Introduction
Education is a popular topic in both IELTS Speaking and Writing.
In this IELTS Speaking lesson the focus is on COEDUCATION, meaning education of boys and girls together.
You will learn how to talk about the impacts of gender on education and education systems.
Keith O'Hare
I have taught over 7,000 students from over 20 different countries worldwide on my online courses, many having passed the exam with a band 7, 8 and even some 9s, so hopefully, I know what I am doing!
Enjoy this lesson!
What you will Learn
Download this IELTS Speaking Lesson PDF
IELTS Vocabulary: Topic of Coeducation
It is essential to build your vocabulary and also to start activating it.
That means you should try making some phrases with the vocabulary below.
Remember to always learn the collocations of new words.
Coeducation (n.) = education system where boys and girls are taught together
- Coeducational (adj.) schools
- A coed (adj.) school
- A coed (n.) = a female at a coed college/university
- Mixed (gender) schools
- Single-sex schools (e.g. only boys school)
- Separate schools (e.g. only girls school)
- All-boys school or all-girls school
Synonyms for advantages
- pros
- benefits
- upsides
- good points
- pluses
Watch The Full Lesson!
Debates and Discussions about Education
Advantages of Mixed schools / Single-sex schools
- The pros of children being educated in a mixed gender environment
Equal opportunities (single-sex schools tend to be private and so more elitist and maybe only available to the rich)
They can learn essential socializing skills
Learn how to interact with each other
It reflects real life
It prepares them for real life
it gives them a readiness for real society
They can learn collaboration or competition with the other sex
- The pros of children being educated in a single-sex school?
Sometimes single-sex schools get better academic results
But there is little evidence to back this up (=to support it)
Girls can be more expressive and speak up on topics they may not discuss if boys are around
Girls can be more participative, especially in science classes.
Students can be more focussed on their studies
Teenage students can concentrate better – especially in times of puberty
There may be fewer discipline problems
Boys are not bound by (=limited by) stereotypes – they can excel in (=very good at) music and art if they want
Disadvantages of Mixed schools / Single-sex schools
- The cons of children being educated in a coeducational school
Classrooms can be full of distractions
Teachers, my have low expectations of girls’ performance due to cognitive bias (=subconscious and the subjective idea that influences your decisions)
Girls may find their views are not respected or listened to
- The cons of children being educated in a single-sex school?
Kids don’t understand the other sex – or have misunderstandings about them
They have less exposure to the opposite sex, and so may lack confidence.
These schools encourage the stereotypes that girls and boys are different and need to be treated differently –
Promotes gender stereotyping – gender bias
A stereotype = a generalization e.g. all boys like blue (not pink)
Classes can be boring and tedious
The bigger picture may be that quality education doesn’t depend on gender…
…it is more about the quality of the teachers and teaching
and the home setting counts a lot too
IELTS Speaking Idioms about Education
- I need to put my thinking cap on (= to think about something)
- I’ve been racking my brains about this problem (=thinking hard)
- That teacher was great, he didn’t spoon-feed us, he made us think!
- I am going to hit the books (=study)
- I managed to sail through this test, it was so easy. (=to pass smoothly)
- To sit a test = to take a test (as a student)
- To pass = to succeed in a test
- I passed my test with flying colors (= got a very high score)
Students' Questions about Education
Keith, in your opinion, what is the best education, single-sex, or co-ed?
Well, I think coeducation has a lot of benefits, clearly!
Students learn to interact with other students of different gender, so they build up their socializing skills, they build up their confidence and it’s a reflection of the real working world they are going to live in, in the future.
That said, there is some research that says single-sex schools get better academic results but the research is not solid and some people argue, there is not enough research to back that up.
I think there are some benefits to single-sex schools. It allows the girls, for example, to participate in all different subjects without any biased against them.
It allows girls, or boys, to talk freely about subjects that otherwise, they may not talk about in front of the other sex.
So, it can build up their confidence and help them really focus on their academic results because there are no distractions there. So, it’s a very good question.
All in all, I think that both of them are good systems, but in a way, I think this question misses the point.
I think that what makes education better is not the gender, what makes an education system or school better is the quality of the teaching, and how values and skills, and confidence are built within the coeducation schools.
That is my opinion.
Useful Links
Watch this video where kids give their opinions about single-sex and coeducational schools
Single-sex or coeducational schools? Which is better?
Arguments for and against coeducation
If you enjoyed this lesson, go and find more materials and videos from recent live lessons below.
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