Language and communication vocabulary: the words that lift a frequent topic.
Language, learning and language loss run through Task 2 and Part 3, from a global lingua franca to endangered languages. The ideas are familiar; the marks are in precise, topic-specific language. Swap the everyday word for the right collocation and the same point reads a band higher.
Why this matters. Lexical Resource is a quarter of your mark, and on a familiar topic the examiner has read the plain version a thousand times. The lift is not rarer words; it is accurate collocation used naturally. A common phrase used correctly beats a showy word used wrongly, every time.
Four clusters that cover most Language questions.
You do not need a glossary. You need a handful of accurate collocations in each of these areas, ready to deploy.
Language & identity
a mother tongue · a native speaker · linguistic diversity · language and identity
Language as who we are, the base lexis.
A mother tongue is tied to cultural identity.
Learning languages
acquire a language · fluency · bilingual · a lingua franca
How languages are learnt and used, a common line.
English serves as a global lingua franca.
Language change & loss
endangered languages · language death · preserve a language · dominant languages
How languages fade, where Task 2 lands.
Many endangered languages have few speakers left.
Communication
effective communication · non-verbal communication · digital communication · miscommunication
How we get meaning across, where Part 3 reaches.
Body language is part of non-verbal communication.
Name the linguistic term
The weak answer says “some languages are dying”. The lift is precise: endangered languages, language death, a lingua franca, linguistic diversity. One accurate term signals control.
The same point, from Band 6 to Band 8.
At Band 5
Language is discussed with very general words (languages, speak, learn, lost), with vague verbs (languages die). Precise terms (endangered, fluency) are missing.
At Band 6
“When young people stop speaking a language, it can disappear, so we should try to keep these languages alive.” The idea is fine, but general.
At Band 7
“As dominant languages spread, many endangered languages face language death within a generation.” Topic collocations (dominant languages, endangered languages, language death) carry real information.
At Band 8+
“While a shared lingua franca eases global communication, it can accelerate the decline of smaller languages and the linguistic diversity they represent.” Precise lexis, abstraction, and a controlled complex sentence.
The upgrade most worth making.
Each swap takes a vague, everyday phrase and replaces it with the collocation an examiner expects on this topic. Use them where they fit naturally, not all at once.
| Instead of… | Use… | For example |
|---|---|---|
| first language | mother tongue / native language | Her mother tongue is Welsh. |
| speaks it from birth | a native speaker | The course is taught by native speakers. |
| languages dying out | endangered languages | Endangered languages need urgent recording. |
| a language dying | language death | Language death erases cultural knowledge. |
| a common shared language | a lingua franca | English is the lingua franca of science. |
| speaking two languages | bilingual | Bilingual children switch between languages. |
| learning a language | acquire a language | Children acquire language rapidly. |
| keeping a language alive | preserve a language | Communities work to preserve their language. |
Two cautions. Distinguish a language from a dialect, and acquire (natural) from learn (studied). Keep it impersonal in Task 2. For the general method, see vocabulary & cohesion →
Say it another way.
The Lexical Resource descriptors reward paraphrase, and an answer that echoes the question’s own words proves nothing about your range. Each row takes a phrase the question will hand you and shows the version worth writing instead.
| The question says… | You can write… | For example |
|---|---|---|
| your first language | your mother tongue / native language | Children reason best in their mother tongue for years after starting school in another. |
| languages that are disappearing | endangered languages / language death | Endangered languages die quietly, one last speaker at a time. |
| English as the world language | English as a lingua franca | English serves as a lingua franca in rooms where no one speaks it natively. |
| learn a language | acquire a language | Children acquire a language effortlessly that adults must study for years. |
| speaking two languages | being bilingual | Being bilingual delays cognitive decline and doubles your library. |
One caution. Paraphrase the idea once, early, and then move on. Recycling every synonym you know reads as display, not control, and control is what the band descriptors actually reward.
Twenty to drill.
Choose the more precise, topic-appropriate option for each gap. Press Check answers for your score and the reason behind each one. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Ten to produce.
Recognising the right word above is the easy half. Now type the word each sentence needs. The first letter is given, and every answer appears somewhere on this page. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Then use it where it counts. Now take it into the exam. Any topic on this page can surface in Part 3 or as an essay in the question bank, and the word upgrader will ladder the plain words you still fall back on.
You can collect topic words. Using the right one, accurately, under timed pressure is the work.
Memorised “big” words used wrongly cost marks; precise collocations used naturally earn them, and the difference is hard to judge in your own writing.
In a lesson I mark your topic vocabulary the way an examiner does, where a collocation is exactly right, where it is forced, and where a plain word would have been stronger. Lessons are £20 for fifty minutes, one to one, in proper British English; the first lesson doubles as a full assessment. This page is drawn from the vocabulary work in The Proper English Grammar Guide to IELTS Speaking.
The book of the method
The Proper English Grammar Guide to IELTS Speaking
The method this site drills for free, written down properly: five response frameworks, thirteen grammatical structures taken to automation, vocabulary by band, pronunciation with audio demonstrations one scan away, and first-language guidance for eight language families. 614 pages, built from more than two thousand documented one-to-one lessons. Most guides teach every candidate the same English; this one starts from what your first language makes you do.
Paperback on Amazon →Kindle edition →The free 79-page companion →