Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
With the astronomical cost of going to a college or university, more and more people ask for financial aid. Although having debt is no fun, many families choose to accept loans so their children can have a good education. Many adults who go back to school are also taking loans so that they can get degrees that will get them better jobs.
A big student loan can be daunting, but it’s not much different from a loan for a house or a car. It’s a lot of money, but banks give you a long time to pay it back. If you’re lucky, interest rates will be low when you need to apply for financial aid. The rates can go up and down from year to year.
Do Jeff and Marni have loans to repay? Find out in this English lesson about the cost of education.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Marni: I just opened my mail, and I have my financial aid bill due again. Ugh! Every month. It’s such a burden.
Jeff: I’ve been trying to go back to school, and I can’t really do that without financial aid, so hearing stories like yours makes me a bit timid. All that debt... loans... it’s daunting.
Marni: It is. I mean, I’m really glad that I went to school and I have my education behind me. I couldn’t have done it without financial aid. But every month, getting that bill, it’s just… it’s astronomical. And interest rates have gone up. I just feel so bad for kids that are doing it now.
Jeff: So, I’m not hearing so many pros, only cons. Would you agree? Do you have any pros for me to do this?
Marni: The pros are definitely getting an education. I absolutely think it was worth it. But the cons are knowing you have that mounting debt, and that you’ll just be paying for it for ten, possibly fifteen, twenty years, depending on what your payments are.
Jeff: So, what I’m gathering is I should hang onto my job at the glue factory.
Marni: Well, if you can be self-reliant and pay for some of your education yourself, I think it’s really worth it.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Possessive Pronouns" from this lesson
Quizzes
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Discussion
Marni has just opened her mail and found a bill for her financial aid. It’s very stressful to Marni because she knows that her debt is mounting, but she can’t pay it all right now. She also knows that school costs much more now than it did when she was a student. She feels badly for people in school today!
This isn’t good news for Jeff, who is thinking about returning to school himself. He wants to improve his education, but he doesn’t like thinking about how much money he’ll owe when he’s finished. Talking to Marni isn’t helping, either. She believes in getting a good education, but she’s very stressed about her loans.
Do you owe money for your education? Should people go back to school even if it costs a lot?
Comments
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