and I'm Neil. And joining me

to do this is Georgina.

Georgina: Hello.

Neil: Now, Georgina, I know you

went to university

to study for a degree but before

you moved from college to university,

did you take a year off?

Georgina: I did.

Neil: Well, you're not alone.

Many students choose to take a break

from their studies

to travel or gain work experience

before moving on to university.

Georgina: Yes, and this is what

we call a 'gap year'.

Neil: And in this programme we're

talking about taking a gap year

and why doing this

has become more important than ever.

But first, as always, I need

to challenge you and our

listeners, Georgina, to answer a question.

Are you ready?

Georgina: Ready and waiting, Neil!

Neil: According to the Institute of Fiscal

Studies, which subject studied

at university will lead to the highest

average earnings

five years after graduating? Is it...

a) Law, b) Veterinary science,

or c) Medicine and dentistry?

What do you think, Georgina?

Georgina: Well, all are subjects

that involve lots of studying...

but as a guess, I think those studying

veterinary science end up working

as vets and earning the most money ...

so it's b), I think.

Neil: OK. Well, we'll find out if you're right

at the end of the programme.

Let's get back to talking about gap years -

as the name suggests, it's a break

or gap in between your studies

- we might also call it a year out.

It's not a new concept - meaning idea -

and there are a number of reasons

why someone may choose to take one.

Georgina: That's right. The BBC's

Smart Consumer podcast looked at

this and heard from two students -

one, Meg, took a gap year and

the other, Tom, didn't.

Let's hear from them now...

Meg: I knew I wanted to go to university,

but... I decided I'll do it after a year out, and

that way I can wait till I get my official

results and apply to university with those

rather than getting predicted grades

and then, you know, potentially

being surprised and

not being able to follow the path I wanted.

I just always had in the back my mind that

I'd spend a year doing

something productive and something

that would just be good fun.

Tom: It's not something that I really knew

about to be honest, I think, until I started

university. It was a bit of an alien concept

to me. It's something I've never

thought about - it would have been

far too expensive and it's not something

that would have been able to rely on

my parents or family members for.

Neil: Two different experiences there. So

Meg said she had 'in the back of my mind'

doing a gap year.

That means she had the idea

but didn't think about it frequently - it

was stored deep in her memory.

Georgina: And she had the idea of doing

something productive - that means

leading to a good

or useful outcome - and, of course,

having fun at the same time!

Neil: She also wanted to do something

while she waited for her exam results

to come in, rather than applying

for a university place based on predicted

results which may turn out to be wrong.

If something is predicted, it's an

estimation of what is likely to happen in

the future based on current information.

Georgina: Now, Tom had

a different experience.

He wasn't really aware of the gap year

and described it as an alien concept -

so an idea that is strange and not familiar.

Neil: Tom also mentioned a gap year

would have been too expensive - but

according to Chris Rea from

the organisation Prospects, it needn't

cost a lot of money. Speaking on

BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme,

he says it's about gaining skills

and being more employable...

Chris Rea: I think the experience

of the gap year has become actually

much more practical, partly as I say

to do with university participation

increasing, but also because

of the demands on developing skills,

specifically employability skills.

Actually from an employer's point

of view, certainly, any form of experience

and skills acquisition

that you've undertaken is valuable.

Neil: According to Chris Rea,

the focus these days is for a gap year

to be more practical - this adjective

describes the learning of

real skills which can be usefully applied.

Georgina: Yes, and these are skills that

help you compete for a place

at university and ultimately make you

more employable - they

help you get a job.

Neil: Right, but which job might earn you

the most money, Georgina? Earlier I asked

you, according to the Institute

of Fiscal Studies, which subject

studied at university will lead to the

highest average earnings, five years

after graduating? Is it...

a) Law, b) Veterinary science,

or c) Medicine and dentistry.

What do you say, Georgina?

Georgina: I said veterinary science.

Was I correct?

Neil: Sadly you weren't.

The correct answer

is c) Medicine and dentistry.

According to research in the UK,

graduates of medicine and dentistry

earn an average of £46,700.

Georgina: That's more than

an English teacher

I suspect, but that's not going to stop us

recapping today's vocabulary.

Neil: OK. So, we've been talking about

a gap year - that's a year between leaving

school and starting university that is

usually spent travelling or working.

Georgina: When we say something is

at the back of my mind, we mean

an idea we don't think about

frequently but keep stored deep

in our memory.

Neil: And when something is productive -

it describes something that leads

to a good or useful outcome.

Georgina: Next, we mentioned

the word predicted.

If something is predicted, it's

an estimation of what is likely

to happen in the future

based on current information.

Neil: An alien concept is an idea that is

strange and not familiar.

Georgina: And when you're

doing something practical,

you're doing something that is real and

useful because you learn skills that

can be used in the future.

Neil: Thank you, Georgina, for that

practical run through of our vocabulary.

So that's all from 6 Minute English

for now. Goodbye!

Georgina: Bye!