Important Vocabulary for IELTS - Common Words for IELTS Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening Section

Importance of Vocabulary for IELTS Exam

As is oxygen for human beings, so is the vocabulary for IELTS! Vocabulary words for IELTS is the heart of every language, so it is important to improve your vocabulary every day. To a great extent, your ability to comprehend what you read and hear is determined by your vocabulary. It cannot be built up if you never confront new words, and to meet them, you must read.

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a globally acknowledged English proficiency test taken by international students aiming to pursue higher education abroad. The test evaluates a candidate's ability to communicate in English on four parameters: writing, reading, listening and speaking.

Nevertheless, candidates should be aware that vocabulary for IELTS constitutes about 25% of the total score in the reading and speaking tests. Understanding the weightage of vocabulary words for IELTS is, therefore, imperative. Candidates who hope to attain a high score in the IELTS exam should know how to utilise complex words in these sections since the examiner will be assessing how well they use vocabulary or how well they have prepared IELTS speaking vocabulary.

On the other hand, the lack of vocabulary in a passage results in the repetition of words and can leave the speaker short when conversing with the IELTS examiner. The only way to increase IELTS scores is to do good homework on vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2.

How Much Vocabulary is Enough for IELTS?

A native English speaker would retain around 20,000 words by the time they graduate from university, but the amount of words or vocabulary they actively use is substantially lower.

To earn a good IELTS band and interact efficiently in an English-speaking community as an English learner (especially if you are preparing for IELTS), you should have an encyclopedic vocabulary of roughly 6,000 to 7,000 words.

Is Vocabulary for IELTS All About Tough Words?

No, vocabulary for IELTS is not all about tough words, neither for IELTS speaking vocabulary nor for IELTS writing vocabulary. Instead, it is about spying on how elegantly a candidate may play with those perplexing words. When you use words like 'tough' or 'complex' in your IELTS Academic or General Writing, it is pretty clear that you are trying to impress the examiner. You stutter or keep repeating the statement when chasing complex terms in the IELTS Speaking section. As a result, your fluency or accent suffers and you lose marks.

You must have a vast vocabulary for IELTS, beyond a doubt, but you must also know how to avail yourself of it systematically and intelligently. Only knowing a huge list of vocabulary words for IELTS and using them in your essay or a discussion with your examiner without thinking about their meaning will get you into trouble. Therefore, you should engage in more English conversations and thoroughly comprehend even difficult words.

Learning Vocabulary for IELTS – The What, Why, and How?

One of the issues that many candidates face when attempting the IELTS exam is their lack of vocabulary words for IELTS. The idea is to concentrate on the crucial vocabulary words for IELTS which you will most likely need for the exam. If you become a ‘word collector’, the exam will be fairly uncomplicated.

The IELTS exam is graded on a nine-band scale, with 9 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. Having a strong command of vocabulary words for IELTS and grammar can help you achieve a high band score. So, let us start with two Ws (What and Why) and one H (How).

What Vocabulary for IELTS Does a Test-taker Need to Know?

An average native English speaker is estimated to have a vocabulary of approximately 20,000 to 30,000 words. This is where things may get complicated for non-native English speakers. There are so many topics you might encounter like science, health, education, environment, space, etc. for which you must latch on to a wide pool of wordlist i.e., vocabulary for IELTS.

The academic field is an excellent place to seek vocabulary words for IELTS because here you will learn most of the words used in the E2 IELTS Writing Vocabulary part. You can also enrich your IELTS speaking vocabulary by embracing the most frequent English words. You can find over 2,000 of these words in the General Service List or the New General Service List that account for nearly 85% of most IELTS reading texts.

The remaining 15% is made up of what we will refer to as technical or topic-specific terminology. If you are reading an animal-related text, for instance, this may include words like habitat, livestock, predators, foraging, and captivity. This type of language is best learned by considerable reading on your behalf, careful moderation by your teacher, or a hybrid of both. So that covers the first W (What), let us now look at the second W (Why).

Why is Building the Vocabulary for IELTS Exam Important?

When test takers and tutors are looking for shortcuts, techniques, and hacks, they often neglect a basic premise of language assessment. The general rule is that the higher your language proficiency, the higher your IELTS score.

To know IELTS Map Vocabulary, a reader must be familiar with 95-98% of the terms in a text in order to comprehend it. For example, the majority of the reading you perform in a General English course at an intermediate level is 'graded'. In other words, it has been updated to make it easier for the learner at that level to understand. Hence, intermediate learners have no trouble understanding the text.

In the case of IELTS, the texts are usually of a C1/C2 level (i.e. advanced level). The average learner at this level should know between 8,000 and 16,000 words. Therefore, if your vocabulary for IELTS is at a B1 level or ‘graded’, you are unlikely to comprehend C1 material well enough to answer the questions. So that covers the second W (Why) and brings us to the last one H (How).

