Frequently Asked Questions

Studies of English at FI and Entrance Test:

1. Na střední škole jsem se angličtinu nikdy neučil(a). Měl(a) jsem jiný jazyk. Na fakultě je však zkouška z angličtiny povinná. Co mám teď dělat? display answer
   V tomto případě se musíte angličtinu na středoškolskou úroveň doučit. Jelikož zkoušku z odborné angličtiny můžete skládat kdykoliv do konce 6. semestru, můžete se např. zapsat do nějaké jazykové školy, věnovat rok intenzívnímu učení a následně se zapsat do některých seminářů odborné angličtiny na naší fakultě (předmět VB035). Začněte však co nejdříve, protože už teď, bohužel, máte poněkud znalostní handicap.
2. Nesložil(a) jsem vstupní test do semináře VB035. Co mám teď dělat? display answer
   Zdá se, že Vás střední škola dostatečně z angličtiny nepřipravila. Test totiž obsahuje pouze středoškolskou látku. Doporučujeme postupovat jako v předešlém případě, tj. doučit se angličtinu někde jinde a zkusit další rok vstupní test složit. Opakované nesložení vstupního testu však ukazuje na problém někde jinde (podceňování přípravy, chybná strategie učení jazyka, apod.). V takovém případě doporučujeme okamžitou konzultaci s některým z vyučujících angličtiny na FI. Vyhnete se tím budoucím nepříjemnostem v 6. semestru.
3. Is it possible for me to sit for the entrance test on some other day than the one originally specified? display answer
   We usually try to submit the entrance tests at the time most students are free, i.e. when they do not have any other academic duties. Organizing the test is by no means an easy task to attend to since the numbers of students taking it are always high. Provided you fall ill and submit a document certifying you were ill at the time of the test, you will be provided with a replacement date. Unfortunately, there are no exceptions to this rule.
4. I passed the entrance test last year, enrolled in VB035, but failed to complete the course. Do I have to sit for the entrance test this year again? display answer
   No, you should not sit for the test again because the Information System enrolls you in the courses you failed to complete in the past automatically and it is your duty to repeat these.
5. I passed the entrance test last year, but did not enroll in VB035. Do I have to sit for the entrance test this year again? display answer
   Provided you want to enroll in VB035 this year, you have to sit for the entrance test again since there is no guarantee you have the same knowledge of English you had last year.
6. Why is the entrance test pass score made public only after our results are available? display answer
   The entrance test submitted every year to those interested in enrolling in VB035 is always new. Although we always try to make the tests equally difficult, students of different years seem to have different knowledge of English. Therefore, despite agreeing on a certain pass score beforehand, the final decision is made only after the results become known. That is, every year, we finally make the pass score a little lower than the one previously agreed on because we want to give a chance even to those slightly below the required level. While this may seem a nice gesture to those not meeting the score previously agreed on, it sometimes gets the "additional" students in trouble later on (unless they really work hard) since they often find the course too difficult to attend due to its comparatively fast pace. Besides, they often slow down the progress of the others. However, our belief still is that it is fair to fill in vacancies in our seminar groups and give students an opportunity to work on themselves.
   Therefore, if your score is even 1 point below the required pass score, please do not e-mail us in order to ask us for a special permission to enroll in a seminar group. It is never granted due to the information mentioned above.
   Provided you are one of those who have just "scraped through" (reaching the bottom score), you should be aware of the fact you will be required to work hard since otherwise you will not complete the course.
7. I have failed to complete the VB035 (or VB036) course. May I have my enrollment in it additionally cancelled so that I will not have to repeat it? display answer
   Of course, you may. However, we strongly discourage students from doing so because most of those who cancel their enrollment in the course(s) fail the VB001 examination. When you find yourself in the situation where you should repeat the VB035 (or VB036 course), you are strongly recommended to do so because dodging your English-learning duties might have sad consequences. The courses VB035 and VB036 are designed to fully prepare you for the VB001 examination. If you follow all the instructions and recommendations as well as prepare for their seminars regularly, you will improve your English a lot and finally pass the examination.
8. What are the courses of VB039 (English I - seminar) and VB040 (English II - seminar) good for? display answer
   These two courses are newly-designed. They are supplementary to those of VB035 and VB036 in that their main task is to further practice the grammar and vocabulary dealt with in the latter. Some time is also devoted to conversation.
   Students enrolled in VB035 and VB036 are strongly recommended to enroll in these. Provided you feel your English is not particularly strong, these are courses tailored for you. However, your enrollment in them is conditional on your enrollment in VB035 and VB036.

