Educational vocabulary is fundamental when you are both writing a CV/resume in English or having a job interview. So it's important that you don't make basic mistakes when you are writing or talking about it.

In this online exercise on educational vocabulary, you will learn and remember by first reading a text and then doing a quiz some essential English vocabulary which you will use when describing your educational experience/background on a CV/resume or in an job interview.

Click here to see more of our free online exercises on CVs/resumes and job interviews

Exercise: A job interview

Read the following job interview between an interviewer and a candidate for a job.

From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

Interviewer:'From looking at your CV, it seems that you studied at the University of Birmingham. Can you tell me a little about what you studied?'

Candidate:'No problem. I studied there for 4 years. I did English Language as my undergraduate degree. I enjoyed it very much and my high final grade demonstrates that.

But it was an academic degree. So in order to improve my job prospects, when I graduated I did a master's in Business Organisation, which was very vocational. As part of my master's, I did a work placement in the human resources department of MacDonalds during the winter term, which lasted about 3 months. It was a very rewarding experience.

All the courses in the master's were very practical or vocational, like for example courses on employment law and business administration. In fact, my thesis was on employment law in the retail sector. I enjoyed everything about the master's and I got a very high final grade.

After that, I decided that I didn't want to continue at university and do a PhD, I wanted to start my career and use what I'd learnt in the real world.'

Interviewer:'Excellent, and what about at school?'

Candidate:'I studied at Skipton Secondary School in Yorkshire. I passed all my A-levels with high grades. In addition, I did a lot of extracurricular activities like being secretary of the drama club, a very rewarding and enjoyable experience.'


Quiz: Vocabulary to describe educational background for job interviews

Match the words/phrases in bold from the above text to each of the definitions/descriptions below. Click on the "Check" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, two icons will appear below the answer. The "" icon contains extra information on the word/phrase. In the "" icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.

1. A more correct way to describe the mark of an exam/essay/course/degree, is

         

Grade:
(noun) It is used in schools, universities and for professional qualifications. In Spanish: "Nota".

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Grade:
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2. A one or two year course at university after you have graduated, is called a

         

Master's:
(noun ) The qualification or course between a degree and a PHD. In Spanish: "màster".

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Master's:
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3. The big project/essay in a degree/master's, is called a

         

Thesis:
(noun) The main piece of coursework done in a degree/master's/PHD. Also called a final project or dissertation In Spanish: "tesina/tesis".

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Thesis:
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4. Activities that you participate in or organise that aren't part of school/university courses, are called

         

Extracurricular activities:
(noun phrase) It is used to talk about activities done outside of school or university, like volunteering, being in a sports club. If asked about this, you used only use activities that are positive. In Spanish: "actividades extraescolar".

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Extracurricular activities:
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5. Traditional subjects at school/university like Maths, Physics, History etc..., are called

         

Academic:
(adjective) It is used for courses that don't train or prepare you for a career or job. For example, Law is not an academic degree, while French is. Normally, it is used in front of course, degree or master's. In Spanish: "acadèmico".

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Academic:
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6. Subjects at school/university which are connected to a job/career like Engineering, Business Studies etc..., are called

         

Vocational:
(adjective) It is used for courses that train or prepare you for a career or job. For example, French is not an vocational degree, while Law is. Normally, it is used in front of course, degree, master's. In Spanish: "de formaciòn profesional".

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Vocational:
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7. The school/university year is divided in to 3 parts, each part is called a

         

Term:
(noun) There are three terms in an academic year, winter term, spring term and summer term. In America, they use semester, which divides the academic year in to two parts. In Spanish: "trimestre".

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Term:
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8. Part of a course at school/university where you have experience of working, is called a

         

Work placement:
(noun phrase) When you work in a company as part of your degree or master's. In Spanish: "experiencia laboral".

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Work placement:
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9. The first qualification at university, is called an

         

Undergraduate degree:
(noun phrase) Normally, an undergraduate degree lasts 3 or 4 full-time (longer for studying one part-time). Remember, don't use career for degree. Career is used for professional experience. In Spanish: "licenciatura".

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Undergraduate degree:
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10. The different parts/subjects of a degree or masters, are called

         

Courses:
(noun) Course can be used for both the different parts of a qualification (e.g. a development course of an Economics degree) or for the whole qualification. The context is important. In Spanish: "curso".

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Courses:
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Practice

Now that you understand the meaning of the words/phrases and when to use them, practise using them by creating your own sentences with them in English. Also click on the "" icon under each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.