UNIT8: EDUCATION AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Habibu : Hello Jane, How do you do?
Jane : Fine, thank you. Why are you looking so sad?
Habibu : Actually I’m worried about my ensuing exam. What about yourpreparation for the examination?
Jane : I am also worried about my exam.
Habibu: But you are very brilliant; everyone knows. I don’t know why you are upset.
Jane : You know I’m good at mathematics and chemistry but I’m weak in English. I’m trying to have a detailed revision in English. I must improve my grades in English.
Habibu : Are you reading grammar books?
Jane : Yes. But I read textbooks very carefully. I want to be familiar with
answering comprehension questions. They are so challenging. Did you passchemistry?
Habibu: Yes, my grades are good in chemistry but I have not yet seen the
results of mathematics. That’s why I’m anxious.
Jane: I would suggest you to always borrow books from the library.
Habibu : I see. I must start working with the text book. What do you
think?
Jane : Yes. I think it’ll be helpful not only in Mathematics but also in
other subjects.
Habibu : Thank you for your supportive suggestion. I wish you good luck.
Jane : You’re most welcome.
Comprehension questions
1. Do two speakers know each other?
2. Why is Jane worried about her exam?
3. Which subjects is Jane good at?
4. Why do you think textbooks are more helpful in revision?5. Which subject is Habibu good at?
1. Give the meanings of the following words as they are used in the above
dialogue.
a. Ensuing
b. Upset
c. Grades
d. Anxious
2. Compose a dialogue in which two speakers talk about their abilities indifferent subjects.
Text: Educational ambitions
An ambition is an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction,
such as power, honour, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its
attainment. We are often presented with the idea that we should dream big.
Sayings like “shoot for the stars”, “the sky is the limit”, and other celestial-
themed sayings are prominent in our inspirational vocabulary. What these
sayings suggest is that our dreams should only be bound by our imagination
of what and who we can become. If you’re considering higher education,
you’ll need to decide what subject, course type, and course provider is right
for you. You can become a doctor, a teacher, a banker and so on.
To become a doctor, one has to study medicine at university. Given the
prestige associated with the medical professions, and the extremely
challenging nature of most medical careers, it’s unsurprising that getting into
medical school is extremely competitive. In order to gain a place at a medical
university, it’s necessary to demonstrate exceptional grades in science
subjects, especially chemistry and biology, as well as showing evidence of
commitment to the field. This will usually mean gaining work experience,
perhaps at a local healthcare centre, private consultancy or a hospital.
In order to become a primary school teacher in Rwanda, one needs to get a
secondary school certificate from Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs). If one
wants to become a secondary school teacher he has to study education
at university. In Rwanda, you may get a bachelor’s degree or a diploma
in education. One reason to become a teacher is to impact the education
system. If you recognize the need to improve the quality of education in this
country, then you may become a teacher to affect change. There is a lot
of work to be done, but it is the collective effort of thousands of dedicated
teachers that will make the most difference.
Banking jobs are an excellent fit for people interested in economics,
business, and maths. If you are studying MEG (Mathematics, Economics
and Geography) or other combinations with Economics you can become abanker. Mathematics is very important in banking, that’s why HEG (History.
Economics and Geography) students should not overlook mathematics.
If you like the idea of working in an office environment and working with
numbers, you may want to try a career in banking.
Comprehension questions
1. What do you understand by “the sky is the limit”?
2. What does one have to study in order to become a doctor?
3. Mention two subjects that one has to be good at in order to be eligible for medical studies at university.
4. Which education qualifications should one have in order to become a secondary school teacher?
5. Which subjects should one be good at in order to become a banker?
Text: The impact of education on society
As one caveman taught another how to use the wheel, carts were built,
and it made transport easier. This decreased work load and made time for
other activities, such as drawing. It also connected one group to another.
Therefore, the mere transfer of knowledge caused society to evolve into
civilized groupings. One of the main arguments for public education is
that, when individuals in a society become more knowledgeable, the entire
population benefit.
Education is a powerful driver of development and one of the strongest
instruments for reducing poverty and improving health in society. It enables
people to be more productive, to earn a better living and enjoy a better
quality of life, while also contributing to a country’s overall economic growth.
