaningfulness, thus failing to provide valuable learning experiences.
Secondly, the woman raises concerns about the effectiveness of such work experience in enhancing students’ employment prospects. Given that similar requirements exist in many other universities, she suggests that the value of work experience may be diluted, leading to intense competition for permanent jobs after graduation. This suggests that the proposed mandate may not yield the desired outcomes in terms of students’ long-term career prospects.