English Course · Level 4 (B1+) · Week 9 of 12
Education Systems
Grammar: Contrast and purpose — despite, in spite of, whereas, so that, in order to
This week's plan
| Day | Learn | Listen / Watch | Practise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Words: School and university · Sentences 1–2 | TED: Sal Khan, “Let's teach for mastery — not test scores” (video) | Exercise 1 |
| Day 2 | Words: Exams and results · Sentences 3–4 | British Council: “A class forum” (writing) | Exercise 2 |
| Day 3 | Words: Ways of learning · Sentences 5–6 | British Council: “Contrasting ideas: 'although', 'despite' and others” (grammar) | Exercise 3 |
| Day 4 | Words: Contrast linkers · Sentences 7–8 | TED: Ramsey Musallam, “3 rules to spark learning” (video) + British Council: “Creating a study group” (listening) | Exercise 4 |
| Day 5 | Words: Purpose linkers · Sentences 9–10 | TED-Ed: “The benefits of a bilingual brain” (video) | Write & Speak |
| Day 6 | Review all 30 words + 10 sentences | British Council: “An opinion essay” (writing) | Redo mistakes |
| Day 7 | Free day ☺ | British Council: “An interview about listening skills” (listening) | Tick your tracker |
30 minutes a day: review, learn, listen, practise, speak. Day 7 is a free day. Tap a resource to find it.
30 words to learn
Set 1 · School and university
- compulsoryإجباري
- a subjectمادة دراسية
- a vocational schoolمدرسة فنية / تعليم فني
- a gap yearسنة فاصلة (بين المدرسة والجامعة)
- a placement testاختبار تحديد المستوى
- enrol onيلتحق بـ / يسجّل في (دورة)
Set 2 · Exams and results
- a past paperامتحان سابق (امتحانات السنين اللي فاتت)
- revise forيراجع / يذاكر للامتحان
- a mock examامتحان تجريبي
- gradesدرجات
- pass with flying coloursينجح بتفوق
- private lessonsدروس خصوصية
Set 3 · Ways of learning
- problem-solvingحل المشكلات
- spoon-feedيلقّن / يقدّم المعلومة جاهزة
- group workالعمل الجماعي
- a webinarندوة عبر الإنترنت / ويبينار
- self-studyالتعلم الذاتي
- a skillمهارة
Set 4 · Contrast linkers
- despiteرغم / على الرغم من
- in spite ofعلى الرغم من
- whereasبينما / في حين أن
- whileفي حين أن / بينما
- even thoughمع أنّ / رغم أنّ
- neverthelessومع ذلك
Set 5 · Purpose linkers
- so thatلكي / حتى
- in order toمن أجل أن / لكي
- so as toلكي
- in order not toلكي لا
- so as not toحتى لا
- for + nounمن أجل + اسم
10 sentences to memorise
- 1Despite studying all night, he failed the exam.رغم أنه ذاكر طوال الليل، رسب في الامتحان.
- 2In spite of the high fees, many parents choose international schools.على الرغم من المصروفات المرتفعة، يختار كثير من الآباء المدارس الدولية.
- 3In Egypt, students often memorise answers, whereas in Finland they focus on projects.في مصر كثيرًا ما يحفظ الطلاب الإجابات، بينما يركّزون في فنلندا على المشروعات.
- 4I'm taking an online course in order to improve my skills.ألتحق بدورة على الإنترنت لكي أطوّر مهاراتي.
- 5She studies in the library so that nobody disturbs her.تذاكر في المكتبة حتى لا يزعجها أحد.
- 6I wrote everything down so as not to forget it.كتبت كل شيء حتى لا أنساه.
- 7He got a scholarship to study engineering in Germany.حصل على منحة لدراسة الهندسة في ألمانيا.
- 8Even though she had private lessons, she still found maths difficult.رغم أنها أخذت دروسًا خصوصية، ظلّت تجد الرياضيات صعبة.
- 9Critical thinking is more useful than memorising facts.التفكير النقدي أكثر فائدة من حفظ المعلومات.
- 10Nour passed her exams with flying colours.نجحت نور في امتحاناتها بتفوق.
