Vocabulary
Trade, multinationals, migration and cultural identity, a recurring Task 2 theme. With a practice exercise.
IELTS vocabulary for globalisation is needed for some of the most abstract Task 2 questions. Whether globalisation helps poorer countries, whether local cultures are disappearing and whether international companies have too much power all come up regularly.
Abstract questions reward precise vocabulary more than any other kind, because without it an essay drifts into vague claims about the world becoming smaller.
The words
Six groups. Learn one group at a time and write a sentence of your own for each word.
Free trade: trade between countries without taxes or limits on imports
Tariffs: taxes on imported goods
Exports and imports: goods sold abroad and goods bought from abroad
A trade agreement: a deal between countries setting the terms of trade
Protectionism: protecting local industry by limiting imports
A multinational: a company operating in many countries
To outsource: to pay another company, often abroad, to do work
Supply chain: the stages a product passes through before it is sold
Cheap labour: workers who are paid low wages
Market share: the proportion of sales a company holds
Migration: people moving from one country or region to another
A migrant worker: someone who moves abroad to work
Brain drain: skilled people leaving their country for better opportunities
Remittances: money migrants send home to their families
Mobility: the ability to move freely for work or study
Cultural identity: the traditions and values that make a group distinct
Homogenisation: the process of becoming the same everywhere
Westernisation: adopting western customs and products
Cultural exchange: sharing ideas and customs between cultures
A global brand: a product recognised all over the world
Interdependence: countries relying on each other
Economic growth: an increase in a country's wealth
Inequality: an unfair difference between rich and poor
Exploitation: treating workers or resources unfairly for profit
To erode: to weaken gradually, often used of local traditions
Globalisation and globalization are both correct. Use one spelling throughout, because mixing British and American spelling in one piece is noticed.
Economic means related to the economy. Economical means not wasting money. Economic growth, never economical growth.
Method
Six ways these words earn marks rather than just filling space.
Homogenisation says in one word what candidates often need a sentence for: cultures becoming the same. It is exactly the kind of precision Band 7 expects.
You impose tariffs, lift trade barriers, boost economic growth, widen the gap between rich and poor and preserve cultural identity.
Globalisation is abstract, so ground it. A named type of product, industry or tradition makes an argument clearer than any general statement about the world.
Most globalisation questions ask you to weigh benefits against costs. Have vocabulary for growth and exchange as well as for exploitation and inequality.
Globalise, globalised, globalisation, global. The verb and adjective are useful for varying sentences without repeating the noun.
The world is a global village is so common that examiners have read it thousands of times. Say what has actually changed instead.
Practice
Choose the answer that fits each sentence.
Read the whole sentence before you choose. Several options will be real words, and often more than one will nearly fit.
The test is precision: which word, or which pairing, means exactly what the sentence needs?
1Taxes on imported goods are called ______.
Tariffs. Remittances are money migrants send home, and subsidies are payments that support an industry.
2Skilled professionals leaving their home country for better pay abroad is known as ______.
Brain drain. Migration is the general movement of people. Brain drain names the specific loss of skilled workers.
3The process of cultures becoming the same everywhere is ______.
Homogenisation. Cultural exchange is sharing, which does not imply that differences disappear.
4Which is the natural pairing?
Lift trade barriers. You can also remove them. Raise is the verb for putting them up, not rise, which takes no object.
5A company that pays another company abroad to make its products is ______ production.
Outsourcing. Exporting is selling abroad, which is a different stage altogether.
6Choose the correct form: globalisation has boosted ______ growth in many countries.
Economic. Economical means not wasting money, which does not fit here.
7Money sent home by people working abroad is called ______.
Remittances. It is the precise term, and it is central to arguments about migration helping poorer countries.
8Which sentence is more precise?
B. Same idea, but specific, with a strong verb and a precise noun phrase.
That is the commonest vocabulary problem at Band 6, and it is very hard to see in your own writing because each word looks correct on its own.
The complete IELTS course on IELTStestONLINE has video lessons on every question type, many more exercises like this one, and your own support tutor you can ask when an answer does not make sense. Take a look at the complete course
Recognising a word in a multiple choice is not the same as producing it accurately under time.
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Yes, particularly in Task 2. Questions about trade, international companies and the effect on local cultures appear regularly.
Either is correct. Choose one and use it consistently throughout your answer.
No. You are assessed on your English. The vocabulary on this page is enough to argue any standard globalisation question.
Economic relates to the economy. Economical means not wasting money. Economic growth is correct and economical growth is not.
You can, but it is heavily overused. Explaining what has actually changed will show more range.
Full membership
Technique takes most candidates to about Band 6.5. Past that, the limit is usually the range of language you can use accurately, and knowing where you stand is the first step.
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