How to Learn New Vocabulary Words for IELTS?

It takes more than just downloading a word list of vocabulary for IELTS from the internet to know the exact vocabulary words for IELTS. It is great to have a list of words provided by someone else, but it would not help you much to expand your own IELTS writing vocabulary or your IELTS speaking vocabulary. What you should concentrate on, according to Paul Nation (an internationally acclaimed scholar in the field of linguistics and teaching methodology), is incidental and deliberate learning. Can you use this method to learn vocabulary for IELTS? Let us go through them one by one:

Incidental Learning

This is what happens when your attention is diverted from acquiring vocabulary words for IELTS. Maybe you are reading the newspaper, watching a movie, listening to a podcast, taking an IELTS practice test, or conversing with a friend. You come across a word you have already come across before, this is called incidental learning. The more you come across these words in varied contexts (rather than just on a word list!), the better you will grasp them.

Deliberate Learning 

The deliberate acquisition of new vocabulary is an important component of vocabulary enhancement. It happens when you are completely focused on acquiring language. You could be looking for a definition, making a translation, composing an example phrase, or practising spelling or pronunciation. In other words, when you are learning consciously and intentionally then it is called deliberate learning.

Reading and Writing Vocabulary Words for IELTS

The majority of students lose marks because they do not employ synonyms in the reading and writing sections. Here is a collection of prominent terms and their synonyms to help you improve your reading and writing vocabulary words for IELTS:

IELTS Speaking Vocabulary Words List

The IELTS speaking component assesses a candidate's ability to converse in English fluently. This, however, implies that the pupil must be able to pronounce the words accurately and without difficulty. But that is not all; students must understand their vocabulary and utilise it when and where it is needed to receive a high score. Many people wish to earn a band score of 9 in the speaking portion. Indian students, in particular, suffer in this area.

A thorough list of IELTS vocabulary words is mentioned below:

Topic-Wise Vocabulary Words for IELTS

Candidates should have a broad vocabulary for IELTS in order to accomplish a band score of seven or higher. If one is unable to use the correct language, IELTS speaking vocabulary, grammar, and accent adequately, this can become a serious flaw that can lower one's overall score.

We have compiled a list of the most recent and popular vocabulary for IELTS and its exam-related topics. For a better understanding, the vocabulary words for IELTS in the list below are organised by topic, with their meanings or applications explained next to them.

Business Environment 

The following is a list of vocabulary words for IELTS related to the business environment:

• To be self-employed: Working for oneself rather than for an employer

• To balance the books: To avoid spending a lot of money than you earn

• To do market research: To research what potential buyers would like to buy and not buy

• To drum up business: To attempt to gain customers

• To earn a living: Earning money

• To cold call: Making a sales call to someone without first getting their consent

• To draw up a business plan: To draught a business plan for a new venture

• To go bust: When a company is forced to close due to its failure

Food

For the IELTS exam topic related to food, here is the list of vocabulary words:

• Processed food: Food that has been pre-prepared and purchased for convenience

• A takeaway: A restaurant-prepared cooked dinner served at home

• A quick snack: Consuming a little amount of food in between meals

• To spoil your appetite: To consume anything that will prevent you from feeling hungry during lunchtime

• To tuck into: To eat food heartily

• A slap-up meal: A substantial meal

• To wine and dine: To delight someone by providing them with food and drink

Books, Films, and Arts

Here is a list of vocabulary words for IELTS for books, films and arts-related topics:

• Genre: A style or category of art, literature, or music

• A sea change: A significant shift in something

• Cultural heritage: A country's background and history

• Adapted from fiction: A movie based on a novel

• Strong characterisation: To know who you can rely on and trust

• Online streaming: watching something on the internet

• Rom-com movie: A funny romantic comedy

• Black humour: Funny, but also a little dark or mysterious

Advertising 

The following is a list of vocabulary for IELTS for topic related to advertising:

• Radio advertising: This strategy targets a specific audience and relies on them listening to a specific radio station

• Direct mail: Customers receive letters and advertisements straight from the company

• Internet pop-ups: They have the ability to influence a viewer and provide quick access to the goods

• Email advertising: Direct marketing to the client

• Text messages: These promotions reach a particular audience in real-time, but the text is limited to a certain number of characters

• Flyers: Face-to-face distribution of small flyers containing printed information to customers

Fashion World

The following is a collection of fashion world-related vocabulary words for IELTS:

• Fashion House: A retailer of (typically pricey) new clothing trends

• Fashion Show: An gathering where models demonstrate the latest fashion trends

• Fashion Icon: A person well-known for their fashion sense

• To go out of fashion: To no longer be fashionable

• To get dressed up: Putting on stylish clothes to visit some special destination

• Hand-me-downs: Clothes that elder brothers or sisters pass down to their younger siblings

