Inside Out

Education Issues – Glossary

activity noun exercise noun [count]
something that you do because you enjoy it or an activity or set of activities that you do in order
because it is interesting to learn how to do something
leisure activities Have you done your piano exercises yet?

behave verb expel verb

to be polite and not be rude or cause trouble to force a student to leave a school permanently
I hope the children behave themselves. expel someone for something
He was expelled for threatening a teacher with a
classroom noun knife.
a room where you have classes in a school
express yourself verb
colleague noun [count] to talk in a way that other people can understand
someone who works in the same organization or She finds it difficult to express herself in English.
department as you
her colleagues at the university look back verb
to think about a time or event in the past
compulsory adjective Most people look back on their school days with
something that is compulsory must be done fondness.
because of a rule or law
School uniform is no longer compulsory in many maths noun [uncount]
British schools. mathematics

concentrate verb mess around verb

to give most of your attention to one aim or
activity
creative adjective
involving a lot of imagination and new ideas
someone who is creative has a lot of imagination
and new ideas
discipline noun
the practice of making people obey rules of
behaviour and punishing them if they do not
emphasis noun [count/uncount]
special importance or attention that is given to one
thing in particular
The main emphasis should be on quality rather
than quantity.
enjoyable adjective
something that is enjoyable gives you pleasure
Most students find the course very enjoyable.
exam noun [count]
an important test of your knowledge, especially
one that you take at school or university
Dave’s doing his Accountancy exams next week.
to behave in a silly way, especially when you
should be working or paying attention to
something
Stop messing about – I’m serious about this!
pass verb
to be successful in an examination or test by
achieving a satisfactory standard
She passed her driving test.
physics noun [uncount]
the science that deals with heat, light, and other
forms of energy and how they affect objects
punctuation noun [uncount]
the use of marks such as full stops or commas in
order to write in a clear style
The letter was brief and had no punctuation.
pupil noun [count]
someone, especially a child, who goes to school or
who has lessons in a particular subject
put up with someone verb
to accept someone or something unpleasant in a
patient way
How has Jan put up with him for so long?

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Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008. Definitions from the Macmillan English Dictionary 2 Edition © 2007 and the
Macmillan Essential Dictionary © 2003, A&C Black Publishers Ltd: www.macmillandictionaries.com
 Inside Out
respect verb
to feel admiration for someone because of their
personal qualities, their achievements, or their
status, and show this by treating them in a polite
and kind way
We work well together, and I respect him as a
colleague.

role-plays noun [count/uncount]

an activity in which you pretend to be someone
else, especially in order to learn new skills or
attitudes

spelling noun [uncount]

the ability to spell
I know my spelling needs a lot of work.

subject noun [count]

something that you learn or teach in a school, for
example English, mathematics, or biology

suspend verb
to officially stop someone from doing their job or
from going to school for a limited time because
they have done something wrong
The Football Association suspended him for
spitting at an opponent.

system noun [count]

a method of organizing or doing things
education system

test noun [count]

a set of written or spoken questions used for
finding out how much someone knows about a
subject. A test is less formal than an exam.
a chemistry/French/history test

verb noun [count]

a type of word or phrase that shows an action or a
state, for example ‘run’ and ‘remain’

waste noun [singular]

a situation in which time, money, or energy is used
without bringing any useful result
It’s a waste of time trying to get her to change her
mind.

This page has been downloaded from www.insideout.net. It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages.
nd
Copyright © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008. Definitions from the Macmillan English Dictionary 2 Edition © 2007 and the
Macmillan Essential Dictionary © 2003, A&C Black Publishers Ltd: www.macmillandictionaries.com