Today we continue talking about vocabulary for IELTS. We have already discussed useful tips and methods for learning new words and phrases.

In this article, IELTS Game is going to cover expressions that you’ll be able to use while speaking or writing exam on the topics Globalization, Technology, and Health.

These topics are very common in different parts of the IELTS test. So, it’s necessary to know all this vocabulary.

Write out words and phrases that you don’t know and practice using them in your speech and writing. Let’s start with the topic Globalization.

1. Globalization

Firstly, let’s discuss what globalization is.

Globalization is the trend of increasing interaction between people or companies on a worldwide scale due to advances in transportation and communication technology.

words connected with globalization

The first important words connected with globalization are developing countries and developed countries.

1. Developing countries are countries with little industrial and economic activity where people have low incomes.
2. On the contrary, developed countries are countries with a lot of industrial and economic activity where people generally have high incomes.

For example: Though it once reigned alongside the United States as a world superpower, Russia is not classified as a developed country as of 2015.

There is also another good term – emerging economy or emerging market economy which means that a nation’s economy is progressing toward becoming developed and advanced.

IELTS vocabulary Collocation about “Global”

Now let’s talk about the term global and some combinations with it:

• Global village – the idea that we became a single community due to affordable and effective transportation, mass media, and electronic communications.

For example: People are afraid that the evolution of a global village will raise conflicts between cultures.

• Global economy refers to the economy of the world comprising economies of different countries closely interrelated. By the way, interrelated is another very good word to use when speaking about global economy and globalization.

For example: Thanks to global economy a shirt is now likely to cost roughly the same amount of money in New York as in New Delhi.

• Global trade (often international trade) is simply the exchange of goods and services between countries.

For example: Global trade not only results in increased efficiency but also allows countries to participate in the global economy, encouraging the opportunity for foreign investments.

Another useful words connected with globalization

Sweatshop and outsourcing.

• Sweatshop (sometimes sweat factory) is a workplace with unacceptably severe conditions and usually extremely low wages.

For example: In 2006 Apple faced allegations that its iPod was being produced in China’s sweatshop conditions. The Apple incident illustrates how sweatshops can thrive with such practices as outsourcing. 

• Outsourcing means just what it says – going out to find the source of what you need. In the globalization context, we usually use the term outsourcing to describe a situation when businesses outsource production to countries with developing economies.

For example: Offshore outsourcing is often criticized, which can mean bad public relations for a company.

• The next good phrase to use is the loss of identity. And this is what can happen if the idea of global village develops further.

For example: Some people fear that globalization will inevitably lead to total loss of cultural identity.

– Our next group of words is prosperity, standards of living, and Human Development Index.

• Prosperity is the state of being successful usually by making a lot of money.

For example: Globalization plays an important role in contributing to sustainable prosperity for all people.

• Standard of living could be described as a quality of life or level of material prosperity available to an individual or a group of people.

For example: The standard of living includes factors such as income, availability of employment, affordability of housing, quality of healthcare, and many others.

• Human Development Index (HDI) is an index prepared by the United Nations which lists countries in the order of human achievement taking into consideration three dimensions: health, education, and living standards.

For example: Human Development Index also shows that countries with lots of income do not always spend money in ways that create high life expectancies or education levels.

Let’s move on. Our next term is consumerism. It is the belief that it is good for people and society to spend a lot of money on goods and services.

For example: Although consumerism can take many forms, it generally refers to very high levels of excessive consumption.

Read Also:

• Top 10 IELTS vocabulary books pdf to improve your English language
• Download English vocabulary In Use book Series
• IELTS Vocabulary Booster: Learn 500+ words for IELTS essay

Emigration & Immigration

Students often confuse the following pair of words: emigration and immigration.

The differences between these words are subtle but important for precise writing and speaking.

• To immigrate means to settle in a foreign country. It suggests permanent relocation and applies to people.
• To emigrate means to leave one country in order to settle in another. It also applies only to people.

For example: It’s noteworthy that during the boom years when Ireland had close to full employment not many people chose to emigrate. Every member of the Jewish religion is eligible to immigrate to Israel.

There are two more terms that you will definitely need:

cultural convergence is a tendency for cultures to blend and become more alike;

cultural divergence describes things that make separations of cultures. The English language is a prime example of cultural convergence on a global scale. That’s it for the word pairs.

You should also know the names of some international agencies which directly influence globalization development. For example:

• World Trade Organization (WTO) – the global organization that helps countries and producers trade fairly and effectively.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) – the intergovernmental organization with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. that focuses on maintaining international economic stability.

A list of some other very useful IELTS words and phrases related to Globalization

Here’s a list of some other very useful words and phrases on this topic:

1. anti-globalization movement – a social movement critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism;
2. local (relating to a particular area, city or town) / national (relating to an entire nation or country) / domestic (relating to, or made in your own country);
3. integration (the act of bringing together smaller components into a single system that functions as one) / cooperation (a situation in which people work together to do something);
4. multilateral (involving more than two groups or countries) / unilateral (involving only one group or country);
5. progress (the process of improving or developing something over a period of time) / development (the act or process of growing or causing something to grow or become larger or more advanced);
6. standardization – is the process of implementing and developing technical standards;
7. national sovereignty – the idea that independent nations, which have declared their independence, have an organized government and are self-contained, have a right to exist without other nations interfering;
8. economic growth drivers – something that provides development and growth of the economy;
9. imbalance / inequality – a state or condition in which different things do not occur in equal or proper amounts.

2. Technology

Now it’s time for another important topic of IELTS.

Let’s talk about some technology terms and phrases. Don’t forget to write down unfamiliar words.

We will start with three expressions which require no definition.

The digital era / the computer age / new media age.

