Welcome to the first 2021 edition of Spotlight Vocabulary.
This is the series where we curate articles that contain ideas and vocabulary suitable for academic tests like IELTS or OET.
To see a wider selection of these articles, please visit our LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.
How To Use These Articles
These articles will benefit you even if you only have time to read them.
With a bit more time, you should record the words you find in a vocabulary app – like Anki.
Have more time? Record the whole sentence in which the word appears. Learning new words in this way will help you to understand the context in which they should be used and how they collocate with other words.
Finally, using the words frequently will help transfer them from being passive to active words that you can recall at will.
For the ultimate practice, book a lesson with one of our teachers or submit a Writing Correction.
Plant Life
It seems runner beans are more intelligent than we thought. Are they sentient? Should we still eat them?
Bad news for vegetarians! According to one scientist, french beans are showing sentient, anticipatory, goal-directed, flexible behaviour. This article includes a lot of vocabulary you can transfer to many #IELTS topics, including #plants & #food. https://t.co/mn8rWHhYVC
— Andy T (@withanexpert) January 9, 2021
Animal Life
Imagine an animal which just froze in place wherever it happened to be, and then came back to life six months later. Stop imagining and meet the Wood frog!
Every winter it freezes & its heart stops. When it warms up, it defrosts, its heart starts beating – & off it jumps into the forest for another season. If I had to talk about a wild animal in the #IELTS test, I might choose the Wood frog. Amazing! https://t.co/vRutnsfQKN
— Andy T (@withanexpert) January 11, 2021
Inbreeding is causing spotted zebras. Are they edging towards extinction?
What’s red and black? A sunburnt zebra! On a more serious note, inbreeding is producing spotted zebras, which may be a warning for their future sustainability. Plenty of vocabulary and ideas for #IELTS test takers and budding conservationists! https://t.co/aNrtKLUn1b.
— Andy T (@withanexpert) January 24, 2021
Alien Life
As technology advances, space and alien life is becoming a more common IELTS topic. This article asks whether we have already detected alien life.
Did we receive a technosignature from aliens last year? Do you even know what that is? As humanity prepares to become an interplanetary species, this topic is becoming more common in #IELTS. Read this article to make sure you’re not left behind! https://t.co/2q78ekoOg0
— Andy T (@withanexpert) January 30, 2021
Transport
Meet the future of transportation. These ideas might never take off (pun intended), but they should fuel your imagination.
Will our children be commuting in flying taxis? Here are some proof of concepts which may get no further than your vocabulary app and your #IELTS essay. https://t.co/yyCsmJlfH4
— Andy T (@withanexpert) January 17, 2021
Renewable Energy and the Environment
We are living through one of the most significant technological revolutions in history, but is it too late?
This article by @edans is about the transition form fossil fuels to renewable energy. Is he right to call it the greatest technological transition in history? I guarantee you will find new vocabulary and ideas you can use on #IELTS test day. https://t.co/jQZnScTfhn
— Andy T (@withanexpert) January 19, 2021
Speaking vs Listening
The importance of listening is a topic you might get in the Speaking test. T|his article will give you high-level ideas and vocabulary to answer.
Do you like to speak more or listen more? This is a question you might be asked on #IELTS test day – and here @SEBuitendijk gives a band 9.0 answer. Plenty of ideas & vocabulary you could transfer to other topics. https://t.co/sPtqZZqiYS
— Andy T (@withanexpert) January 21, 2021
And there’s more…
We have not shared all of last months collection.
To see the missing articles, and articles from previous months – visit our Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
See you next month!