VB001-Related:

9. I have never experienced any problems with my English. How come I have failed the VB001 examination? display answer
   First, the VB001 exam in English is a specific one. That is, it requires students to be able to communicate on the academic level and, most importantly, to acquire the language related to their field of study, i.e. informatics. That is also why the students cannot be exempted from it on the grounds of some other examination they passed in the past (FCE, State Language Exam, etc.). Besides, a certificate certifying that a student had a certain knowledge of English in the past does not mean he/she still has it.
   Second, the sad truth about some secondary schools is that they do not teach English the way they should. Every year there are students who have passed their secondary school-leaving exams in English, but are incapable of basic English communication.
   Most VB001-related problems stem from students avoiding the courses of English (VB035 and VB036) offered by the faculty. However, if you enroll in them and prepare regularly, you should not experience any VB001 completion problems later on.
   Provided you still think the VB001 examination too hard, read this article (source: Moje práce, 2.11. 2007; http://www.denik.cz/moje_prace/).
10. May I sit for the oral examination without having passed the written one? display answer
    No, you may not.
11. Is there any rule concerning whom I should sit for the oral part of the VB001 examination with or may I pick out any examination date (teacher) I find suitable? display answer
    Please make sure you only make a reservation for a slot on the examination date of the teacher who has marked your VB001 examination paper (see the name of the notebook containing your score). This is the only teacher with whom you can sit for the oral part because he/she has your test, which he/she needs for determining your final grade.

VB0035- and VB036-Related:

12. Today my teacher told me I am considered absent from the seminar because I had not done my homework. Is this a university or primary (secondary) school? display answer
    Doing the homework assigned at lectures represents one of the pre-requisites for completing the courses VB035, VB036, VB039, and VB040 (for further information, see the syllabi). The reason why this is so is that a foreign language must be studied on a regular basis for the learning process to turn out successful. The more frequently in contact with it you are, the better and faster you will master it. Regularity is one of the keys to language success. Forcing our students to do their homework, we are trying to make their effort more systematic.
    Tip: Never do the homework shortly before the lesson, but at least one day before it! That is the way you can make your preparation effort most effective!
13. The syllabus of the VB035 (VB036) course says I must reach at least 60 per cent of the total number of points to complete the course. What is meant by that? display answer
    During the term, students enrolled in VB035 and VB036 normally sit for several tests - two quarter term ones, one mid-term test, and one final test. Each of them has a certain number of points that the students answering all its questions correctly reach. To complete the VB035 (VB036) course, you need to reach at least 60 per cent of the total calculated from the individual maximum totals of the tests.

    Example:
    The maximum number of points a student can reach for the first quarter-term test is 20, for the mid-term test 30, for the second quarter-term test 20 and for the final one 40. The total number of points students must reach to complete the course is 66.
    

