Predicting 1 Look at the photos and answer questions ad. Lear to notice patterns in the reading passages In|ELTS. Notice their features such as problem and solution, cause and, ctfect, general and specific. within passages. Also take Note ofthe features and the organization of whole passages. This will help you to predict the order of headings, making it easier for you to navigate reading passages. You will be faster at answering the questions. a How are the learning environments different in each picture? What other patterns of learning can you think of? Which of these ways of learning do you prefer? Why? Which pattern of learning has been most frequent in your education? Is the way people learn in the modern world changing? How? How do you think education will be different in the future? Give examples. oan 2 Read headings i-iv, taken from a Matching headings task, and answer questions a-d about the words in italic. i. Types of jobs where literacy needed Hi Prediction about developments iit The reasons behind illiteracy iv literacy ~a problem facing many advanced economies a Which word relates to a general issue? b Which word relates to causes? ¢ Which word relates to a future situation? d_ Which words relate to categorizing information? 3 Read this explanation from a student predicting the order of the headings. Decide the correct sequence for i~iv in exercise 2. you are writing about iliteracy in advanced economies, itis logical to state the {general issue or problem first. Then, you say where it is found. After that, you can talk about the causes, and then what is going to happen next.4, Read headings i-iv taken from a Matching headings task and answer questions a-d. a b © a iA problem faced by education systems in advanced nations 11 The importance of the state in providing education {ii The influence of private enterprise iv The impact of recent change Which heading relates to an effect or consequence? Which headings relate to causes? Which heading contains an indefinite article? Why? What does the heading containing an indefinite article relate to? ‘5 Based on the headings in exercise 4, which of these descriptions best fits the likely pattern of the article? b ‘The writer begins by stating the effects of a problem. Then the writer gives a description of the problem. Finally, the writer details its causes. ‘The writer begins by stating the problem. Then the writer gives details of the factors which contribute to this problem. Finally, the writer describes the consequences. 6 Find an example of a text which contains a problem and solution(s). Use the Internet or look in magazines or books. 7 Make a list of the benefits of prediction and add to the list as you prepare for the IELTS exam. Answering Yes/No/Not Given statements (writer's claims) ‘1 Statements 1-7 below are taken from a Yes/No/Not Given task. Read the statements, and then answer questions a-d. ance 1 Some journalists take the view that more British schoolchildren ‘should study languages 2 The number of English speakers worldwide makes it unnecessary for British tourists to learn languages. 3 Only British teenagers find languages boring. 4 British teenagers’ reluctance to learn languages is linked to the availability of films and music in English. 5 Inthe past, studying French made it easier for British people to learn further languages. 6 The lack of linguistic skills within British companies has resulted in business being lost. 7 American businesspeople are less interested in learning languages than British businesspeople. Which statements contain a comparison? Which contain a cause and effect? Which contain words with negative connotations? Underline them. Using the title of the passage in exercise 2 on page 32 and the information from your answers to questions a~c above, can you predict which statements are True/False/Not Given? Make a note of your predictions. Education Technique Koop a checklist of text features, especialy those that ft together: problem and solution, cause and effect, classiftcation, ‘examples, expanation, description, process. Skim your checklist befor you look at reading passages as you prepare for the exam Technique Yes/No/Not Gen questions are imiar to TrueFalse/Not Given, but they ere used in passages where the water's presenting a claim or opinion, Collect a list of different examples of statements that retate to claims, This wll hop you to see the type of language that is used.Unit 4 10 25 30 2. For each of the statements 1-7 in exercise 1, decide if they agree with the writer's claims (Yes) or contradict (No) the writer's claims in the following reading passage. Write ‘Not Given’ if itis impossible to say what the writer thinks about this. An answer to the belief that British people cannot learn languages A Every so often, the educational supplements of our broadsheets devote an entire issue to the danger the British face of falling behind in Europe because so few of our schoolkids speak foreign languages. Most recently, the ‘German ambassador lambasted us for only ever speaking English, a rebuke echoed by his French and Spanish counterparts. B The truth is that foreign languages are phenomenally unpopular in secondary schools. Poor teaching and the late introduction of the subject are often cited as the main reasons youngsters are so Toath to study them. Another factor for our notorious laziness vis-i-vis other tongues hhas to be that we are brought up to believe that the whole world speaks English, so why bother? Why indeed? Struggling to communicate in another language is, forall but the committed and enthusiastic linguist, a frustrating experience, whieh, if not necessary, is best avoided. And yes, when millions of Brits take their annual holidays abroad, local tourism, travel, catering and retail staff are all trained in at least radimentary English. So, again, there is litle motivation to lear more than a couple of words. All this i true, and yet illuminates only part ofthe picture, British teenagers are generally bored by French or German verbs, but the underlying reasons are more complex than a vague assumption that they only need to speak English because everyone else does. Their leisure activities revolve around pop music, sport, computers, television and films. These things are already in