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Globalisation Vocabulary

International trade, cultural exchange, migration, and global interdependence — a top IELTS Writing Task 2 theme.

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15 words·Band 5: 3Band 6: 4Band 7: 5Band 8: 3

migration

nounBand 5
writingspeakingreading

The movement of people from one place to another, typically to live or work

“Mass migration from rural to urban areas is a defining trend of the 21st century.”
labour migrationmass migrationmigration patternseconomic migration

free trade

noun phraseBand 5
writingreading

A policy in which a government does not restrict imports or exports

“Free trade agreements have lowered consumer prices but also contributed to job losses in manufacturing.”
free trade agreementpromote free tradefree trade zonebarriers to free trade

cultural exchange

noun phraseBand 5
writingspeaking

The sharing of ideas, values, traditions, and practices between different cultures

“International tourism facilitates cultural exchange and promotes mutual understanding.”
promote cultural exchangecultural exchange programmebenefits of cultural exchange

multinational corporation

noun phraseBand 6
writingreading

A company that operates in multiple countries, with its headquarters in one home country

“Multinational corporations often relocate production to countries with lower labour costs.”
large multinational corporationregulation of multinational corporationsmultinational corporation profits

brain drain

noun phraseBand 6
writingreading

The emigration of highly educated or skilled workers from one country to another

“Brain drain from developing nations to wealthier ones widens the global development gap.”
tackle brain drainreverse brain drainbrain drain problembrain drain effects

interdependence

nounBand 6
writingreading

A mutual reliance between countries, economies, or people

“Global supply chains illustrate the deep economic interdependence between nations.”
economic interdependenceglobal interdependencemutual interdependencegrowing interdependence

cultural homogenisation

noun phraseBand 6
writingreading

The process by which cultures become increasingly similar to one another, often as a result of globalisation

“The global spread of American fast food chains is cited as evidence of cultural homogenisation.”
cultural homogenisation through globalisationresist cultural homogenisationeffects of cultural homogenisation

supply chain

noun phraseBand 7
writingreading

The network of organisations, people, and activities involved in producing and delivering a product to consumers

“The pandemic exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains to sudden disruption.”
global supply chaindisrupt the supply chainsupply chain managementsupply chain resilience

diaspora

nounBand 7
writingreading

A population dispersed from its original homeland to other parts of the world

“The Indian diaspora maintains strong cultural and economic ties with the subcontinent.”
large diasporadiaspora communityIndian diasporadiaspora remittances

outsourcing

nounBand 7
writingreading

The practice of having work done by an external company, often in a different country, to reduce costs

“Outsourcing manufacturing to lower-wage countries has been controversial in many developed economies.”
outsourcing of jobsoffshore outsourcingoutsourcing decisionimpact of outsourcing

economic migrant

noun phraseBand 7
writingreading

A person who moves to another country primarily to improve their economic situation, rather than fleeing persecution

“The distinction between economic migrants and refugees is legally significant but often blurred in practice.”
influx of economic migrantseconomic migrant statuseconomic migrants and refugees

remittances

nounBand 7
writingreading

Money sent by migrants to family members in their home countries

“Remittances from overseas workers constitute a significant portion of GDP in several developing countries.”
worker remittancessend remittancesremittances from abroadremittances to developing countries

cosmopolitanism

nounBand 8
writingreading

The idea that all human beings belong to a single global community, transcending national or cultural boundaries

“Cosmopolitanism challenges the primacy of national identity in an era of mass migration.”
cosmopolitan valuesliberal cosmopolitanismcritique of cosmopolitanism

race to the bottom

noun phraseBand 8
writingreading

A competitive dynamic in which countries lower regulatory or labour standards to attract investment

“Without international coordination, globalisation can trigger a race to the bottom in environmental standards.”
race to the bottom in wagesprevent a race to the bottomrace to the bottom dynamic

transnational governance

noun phraseBand 8
writingreading

Systems of rules and institutions that operate across national borders to manage global issues

“Climate change and pandemic preparedness require stronger transnational governance mechanisms.”
strengthen transnational governancetransnational governance bodyneed for transnational governance

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