    Calculation:
    (20 + 30 + 20 + 40) * 0.6 = 66

14. May I re-sit any of the tests I took during the term? display answer
    Yes, you may re-sit either two tests once or the same test twice. However, the maximum number of re-sits you may take is always 2 (for further details, see the Study and Examination Regulations of MU). The re-sits are submitted during the upcoming examination period.
    After your re-sit, the total score (the one that determines whether you have completed the course or not, i.e. whether your re-sit has been successful or not) is calculated from the scores of all the tests taken during the term (except the one you have just re-sat) and the one you reached for the last re-sit. In other words, it is always only one re-sit score that is combined with the scores you reached for the tests taken during the term.
15. I would like to know how I placed at the test. Why don't you make the statistics of the notebook containing our scores public? display answer
    Perhaps the first question you should ask yourself in this respect should be: Why do I want to know these? Because I consider my score comparatively high (in comparison with others) and I want to be assured of that? Or because I find my score somewhat low and I want to be able to say to myself "I am not that bad because there are some others with scores even lower than mine."?
    Providing answers to both the aforementioned questions is exactly what we want to avoid since they always appear counterproductive in that they diminish the students' motivation to study by rendering those who ask the former complacent and those who ask the latter comforted. Moreover, there are always some of those whose scores are really low. These students are usually rather depressed and there is no need to make them yet more depressed by letting them know that lots of their schoolmates scored many more points than them - the fact that makes some drop out or completely give up their preparation efforts in the middle of term.
    We want all our students (both those with comparatively high scores and those with low ones) to put as much effort into their preparation as possible until the very end of term since virtually each of them stands a chance of succeeding (or failing) in the end. And that is the way we feel it should be.
16. Why aren't the VB035 and VB036 lectures recorded like those of other courses? display answer
    The philosophy behind the introduction of VB035 and VB036 lectures is to make the exposure of FI students to English more intensive than it would be without them. One might logically point out that the records enable the students to watch the lectures repeatedly and thus make them revise. Yes, that is true, but there is also a downside, which, in my opinion, outweighs the aforementioned advantage. That is, the availability of lecture records tends to discourage lots of students from using them the correct way, i.e. regularly, and induces the undesirable "I can always go through them later on" feeling. That is why I have decided not to have them recorded. While the last-minute preparation may work in other courses, it does not in those whose purpose is to teach language, i.e. the courses requiring regular and systematic study. By not having them recorded, I am trying to encourage our students to attend my lectures and thus listen to the language on a weekly basis. The students who miss my lecture for whatever reason can always go through my lecture materials that are readily available via IS and this page.
    Last but not least, at my lectures I prefer seeing some faces to just gazing into empty chairs.

Other:

17. I have received an e-mail saying I should enroll in a topic of a package (Přihlásit se k tématu z balíku témat). What is that? display answer
    Provided you want to sit for an entrance examination (or any other), you should first enroll in a topic of a package. There are usually several topics to choose from created for the same exam, each differing from the others in the name and information it bears (time of the exam, its location, etc.). Please select the one that suits you best and enroll in it. Without the enrollment, you will not be allowed to sit for the examination.
    The part of Information System allowing you to enroll in a topic is situated in your Student section under the reference Enroll in a Topic/Variant (created under a package) (in Czech, Student, odkaz Přihlašování se k tématům/variantám z balíků témat). Provided you experience difficulties locating the reference, please make sure you have selected the right term and faculty (see the top right-hand corner of your IS page).
18. All of your seminar groups are full, but I would really like to enroll and attend one of these because I like your way of teaching. Is it possible for me to do so somehow? display answer
    Unfortunately, it is not. Each seminar group has its limit as regards the number of students allowed to attend it. High numbers of students in a group render the teaching process inefficient. That is why it is not possible to allow students over the limit to attend the classes they would like to. There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule and you should enroll in a group that still has some vacancies. Sorry.
19. I have sat for a test (written examination) and my notebook in IS does not contain any score yet. When will the scores be made public? display answer
    The teacher submitting the test to you has certainly informed you about the date by which all the students' scores are expected to be made public. If you no longer remember the date, please ask some of your schoolmates about it or consult the IS discussion group of the course. Please remember that VB035, VB036, and VB001 courses are the ones with large numbers (hundreds) of students enrolled and lots of these keep e-mailing us all the time. Replying to all the questions holds us up and causes us to post the results yet later than we would normally post them.
    Therefore, the rule always to remember is: Be patient, please!
20. May I come to your office to have a look at my test? display answer
    Yes, of course. You can drop in my office and have a look at the mistakes you have made in your test any time during my office hours. However, this rule only holds provided it is me who has marked your test. If your test has been marked by one of my colleagues, you should see him/her (during his/her office hours again) because I do not have it with me in such a case. It is always the teacher whose notebook (see its name) you have found your score in that marked your test. He/she is always the one to consult about anything related to your test.