If you get a text on the topic of work in the IELTS Reading test, it will be more difficult for you to understand if there’s a lot of vocabulary that you don’t understand. (If you’re taking the IELTS General Training test, you’ll definitely have two texts on the topic of work in Section 2 of the reading test).

With this in mind, here’s a list of vocabulary related to the topic of work taken from one of the texts I recommended you read in our post ‘Read like an IELTS band score 9.0 candidate‘.

In each case, check you understand what the word means or click on the word below for a dictionary definition, and then look at how the word is used in the example.

People:

• “Thousands of Chinese factory workers will be given the chance to…”
• “Employees of some suppliers complain of…
• “…suppliers can raise wages, employ more staff and…”

Factories:

• “…assembly lines producing Apple iPads”
• “…plants producing Apple goods”
• “…sweatshops in the clothing industry“

Working conditions:

• “Employees of some suppliers complain of 10-hour shifts with only one permitted break“
• “…suppliers can raise wages, employ more staff and…”

If any of these words are new for you, it may help you remember them if you think of how they relate to your own work experience.

You could, for example, think about how many breaks you take or how many employees work for the company that you work for or own.

Pete

See our IELTS tutor profiles to find out more about our qualified and experienced English language teachers.

More posts you may like:

1. IELTS vocabulary related to the topic of education

In our post ‘Advice from an IELTS Reading band score 9.0 candidate‘, an IELTS candidate from China recommended that, to get a high band score for reading, you should:

• read different kinds of text in English, not only those specifically for IELTS preparation
• develop strategies for answering the different types of question in the IELTS Reading test
• do some practice IELTS Reading tests under timed-conditions

To help you follow her first recommendation, here are a couple of articles that you could read on some common IELTS topics.

The first article, which is related to the common IELTS topics of education and technology, is about the launch of a free automated online course from one of the USA’s top universities, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

If you read the article, you can find out why the course has been described as ‘groundbreaking’ (i.e. new and different from other online courses).

Groundbreaking automated online course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology launched

The second is an article about how Apple have allowed the Fair Labour Association to inspect (i.e. check) the working conditions in the factories in China where iPads are made.

Apple bows to criticism over work conditions

The phrase ‘bows to criticism‘ in the headline means that Apple have agreed to have the inspections after being criticised for not ensuring the working conditions were okay before.

The story of these inspections may well be in the news again over the coming weeks and could provide you with some ongoing reading practice on the common IELTS topics of work and technology.

Take a step towards improving your IELTS Reading band score and read one or both of these articles over the weekend.

Pete

See our IELTS tutor profiles to find out more about our qualified and experienced English language teachers.

More posts you may like:

1. Advice from an IELTS Reading band score 9.0 candidate
2. How I got an IELTS Reading band score 8.0
3. A sixth day of reading

Check out the video below to see Meshal, a Saudi Arabian candidate in New Zealand, do Part 2 of an IELTS Speaking test.

As you’ll see on the video, I’ve included some comments on how Meshal can improve his speaking and I’ve also said what IELTS band score he got in his test.

(If you can’t view the video above, try viewing it directly on our YouTube channel or our YouKu channel).

As I said at the end of the video, it’s important to show the examiner in your IELTS Speaking test that you are able to keep going without speaking too slowly.

You can find out more about how your speaking speed will affect your band score by reading our post ‘Speaking speed and your IELTS band score‘.

Pete

See our IELTS tutor profiles to find out more about our qualified and experienced English language teachers.

More posts you may like:

1. IELTS Speaking Part 2: Harriet
2. IELTS Speaking Part 1: Mary
3. IELTS Speaking Part 2: Florent

Patricia was a registered teacher in Brazil and wanted to register as an early childhood educator in New Zealand. To do this, she needed to get a band score 7.0 or above in each of the skills in the IELTS Academic test.

Patricia asked us to help her with her writing before her first IELTS test and asked for help again after she didn’t get the score she needed the first time.

We helped Patricia improve her writing by showing her how to express her ideas more concisely so that she could manage her time better in the IELTS Writing test.

We’re happy to say that in her second IELTS test she got 7.5 for her writing and has since registered as an early childhood teacher in New Zealand.

After getting the IELTS Writing band score she needed, Patricia said “Just to let you know that I’ve gotten 7.5 in the writing band in the IELTS test. Unbelievable!!!! Thank you again for your support”.

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No related posts.

I’ve said before that as part of your IELTS preparation it’s important to improve your vocabulary related to common IELTS topics, and so today I’d like to highlight some vocabulary related to the topic of education.

As you may have seen in my post ‘Discuss both views…‘, you could be given an IELTS Writing Task 2 essay related to this topic, and it will help you get a higher IELTS band score if you use a range of vocabulary in your writing.

All of the words and examples below are from the example IELTS Writing Task 2 essay at the link above.

In each case, check you understand what the word means or click on the word below for a dictionary definition, and then look at how the word is used in the example sentence.

Verbs:

• teach (e.g. ‘…it is the responsibility of parents to teach their children how to become good members of society’)
• learn (e.g. ‘Children can learn how adults often contribute to their local communities…’)
• educate (e.g. ‘…both parents and schools have a role to play in educating children in this regard’)
• consolidate (e.g. ‘Having these lessons as part of a school curriculum can help consolidate the learning that happens at home…’)

(When the word ‘consolidate’ is used to talk about learning, it means to combine what is learnt at different times or different places).

Nouns:

• classes (e.g. ‘Schools can offer citizenship classes that help children learn how societies work…’)
• lessons (e.g. ‘Having these lessons as part of a school curriculum can help consolidate the learning that happens at home…’)
• curriculum (e.g. ‘Having these lessons as part of a school curriculum can help consolidate the learning that happens at home…’)

If any of these words are new for you, it may help you remember them if you think of how they relate to your own education.

You could, for example, think about whether citizenship classes were part of the school curriculum when you went to school or about how your parent(s) taught you to be a good member of society.

Pete

See our IELTS tutoring options to find out more about how we can help you improve your English for the IELTS test.

More posts you may like:

1. IELTS vocabulary related to the topic of work
2. Subject-specific vocabulary (2)