Grammar: Contrast and purpose — despite, in spite of, whereas, so that, in order to
Contrast: despite / in spite of + noun or -ing · although / even though + subject + verb · whereas / while compare two different facts.
Purpose: to / in order to / so as to + verb · so that + subject + can / could / will / would.
كلمة «رغم» في العربية يأتي بعدها اسم أو جملة، أما في الإنجليزية فلكل كلمة قاعدتها: بعد despite و in spite of يأتي اسم أو فعل بـ ing فقط (Despite the rain / Despite being tired)، ولا يأتي بعدهما فاعل وفعل مباشرة. فالخطأ الشائع Despite it was raining، والصحيح Although it was raining أو Despite the fact that it was raining. ولا نقول despite of أبدًا. وللتعبير عن الهدف لا تقل for to learn أو for learn، بل قل to learn أو in order to learn، وبعد so that نضع جملة كاملة: so that I can learn.
| Linker | Followed by | Example |
|---|---|---|
| despite / in spite of | noun or -ing | Despite the traffic, we arrived on time. In spite of being ill, she went to school. |
| despite the fact that | subject + verb | Despite the fact that it was expensive, he bought it. |
| although / even though | subject + verb | Although he studied hard, he failed. |
| whereas / while | subject + verb (two different facts) | My brother loves maths, whereas I love languages. |
| in order to / so as to | verb (base form) | I got up early in order to revise. |
| so that | subject + can / could / will / would | I left early so that I could catch the bus. |
Wrong: Despite of the rain … ✔ Despite the rain … / In spite of the rain …
Wrong: I went to Cairo for study. ✔ I went to Cairo to study. (for + noun: I went to Cairo for an interview.)
Negative purpose: in order not to / so as not to + verb, or so that … won't / wouldn't.
Exercises
Exercise 1 · Choose the correct linker.
- 1) (Despite / Although) the bad weather, the school trip went ahead.
- 2) (In spite of / Even though) she was tired, she kept revising.
- 3) Public schools are free, (whereas / despite) private schools are expensive.
- 4) He joined a course (so that / in order to) improve his English.
- 5) Speak slowly (so that / so as to) everyone can understand.
- 6) (In spite of / Although) having a scholarship, he worked part-time.
Show the answers
Exercise 2 · Join the sentences. Use the word in brackets.
- 1) It was raining. We played football. (despite)
- 2) She studied hard. She wanted to get a scholarship. (in order to)
- 3) I live in Giza. My brother lives in Alexandria. (whereas)
- 4) He saved money. He could pay the tuition fees. (so that)
- 5) Omar was ill. He sat the exam. (in spite of)
- 6) I set two alarms. I didn't want to oversleep. (so as not to)
Show the answers
Exercise 3 · Correct the mistake.
- 1) Despite of the noise, I finished my homework.
- 2) Although the high fees, they sent their son abroad.
- 3) I went to the library for study.
- 4) She took notes so that remember the lesson.
- 5) In spite of he was nervous, he gave a great presentation.
- 6) I whispered so as not wake the baby.
Show the answers
Exercise 4 · Translate into English.
- 1) على الرغم من المطر، ذهبنا إلى الجامعة.
- 2) أذاكر كل يوم لكي أنجح بتفوق.
- 3) أخي يحب العلوم، بينما أحب أنا اللغات.
- 4) غادرت مبكرًا حتى لا أتأخر.
- 5) رغم أنها أخذت دروسًا خصوصية، رسبت.
Show the answers
Do each exercise in pencil first, then open the answers to check.
Write & Speak
Example: Private lessons have become a normal part of education in Egypt. Many families spend a large part of their income on them, despite the fact that public schools are free. In my opinion, private lessons can be useful, but they are not always necessary. Supporters say that students need extra help in order to understand difficult subjects and get high grades in Thanaweya Amma. Teachers in private lessons explain slowly so that every student can ask questions, whereas classes at school often have fifty students. Some students also feel more confident in small groups. However, in spite of these advantages, private lessons have serious problems. They are expensive, and they take up students' evenings, so many teenagers have no time for sport, reading or rest. Even though they spend hours with tutors, a lot of students only memorise answers instead of developing critical thinking. To sum up, I believe private lessons should be the exception, not the rule. Schools should improve so that families don't need to pay twice for their children's education.