Listening activity: University Education

The listening is the recording of the radio show Ethics Hour about the value of university education. The presenter, Duncan Braithwaite, is inviting people to call and give their opinions about the importance of attending university, especially at the light of the recent increase of tuition fees.

The first caller is Debbie Rush. She doesn’t recommend attending university to young people because in her experience it was not worth the investment and in her opinion it did not benefit her career.

The second caller is Josie Crane. She gives an opinion totally positive about university education: it is a great opportunity young people should not miss and is the only chance you have to do all sort of activities. However, in her case she did not have to fork out the same amount of money required to attend university nowadays.

The third caller is Paul Weston. He is absolutely against attending university, because he thinks only experience prepares you in the best way. He believes that university will never give you the same set of skills that work will provide.

The fourth caller is Amanda Proir. She states that university is a prerequisite for some jobs and it is important because it broadens your horizons and helps you to become more worldly. She thinks that the experience of attending university can’t be compared to the experience in the workplace.

The fifth caller is Ralph Jordan. He thinks that young people should not invest on their education just to find a job after their studies and, at the same time, university cannot be compared to seminars or workshops organised in the workplace. He believes that people who simply wonder whether university is worth it, do not understand its value and should be going anyway.