It is our time, the time of technology and gadgets, social networks addiction, and knowledge-based society.

For example: The arrival of the digital era was so rapid that we have not yet managed to cope with all the consequences.

Another three words which you are very likely to use in your writing or speaking section on technology are:

Innovation, breakthrough, revolution.

• Innovation is an act of introducing something new.
• And if we observe rapid dramatic changes, we use revolution.
• As for technological revolution, it could often be triggered by a breakthrough – an act of making important discoveries.

For example: The internet revolution changed the way that people got and shared information, affecting everything from social relations to the way they work.

Although always with risk, technological breakthroughs promise the most pressing global challenges of our time.

Now let’s discuss some useful word combinations.

• Describe an important piece of news you received via text message
• IELTS Cue Card: Describe a story that was interesting to you
• IELTS Cue Card: Describe A Time When You Waited For Something

Technology  Collocations

• The adjective cutting-edge means the most advanced, the latest.

For example, cutting-edge technologies.

• Rocket science is a slightly less formal expression which means an activity requiring considerable intelligence and ability.

For example: We also work with universities and other experts to ensure that we remain at the cutting-edge of technology.

• And tech-savvy means knowing a lot about modern technologies and computers.

For example: Millennials are tech-savvy, thrifty, and more likely to stream entertainment online than other Americans.

• The next useful term is cloud computing.

Over the recent decades, it has become a buzzword in the IT world.

Cloud computing means that instead of using all the applications physically installed on your computer you can access them over the Internet.

They are provided as service by another company. And it applies not only to computer programs but also to hardware capacity.

For example: The Google Docs service allows users to upload documents, spreadsheets, and presentations to Google’s data servers and serves as an example of cloud computing.

More vocabulary for IELTS connected with technology

And here are two more words: wireless and mobile.

Do they have the same meaning? Yes and no.

Sometimes you can use either, but they represent different concepts. Mobile is a word to describe the nature of devices.

• A mobile device is one that can be taken anywhere. Usually, these devices need a battery to work.
• But wireless does not mean mobile. Many non-mobile devices could connect to wireless networks as well as mobile devices. I hope you feel the difference.

You probably know some of the discussed words and expressions.

But I encourage you to think whether you normally use them while speaking or writing.

Do you feel comfortable with them? If some of them confuse you, come up with several sentences to practice their usage.

And remember to return to these words here in ieltsgame.com after a while.

3. Health

Let’s discuss another important topic which will be very useful if you want to score high in IELTS – Health.

In terms of lexis, this topic incorporates a lot of useful words and phrases which can also be used when talking about food, diet, and even sports.

Our first word is a check-up which is doctor’s examination to ensure that you are healthy. That’s a good way to make sure you have no health problems.

For example: It is recommended to have your medical check-up on a regular basis.

There is another good word: epidemic, but with negative meaning – a disease affecting a disproportionately large number of individuals within the population.

For example: The current epidemic of obesity is caused largely by an environment that promotes excessive food intake.

There are some useful expressions with this word:

• epidemic breakout is when an epidemic starts suddenly or strikes;
• to reach epidemic proportions means that an epidemic has reached a large scale.

Most Important vocabularies related to health topic

When you have a disease, you need a doctor to diagnose it, which means to recognize a disease or illness.

Your doctor will diagnose a disease based on your medical history and test results.

When a disease is diagnosed and treated, but there are no signs of improvement, we can talk about deterioration – the process of something getting worse.

Another good health – or maybe it’s better to say sickness – word is chronic.

Its easy definition is existing frequently or most of the time.

For example: Sugar may not be the only contributor to a chronic disease, but it is by far the easiest one to avoid.

If you are in one room with a sick person you can easily get infected.

To infect means to cause somebody to become affected by a disease.

For example: If you return to work after your sick leave too soon, you may infect your colleagues.

After being properly treated people usually recover, which means that they return to normal condition, or get back from being ill.

For example: He had a stroke but is recovering well.

How do doctors recognize certain diseases?

Correct, on the basis of symptoms, which are changes in your body or mind showing that you are not healthy.

For example: The symptoms of flu usually develop within two days of becoming infected. 

A widely used expression with the word symptom is the onset of symptoms, which is when your symptoms become noticeable.

What should people do not to get sick and prevent disease?

They say that exercise and a healthy diet can prevent heart disease. So, preventing something means to act ahead of something.

A vaccine is an injection to protect against a particular disease.

For example: Researchers are trying to develop a vaccine against swine flu.

When people suddenly get a high temperature, they usually call an ambulance, which is a vehicle that takes sick people to the hospital, especially in case of emergency.

For example: Because of high pressure, the woman was taken by an ambulance.

And the word emergency means a sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate treatment or resolution.

For example: In case of medical emergency, a patient might be asked about his or her blood type.

Talking about health problems, it is also very important to mention fatigue – a state of being very tired and exhausted.

For example: Driver fatigue is a major cause of road accidents.

For your reference, we have prepared some additional health-related words and phrase.

We will go through them and if any of them are unfamiliar to you, take some time to familiarize yourself with them.

Additional band 9 vocabulary related to Health topic

• to feel poorly – feel bad or sick;
• to have a filling – have your tooth fixed when you have dental caries;
• to have a tooth out – to have your tooth pulled out;
• a heavy cold – a bad/severe cold;
• to make a speedy recovery – to recover fast;
• immediate action – emergency measures, first aid;
• to perform surgery on – to operate.

I hope you will make good use of this vocabulary, and it will help you to get the band score you need at the IELTS test.

This is not a complete list of vocabulary on these topics. If you have some terms and phrases to add to this list, share it with us and write it down in the comments box 🙂

Good luck and see you!