Education is critical for breaking the poverty cycle and its importance is
reflected in the commitments of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
and Education for All (EFA).
Yet, nowadays, in many regions of the continent, governments continue to
fail those who are systematically left on the margins: women, girls, children
and many more. Luckily in Rwanda, free, compulsory, basic education is
now a right of every child be it a girl or a boy. Rwandan government has
known that if people are not raised to be active from their childhood on, to
be responsible participants in their communities and to participate in the
activities needed towards achieving development, then it is less likely that
any form of peace will be sustainable in the long term. And peace is a keyingredient to meaningful progress in society.
Education is becoming one of the most important factors to a person’s
success in today’s society. Whether a person is living in poverty or among the
wealthiest in the world, education is necessary to advance in any situation. If
you are from a poor family, you will need to go to school in order to get a job
or to start your own business. If you are from a rich family you will still need
to be educated so as to be able to manage your family’s companies.
People who are educated are significantly healthier than those who are not.
A child who is born to an educated mother is 50 percent more likely to survive
past the age of five. Such mothers have the basic knowledge on nutritious
food, hygiene and health. Another area in which health could improve with
education is decreasing the cases of HIV/AIDS. Educated people are likely
to have more access to programs that are designed to improve knowledge
and awareness about HIV/AIDS.
Malnutrition is a severe problem that many poor countries are facing today.
Education has the potential to decrease malnutrition in these countries.
Education can provide people with new and more effective farming
techniques, which can increase crop production and decrease malnutrition.
Therefore, in order for any society to see steady economic growth, education
must be a priority, for every year of education, a person’s average earnings
increase significantly. This means that the GDP could increase every year
if all citizens receive a quality education. No country in history has seen a
steady economic increase without at least 40 percent literacy rate.
Adapted from
https://www.slideshare.net/TasneemKhokhar/the-impact-of- ;education-on-societies
Comprehension questions
1. Detail the benefit of making transport easier?
2. Explain how education helps in reducing poverty and improving health in society.
3. Do girls and boys have the same right as far as access to education is concerned? Explain.
4. Does a child from a rich family have to go to school? Justify your answer.
5. People who are educated are significantly healthier than those who are not. Explain.
6. Explain the role played by education in decreasing the cases of HIV/
AIDS.7.How can education help to reduce malnutrition?
Text: Sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS in Rwanda
In Rwanda as in many other countries, different interventions have been
implemented to fight against new infections of the Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (HIV). Generally, one of the main objectives of such interventions is to
improve general knowledge of HIV. Around the world, local and international
efforts have led to successful HIV prevention programs in terms of
improving HIV knowledge and awareness. However, HIV transmission is
not decreasing as rapidly as desired, especially when considering the largeamount of money and many other efforts spent on its prevention.
As HIV transmission is propelled by behavioural factors, sexual behaviour
is the most significant factor in the spread or prevention of the HIV and
Aids. It is therefore important to understand the relationship between HIV
knowledge and risky sexual behaviour (RSB), and the different components
of HIV knowledge that are positively associated with the reduction of risky
sexual behaviour (RSB).
Since 1987, the government of Rwanda has been making substantial efforts
in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Activities related to HIV/AIDS prevention and
treatment has been carried out through different structures such as the
National Program for the Fight against AIDS (PNLS), the National AIDS
Commission (CNLS), the Treatment and Research AIDS Centre Plus (TRAC
Plus), and the district AIDS committees (CDLS). Different strategies used
in the fight against AIDS are also found in the Rwandan National AIDS
strategic Plan. These include Information, Education, and Communication
(IEC) strategies, which target mainly sexually active men age 15-59 and
women age 15-49.
These efforts have resulted in the achievement of two objectives: first,
increased awareness of the existence of HIV as well as its transmission.
Data indicate that the proportion of men who have heard of HIV/AIDS was
virtually universal, both in 2005 and 2010. The second objective is increased
awareness of ways to prevent HIV infection.
Under this objective, information related to the “ABC” strategy (abstinence,
being faithful, using a condom) has been widely disseminated. Condoms
have also been distributed free of charge in different strategic places or sold
at very low cost, from the cities to the last small shop in villages.
