Task 3. Integrated speaking

 Task 3. Integrated speaking

Reading New registration procedures needed for students clubs I like chess so when I found there was a student chess club at the college, I wanted to start one. However, the procedure for registering student clubs makes that impossible. According to college policy, new clubs can only be founded by full time students, and clubs will not be approved unless at least 50 students are interested in joining. I can see no reason why part time students like me cannot start a club, and why must a club find potential members before it can be registered? I hope other students will join me in asking the college to reconsider its policy.

Did you see the letter about student clubs? From the student who wanted to start a chess club but couldn't? Yeah, I saw it.  I think the student is right. The college really needs to change its policy.  Why do you say that? Well, for one thing, it's not fair for part time students. I used to be a member of the student association, and the college has a rule that part- time and full-time students should be treated equally. So this policy about clubs is actually against college rules.  I didn't know about that rile Yeah, it's true. And the whole business about needing 50 potential members before a club can be registered doesn't make sense Why Clubs don't cost the college any money. If there are five members or fifty members there is no difference to the college.  That's a good point… still, I bet you think it's good news about the improved exercise facilities, huh?

Structure

The two people discuss

The man supports

First, he states that

He then adds that

Next, the man says that

He goes on to say that. 

The two people discuss a letter by a student about changing the policy for starting student clubs. The man supports the student's viewpoint. First, he states that the college has a rule that fulltime and part time students should be treated equally. He then adds that the college's policy about registering student clubs is against this rule. Next, the man says that he doesn't think clubs need fifty potential members before they can be registered. He goes on to say that student clubs don't cost the college any money, so the number of members doesn't matter. 

Examples

Improvements to campus exercise facilities The college is pleased to announce that the new fitness center in Murrow Hall is now complete and will be open starting March 1. The college now has state of the art sporting facilities that are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for use by academic staff, administrative staff, and students who have an athletic scholarship. Students without an athletic scholarship can either gain access to the new facilities by applying for a Gym Access card just for 50 per semester, or use existing exercise facilities at no charge.

Still, I bet you think it's good news about the improved exercise facilities, huh? Actually. I'm disappointed , to be honest What? Knowing how much you love to work out, I thought you'd be really excited.  Well, the improvements sound good, but you know regular students like us can't use the new fitness center without paying, right? Only students with an athletic scholarship can use it for free, and they already have special facilities for training.  Yeah, but it's only 50 a semester. That's not too bad.  Maybe, but I don't think I should have to pay anything if other students get to use the facilities for free. Plus I, angry that the college didn't make any improvements to the existing facilities.  Yeah, they are kind of old Right. The other day my roommate went to the gym and out of all the exercise machines, he told me only about half were working and there was a long line of people waiting. I think the facilities should be improved for everyone, not just staff and some of the students.  You’ve got a point, that's for sure. It seems like you feel that the college can't do much right these days.

New bulletin boards in student center Last Monday students in the student center on campus were surprised to see that several new bulletin boards had been erected. At first the boards were empty, but within hours the first notices had been posted. When asked for comments, a college spokesperson said that the college hoped the bulletin boards would provide a central place for students to put up notices and advertisements. The spokesperson also said that bulletin boards would help make the campus look cleaner because notices posted elsewhere on campus would be taken down.

It seems like you feel that the college can't do much right these days.  Yeah, I read about some new bulletin boards in the campus newspaper. What a waste of money, Really? I thought there were a good idea.  These days everybody posts things online, of course, but there are also hundreds of notices posted all around the campus, so I think the bulletin board will be useful. Almost every student spends time in the student center, si it's great to have a place to post notices where everybody will see them. Ok, i can see that might be useful And there are some parts of campus that get really messy because of all the notices. There's paper and trash everywhere and it looks really bad. I'm looking forward to seeing a cleaner campus when notices that are posted outside the student center are taken down.  That's true. The areas near my dorm get pretty messy with notices. It would be nice to see the campus looking a bit cleaner… so I guess the college can do something right after all! Glad to hear it.

Practice

Announcement from the University president State university has decided to upgrade the library  facilities available on campus. Over the next year, a new library will be constructed that will have double the number of books available for borrowing compared with the current library, as well as state of the art computer facilities. It will also have over 500 individual study rooms that will be available for student use. Because the cost of constructing the new library will be high, all full time students will be charged a one time Library improvement fee of 100.

Did you see the announcement about the library? Isn't it great? Great? I guess you missed the part about everyone having to pay 100 No, I saw that, but I'm happy to pay it if we get a better library. Our current library is OK, but a new library with double the number of books will be awesome. No more waiting for books to be returned before borrowing them will really help with assignments and the new computer facilities sound good, too.  I guess.  And 500 individual study rooms for student use? Right now there are only 50 study rooms and those are reserved for graduate students and faculty. I can't wait to get one of those rooms and get down to some serious schoolwork.  Can't you just study in your room? That's what I do.  You've met my roommate, right? He's nice, but really noisy so it's hard to study when he's around. A quiet place in the library would be perfect.

New food options needed on campus I’ve studied at city college for two years and basically it's a great place to study. However, there's one area that could really be improved, and that's the quality of food served at the restaurants and cafeterias available on campus. Currently, students only have access to dining halls serving fast food. They’re cheap, but the food’s unhealthy, low quality, and almost every dish has meat. I think that a modern college should offer students healthier options like salad bars, vegetarian cafes, and juice bars. I'd also like to see the dining halls serving dishes from other countries,

Did you see that letter in today’s newspaper? The one about the college needing more food options? That's the one. I think the writer has a point. Well not me. I think we’ve got plenty of good food options already. The writer mentioned something about all the restaurants and dining halls serving fast food, but that's just not true. I mean, there's a place that sells vegetarian food right next to the administrative building, and a great cafe selling Thai food near the International Student Office.  I'd forgotten about those places. I eat in the main dining hall pretty much every day.  I think that's what the writer does, too. The main dining hall does have a lot of fast food places, but if you go to other places on campus, there’re plenty of options.  I guess so.  And you don't even have to say on campus. I mean, there are several great restaurants in town just a few minutes on foot from the campus. Their food’s just as cheap as the on campus cafeterias, too. So I really don't think we need more food places on campus.

Change to hours of operation at the health services center In response to rising costs and falling demand, the university has decided to slightly reduce the hours when the Health Services Center will operate. Instead of offering evening services on Mondays, Wednesday, and Thursday, evening services will now be offered on Fridays only.  In addition, the Health Services Center will no longer be opened on the weekend, these changes are effective immediately. Students who need medical assistance when the Health Services Center is closed have the choice of attending several clinics located in town, details of which are available at the Health Services Center.

Did you see that the hours are being reduced at the Health Services Center? I think the university is making a mistake.  Really? I saw the notice but didn't think it was that big of a deal. Why do you think it's a mistake? Take the reduced evening hours. I don't understand why they're only going to have evening hours on a Friday. I mean Friday and Saturday are the days when most students want to go out and relax, so it is not likely any students will make an appointment for a Friday. If they had to offer evening hours on only one day, they should have kept one of the original days.  That's a good point.  And I think it's bad that the health center won't be open on the weekends any more. What happens if a student gets sick on the weekend? Doesn't the notice say that we can go to several clinics in town? Yeah, but I got some information about those clinics, and the closest one is almost 30 minutes from campus and it's really difficult to get to unless you have a car. I think that the university should keep the health center open on either Saturday or Sunday, not close it on both days.  I see your point. Let's hope neither one of us needs a doctor on the weekend.