• To have a sense of style: The ability to dress in fashionable attire

Travel and Tourism

For the IELTS exam topic related to travel and tourism, here is the list of vocabulary words for IELTS:

• Travelling light: Travelling with limited luggage

• Holiday brochures: Booklets/Pamphlets promoting vacation places

• Wildlife safari: A trip to view or hunt wild animals

• Value for money: A great return on investment

• Magnificent landscapes: Spectacular landscape

• Long-haul flights: Extended-distance flights

• Lush rainforests: Stunning equatorial forests

Phrasal Verb Vocabulary for IELTS with Examples and Meaning

A phrasal verb is made up of two or three words that belong to various grammatical categories. When they are all utilised together, it presents a new meaning, so they must be applied in accordance with the situation. Phrasal verbs are a part of the list of vocabulary for IELTS, so applicants can use them while conversing with the IELTS examiner to show that they are proficient in English and have a good grasp of IELTS speaking vocabulary.

Prior to that, an applicant must make an effort to comprehend the phrasal verb's meaning because improper usage may also lower the IELTS band score. The following table contains a list of IELTS Speaking vocabulary and their meanings along with the examples described in the respective sections for a clear understanding:

Note: This is not an extensive list of vocabulary words for IELTS. Get detailed information about how these words are spelt forth by checking out 1200 Most Commonly Repeated Spellings of Words in the IELTS Listening Test.

Common Vocabulary for IELTS With Examples and Meaning

Many test-takers find the IELTS Speaking section to be the most difficult and thus could not soak an adequate amount of IELTS Speaking vocabulary. For this, one of the reasons may be the inability to clearly pronounce complex vocabulary for IELTS, or the lack of linguistic proficiency in this section. In such cases, regular speaking practice can help. Additionally, idioms are a good way to convey our ideas in a more natural, effective, impressive and concise way.

However, using idioms without comprehending their proper meanings may result in marks being deducted. Therefore, applicants must avoid doing so if they do not have a regular habit of using idioms. It is advised that candidates only use it in tasks when they are certain of its semantics. Here is a list of a common vocabulary for IELTS (idioms) along with their meanings and examples described in the respective sections for a clear understanding:

Collocations for Vocabulary for IELTS

Collocations may be defined as the right arrangement of words in a phrase or the natural combination of words. They can be combined in the following ways:

Tips to Prepare Your Vocabulary for IELTS

Candidates should adhere to these guidelines meticulously as they prepare for vocabulary words for IELTS exam. At the end of the day, getting a decent grade is the first step toward fulfilling the dream of studying abroad.

Read, Listen, Understand and Converse in English

Read English newspapers to develop a reading habit. If you come across a new word while reading, make a note of it and look it up. To expand your vocabulary words for IELTS, search the internet for blogs, articles, texts, and so forth. This habit will ensure that you come across new phrases or vocabulary for IELTS and will also provide you with a better grasp of how the words are used.

Listen to YouTube Instead of Watching

You can use YouTube to learn how to pronounce academic words and watch English shows to learn a new lexicon. Listen to podcasts and TED talks and take notes on the words the speaker uses. This will assist you in comprehending the impact of various words and eventually improve your vocabulary for IELTS.

Progressive Practice

Progressive practice is the key to achieving a high IELTS result. If you do not have time to read and expand your vocabulary words for IELTS, you may look through several lists of essential words for the IELTS exam. Start with 10 words, then 15 the next day, and 20 the day after that. This will help you to focus on the exam-relevant words.

No Memorisation, Only Comprehension

The memorisation of words should be avoided because the meaning of words changes depending on their context. Reading comprehension requires decoding, fluency, and vocabulary abilities. Understanding the entire text depends on your ability to connect ideas within and between phrases. You can improve your reading skills by reading aloud and discussing your experiences.

Invest in a Dictionary and Make the Most of It

Do not limit your search to the definitions of a dictionary. Examine the word's pronunciation, spelling, and usage, that is how you learn vocabulary for IELTS. Scrutinise every new word you encounter and look at how its meaning varies in different contexts. If the provided phonemic characters are unclear to you, you can listen to and practise the sounds by viewing the British Council's interactive phonemic chart provided on its official website.

Keep Track of All New Words You Come Across

Keep an IELTS writing vocabulary notebook handy with you at all times. Keep reading it frequently, but immediately note down any new word you encounter so that you can go back to your mini-dictionary and learn it afterwards. Translations made only by switching between languages might occasionally be deceptive. In addition to a translation dictionary, try using an English-to-English dictionary. Why not note down new words on your phone to keep an eye on them later whenever and wherever you need them?

You do not require a large IELTS writing or speaking vocabulary of advanced, technical, or even academic terms. What you do need are the necessary words to communicate about a variety of issues in common English, as well as the skill to use them wisely and accurately. Most questions in the IELTS exam can be answered with a well-selected IELTS Writing Task 2 vocabulary of keywords and phrases.