English; translations and subtitles are the exception. Furthermore, the most powerful country in the world happens to speak our language, and We absorb its cultural exports easily and readily. So, for us, language is not a major issue. € Of course, should the world situation change, and the United States become a Hispanic country, as some boffins have predicted, the British would see the benefit of learning Spanish and do so. Not so long ‘ago, knowledge of French was more widespread here, and eagerly acquired, when that language was of paramount international importance. D The belief that we will lag behind our European business partners also needs to be dissected. The canard hhere is that we lose out because our businessmen and women can’t keep up with the local lingo. But surely, it is competitiveness and the attraction of lucrative offers that count. AfRer all, American executives don’t wring their hands at their lack of linguistic skills, 3 Check if any of your predictions in exercise 1d were correct.Matching headings (1) ‘1. Decide which three nouns are the odd ones out in the list below and explain why. Education doctor etc = impact = lable = probe « consequence = bone = souon = predcion | ia sijecraer = explo = cosrpten ftom ees = exxeent 2 Match the general nouns I—4 with sections A-D in the reading passage opposite. 1 3 Complete the headings in exercise 2 above by choosing an appropriate ending from a-f below. b ‘The belief 2 Theconsequence 8 Reasons 4 Acriticism 4 Sentences af give techniques for doing Matching headings tasks. These were listed by a student revising for the IELTS reading. Which do you think is the most important? Why? that business lost due to lack of Linguistic ability disproved ‘a. Skim the headings for a summary of the passage. ‘why young British people learn b Scan the text using the general nouns like effects, languages problem, etc and also synonyms of these nouns. ‘why young people dortt learn ¢ Scan for words in the heading which help locate the languages information. ‘of English not being a major Predict the likely position in the passage for some of language the paragraph headings. why foreign language learning, e Read and match each paragraph in turn, thinking of disliked the writer's overall purpose. of British attitudes to learning f Check that the sequence of paragraphs makes sense. languages 5 A student skimmed three paragraphs 1-3, paying attention only to the words which give meaning. Quickly skim the words he looked at below, and decide which title, a or b, is better in each case. Formal education — academic or vocational - obviously of value - however ‘education outside formal school ~ greater impact on individual - main criticism of schools/aniversities: don’t prepare students for work — many people successful without formal education — informal education influences countless businessmen/women Einstein, left school when. sixteen — other self-taught people - formal education considered as stifling entrepreneurs — not providing skills in all fields — no problem going straight into work even after basic education — learn on the job. ‘a The importance of academic education b_ The impact of education outside formal settings ‘Education — different forms — formal from primary to university ~ vocational - students learn work-related skills, e.g. construction/ engineering/catering or apprentices - trainees learn while working ~ ‘eg, with experienced plumbers, etc. - in UK/many other countries latter generally considered inferior — but now apprenticeships important — lack of skilled workers in construction driving up demand. a Different types of education 'b A skills-based approach to education Education radically different in future: autonomy of the learner will be central - teachers disappear — replaced by robots/machines ~ transmit knowledge and skills directly to the brain - languages/musical instruments — data transmission via satellite to human brain. a Future developments in education b Learning languages in the future Technique ‘Notice that by looking ata few wordsit s possible io saoct ‘heading forthe Paragraph. The ‘skimmed words help to give the theme ang st ofthe paragraph. “The other words you Use for close, caret roacing, Look agen at page 14 in Unit2Unit 4 Hi Improve your IELTS word skills 1 Make the following adjectives negative by adding the prefixes un-, in-, dis., im-, a ib, ira. Technique ‘Academic texts may ‘ambitious = conscious = accurate = lterste = mortal » replaceable = relevant Use @ number of words similar m satisfied # symmetrical = political ‘that you have not seen before. Ifthe word 2 Complete the following sentences using the negative form of one of the eo eaper ee ‘can often work out the Pepsin: meaning. for example: {an unimportant (= not a Coralreefsare____. Once they are destroyed, they are gone te MGE8z Unborn (= not yet born) b Ifthe patient remains __, he should be put in the recovery otzens. position. © Some students do not see the point of studying history as they find it tothe modern world. 4. The two students’ background was not___as they both came from working-class families. e Unfortunately, the data was wrongly analysed and some of the figures were f Although doctors and nurses generally prefer tobe _____, all of themare united against the government in this matter. g Noform of life on this planet canbe ___ since our Sun's lifespan will end in a few billion years. 1h Low status jobs tend to attract__ workers, which makes it difficult to raise the skills level among the staff. i The regularity of the layout of the 16 century garden was replaced by more tia 3. Use your knowledge of prefixes to work out the meanings of the words in italies in sentences a-k.Reading Passage 4 1 You should spend 20 minutes on questions 1-13 which ae based on Reading Passage 4 Questions 1-7 The reading passage has nine paragraphs, A~I. Choose the best headings for paragraphs B-H from the list of headings below. List of headings i ii ili iv v Ene re ‘The effect of emphasis on short-term educational goals ‘The limited effects of music ‘The future of music Benefits for health ‘The effects of early.exposure to music ‘The skills involved in musical activity A playwright’s perception of music Early exposure to music in the USA Music without instruments ‘The ