Topic area: Higher Education in ChinaTopic: Differences between studying at home and abroadPart I. warm-up questions1. Which course do you think has benefited you most at university?2. Would you like to go to work or continue your studies after graduation? (please give your reasons)3. Have you ever thought of studying abroad? (give your reasons)4. Do you think a university education is essential to finding a good job? Why?5. Is it important to develop higher education? Why?Part II. Discussion & Cards/picturesDiscussion: Do you agree on the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad Card 1: Compare the differences between studying at home and abroad with regard to the following aspect: enrollment requirements/tuition fees入学要求和学费Card 2: Compare the differences between studying at home and abroad with regard to the following aspect: the language barrier/ teaching facilities, etc语言障碍教学设施Card 3: Compare the differences between studying at home and abroad with regard to the following aspect: future job opportunities/ career development, etc.未来的就业机会/事业的发展Card 4: Compare the differences between studying at home and abroad with regard to the following aspect: campus life/making friends校园生活，交友Part III. Last Question1. During the discussion why did yo u say that …?2. Do you think it's good for young children to study abroad? Why?3. Do you think it's essential to study abroad in order to get a good job? (why/ why not?)4. Now some universities are inviting foreign teachers to teach. Do you think it'sa good idea? Why?5. Why do you think more and more graduates from universities abroad are coming back to China?C1:与在国内学习相比，出国留学一般比较昂贵，除了高昂的学费还有必需的生活费，一般家庭很难承受，但是还有另外一种出国渠道：依靠全额奖学金，这种方式则基本上不会给家里带来经济负担，有时还可能有富余。
对于入学要求，国内普遍只注重文化课成绩，近几年才开始逐渐关注体育成绩，即身体素质，不过由于还处于起步阶段，作用显得十分微小，而国外更注重学生的综合素质，有的学校还会考虑家庭背景等因素。
Comparing with studying in China, going abroad to study is more expensive in general. In addition to the high tuition, the necessary living expenses are hard to afford for ordinary families. But there is another channel to go abroad: relying on a full scholarship. This kind of means won't bring economic burden to families basically, and sometimes the school even gives you more than needed so that you can sent some to your parents. As for the requirement for admission, the domestic universities generally only pay attention to the scores of classes. In recent years, in order to s trengthen teenagers’ bodies, they have begun to focus on sports gradually, but as they are still in the initial stage, the function is very small. However foreign universities pay more attention to the students' comprehensive quality,they request students to have the practice ability, strong living ability, independent thinking and creativity. Some schools will also consider other factors such as their family background.C2:想要在国外生活首先要学好当地的语言，起码要能完成日常基本交流，而要想在国外学习则对语言有更高的要求，比如学习物理学，你必须理解老师所说的每一个专业名词才能了解那些符号和公式的意义，进而学着使用它们。
而学习历史类学科，则还要掌握很多当地的历史背景。
由于科技发展存在差异，国外的教学设施一般比较先进，比如图书馆，国外的实用性更强，使用率更高，而国内的图书馆一般比较冷清。
在实验室方面，国内学校的实验室基本上只用于教学，很少有对学生自由开放，可供学生做科学研究的，比较特别的是，哈佛大学的实验设备全部是最原始的装置，据说这有利于开发学生创新思维。
If someone wants to live abroad, he should learn the local language firstly, at least be able to make the daily basical communication. What’s more, if he wants to study abroad enough professional words are necessary. Taking learning physics as an example, to understand the significance of the symbols and the formula, you must know each specialized word the teacher says, so that you can learn to use them. In addition if you study history abroad, you also need to master much local historical background. As for teaching facilities, due to the differences between the development of science and technology, foreign ones are generally more advanced. For instance, the foreign libraries are more practical, and have a higher utilization rate, but domestic library is desolate.In the laboratory, the ones in domestic school basically only used for teaching, there are few free and open ones for students to do scientific research. On the other hand, in the experiments of Harvard University, all the equipments are primitive, it is said that this helps to develop students' creative thinking.C3:我认为，对于就业和未来发展，两者各有优势。
因为，如果你想进入大型外企工作，出国留学有很大帮助，通过留学，你不仅可以强化自己的口语，还会更加了解国外的文化，学到很多外企工作需要的技能，便于和外企里的同事们交流合作。
但是，如果你想进入国企，或者做一名公务员，出国留学就显得多余了，因为这些领域更注重对国内行情的了解，在国外学习的知识很难有用处，即使可以用，效果也不理想，而且习惯了与外国人交流，与中国同事会很难相处，出国留学的几年间，国内可能会发生很大变化，当你回国参加工作会有些力不从心。