English Language Listening Library Online
Mixer 83 | Intermediate B1

Free Education

We ask some people if university should be free.

Shalini / Canada
speakerDefinitely. Definitely, I think it should be free. I think for one, depending on where you live, we all pay enough taxes that I think this is a privilege that would be enjoyed and I also think if it were to be free, students would really think hard about what they want to do, and let's say, they couldn't figure it out at an early age, they could join at any point in time and it wouldn't be a stress and everyone would have that freedom to be whatever they want, so yeah.

Prae / Thailand
speakerI don't think college education should be free because students might not put as much effort that they are doing now because they know it's free and they can do it anytime they want.

Maiko / Japan
speakerI think college education should be free if people want to study, they should be given the opportunity to learn regardless of how much money they have, so I think it would be a good system if students can apply and register without paying the fees.

Paul / England
speakerI think people should have to pay for their education because otherwise there's a lot of people who'll just go to school and then they'll go to university and just study, and I think it takes away the importance of a university education, so if people have to pay more then I think it makes them more motivated, and yeah, it makes qualifications, a degree, more important.

Eoin / England
speakerYes, I definitely think college or university should be free. When I went to university in the U.K., the government paid for all of the fees, for any academic course that people wanted to study at that time.

Lindsay / United States
speakerI think college should be free for those that deserve it. In other words, based on merit, if a child has worked really hard and shown that they have high goals and that they want to do well and use college to succeed, then I think that college should be free, but I don't think it should be free for those who haven't shown in high school that they care about school or that they care about learning.

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson!

definitely

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Definitely, I think it should be free.

Definitely is a way to say yes, without any doubts. In other words, definitely means 100% yes. Here are two more examples:

  1. If you come to my country, you should definitely take a trip to the mountains.
  2. Can you promise that you will definitely come to the party?

privilege

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I think free university is a privilege that would be enjoyed.

A privilege is a special benefit or advantage that not everyone has. See additional examples below:

  1. It would be a privilege to be able to go that university. All of the graduates are successful.
  2. In some countries, people don’t even have the basic privilege of clean water.

effort

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I don't think college education should be free because students might not put as much effort into it.

If you put effort into something you are doing, it means that you are working very hard. Another explanation for effort is to try your best. Here are some more samples:

  1. If you put in a little more effort, I think you will feel better about your work.
  2. I like skiing but it takes too much effort to get all the equipment and drive up to the mountains in bad traffic.

regardless of

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They should be given the opportunity to learn regardless of how much money they have.

In the example above, regardless of can be replaced with “it doesn’t matter”. See the examples below:

  1. Regardless of how long it takes you, I need you to clean up your room now.
  2. He kept playing regardless of the fact that he was bleeding.


deserve

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I think college should be free for those that deserve it.

When someone deserves something it means that they have worked very hard and they should get a reward or something in return for their effort. Notice the following examples:

  1. He doesn’t deserve to get such a high grade, he always comes late.
  2. She had a very difficult childhood, but she worked hard through high school and she got the scholarship she deserved.

Vocabulary Quiz

definitely • privilege • effort
regardless • deserve
  1. You do not this job. You are not qualified.
  2. We hire people based on talent, of age.
  3. Young people do not see that education is a .
  4. We need to show more in class.
  5. He is not a good student.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

One Minute English Video

Speakers
Mixer Video #83
Should education be free?

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