Despite a satisfactory situation in terms of knowledge of HIV prevention and
availability of condoms, many people still engage in RSB. RSB can be defined
in different ways. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) defines RSB as behaviour that increases one’s risk of contracting
sexually transmitted infections and experiencing unintended pregnancies.
Risky behaviours are measured through a number of elements that include
having sex at an early age, having multiple sexual partners, having sex while
under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and having unprotected sex. Many
authors include in their definitions of RSB two main elements: one, having
sexual intercourse with a casual acquaintance without using a condom;
two, having multiple sexual partners.
Since 1987, the government of Rwanda has been making substantial efforts
in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Activities related to HIV/AIDS prevention and
treatment has been carried out through different structures such as the
National Program for the Fight against AIDS (PNLS), the National AIDS
Commission (CNLS), the Treatment and Research AIDS Centre Plus (TRAC
Plus), and the district AIDS committees (CDLS). Different strategies used
in the fight against AIDS are also found in the Rwandan National AIDS
strategic Plan. These include Information, Education, and Communication
(IEC) strategies, which target mainly sexually active men age 15-59 and
women age 15-49.
These efforts have resulted in the achievement of two objectives: first,
increased awareness of the existence of HIV as well as its transmission.
Data indicate that the proportion of men who have heard of HIV/AIDS was
virtually universal, both in 2005 and 2010. The second objective is increased
awareness of ways to prevent HIV infection.
Under this objective, information related to the “ABC” strategy (abstinence,
being faithful, using a condom) has been widely disseminated. Condoms
have also been distributed free of charge in different strategic places or sold
at very low cost, from the cities to the last small shop in villages.
Despite a satisfactory situation in terms of knowledge of HIV prevention and
availability of condoms, many people still engage in RSB. RSB can be defined
in different ways. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) defines RSB as behaviour that increases one’s risk of contracting
sexually transmitted infections and experiencing unintended pregnancies.
Risky behaviours are measured through a number of elements that include
having sex at an early age, having multiple sexual partners, having sex while
under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and having unprotected sex. Many
authors include in their definitions of RSB two main elements: one, having
sexual intercourse with a casual acquaintance without using a condom;
two, having multiple sexual partners.
Adapted from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4796779
Comprehension questions
1. Considering the large amount of money and many other efforts spent on HIV prevention, should we be satisfied with the speed at which HIV transmission is decreasing?
2. What is the primary cause of HIV transmission?
3. What do you understand by “risky sexual behaviour”?
4. Through which structures activities related to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment has been carried out since 1987?
5. What does the term “ABC strategy” refer to?
6. Does a satisfactory situation in terms of knowledge of HIV prevention and availability of condoms prevent people from engaging in risky sexual behaviour?
8.5 Language structure: Fist and Second conditional
Notes:
Definition
Conditionals are sometimes called ‘if clauses’. They describe the result
of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might have
happened but didn’t (in the past). They are made using different English verb
tenses.
8.5.1. The first conditional
(if + present simple, ... will + infinitive)
Example: If you want to get a job you have to study.
The first conditional is used to talk about things which might happen in the
future. Of course, we can’t know what will happen in the future, but this
describes possible things, which could easily come true.
Here are more examples:
• If you don’t get good grades in sciences, you won’t be a doctor.
• If I study biology, I’ll become a lab technician.• If you don’t engage in sexual risk behaviour, you won’t get HIV/AID.
Complete the conditional sentences using the first conditional. Use the verbs
in brackets.
1. If Kalisa and Kamali (prepare)................... the salad, Mukamana (decorate).........the house.
2. If Keza (cut).........the onions for the salad, Isimbi (peel)............the mushrooms.
3. Muhizi (hoover)..............the sitting room if Shema and Tom (move).......... the furniture.
4. If Gashugi (tidy)...........up the kitchen, Anita (clean)...................the toilet.
5. Mugabo (buy)............the drinks if somebody (help).............him carry the bottles.
8.5.3. The second conditional
(if + past simple, ... would + infinitive)
Example: If I had a degree in education, I would apply for this post.
In formal writing ‘were’ is used instead of ‘was’ with ‘I’ and ‘he/she/it’.
The second conditional has two uses:
First, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not
going to be true. If one is imagining some dream for example.
a. If I met the president, I would thank him. (I probably won’t meet him)
b. If I got a visa, I would go to UK to watch the match. (I probably won’t
get a visa)
Second, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is
impossible, because it’s not true. Have a look at the following examples:
a. If he had a sweater, he would put it on. (He doesn’t have the sweater now, so it’s impossible to put it on).
b. If I had a degree, I would apply for this post. (I don’t have a degree now, so it’s impossible to apply).
Complete the conditional sentences using the second conditional. Use the
verbs in brackets.
1. We (help)................you if we (know)...........how.
2. My brother (buy).............a sports car if he (have)...........money.
3. If I (feel)..........better, I (go).............to the cinema with you.
4. If you (go)..............by bike more often, you (be/ not)............so flabby.5. She (not /talk)..............to you if she (be)...............mad at you.
1. If we had a yacht, we (sail)...........the seven seas.
2. If they all do their best, the party (be).................. great.
3. If he (have).............more time, he would learn karate.
4. If they (tell)...........their father, he will be very angry.
5. If she spent a year in the USA, it (be)...........easier to get a green card.
6. If I lived on a lonely island, I (run).............around naked all day.
7. We would help you if we (know)...........how.
8. My brother will buy a sports car if he (have)...........the money.
9. My brother would buy a sports car if he (have)...........the money.
10. If I (feel)..........better, I will go to the cinema with you.
11. If you went by bike more often, you (be or not)............so flabby.
12. She (not or talk)............to you if she were very sad.
13. If Ineza cuts the pumpkins for the salad, Djamila (peel)............. the carrots.
14. Jane (clean).......... the bedroom if Aaron and Tim move the furniture.
15. If Bob (cook).............., Irene will wash clothes .
16. The headmaster will congratulate us if we (win)................the competition.
17. If Rukundo and Mbarushimana prepare the food, Mary and Gahizi (make).......the sandwiches.
18. If Nyiramana looks after the baby, Kamaliza (mop)...............the house.
19. Frank (not/be)..........................sad, if he had money to buy new clothes.
20. Alan will mix the drinks if Jane (give)............... him some of her cocktail recipes.
2. Choose the right word from the brackets to fill in blank space.
Research on adolescents’ sexual...................(behaviour/focus) carried
out in other countries has shown that a range of factors including lack of
reproductive........(health/capacity) and HIV/AIDS information and services
contribute to heightened.................(risk/behaviour) of HIV among young
people. However, the single most important determinant of HIV infection
among young people in Africa is having...............( Ambition /unprotected)
sex with a person who is infected. To quote the Measure Evaluation program,
“Any number of other factors may influence who has sex with whom and
whether they use condoms, but the act that spreads the.............(bacteria/
virus), in the overwhelming majority of cases, is an act of unprotected sex”.
Many factors have been proposed to explain why adolescents do not
use condoms. In spite of .................(negligence/efforts) by national
HIV prevention programs to reduce or eliminate the cost of condoms in
many African countries, adolescents still report affordability as a reason
for...................(non-use/use). Negotiation to use condoms is also
difficult since suggesting the use of condoms is often seen as a sign of
(trust/mistrust) in a sexual relationship. Furthermore, the ability by female
adolescents to negotiate the use of condoms is made..................
(possible/difficult) if they have received gifts or money. Other reasons for
non-use of.................(condoms/pills) among adolescents include..........
(like/dislike) of condoms, and (embarrassment/pride) to purchase or ask forcondoms from adult providers.
HIV programs that are designed to improve knowledge and.........
(awareness/ignorance) about HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
are often based on the premise that greater knowledge among adolescents
will lead to changes in their........(sexual/marital) behaviour. However, some
studies have reported the lack of association between HIV knowledge and
sexual behaviour. On the other hand, social and cultural barriers, attitudes
and practices seem to be the major determinants of adolescents’..........
(safe/risky) sexual behaviour.
3. Write a short composition explaining how education can help to fightagainst malnutrition.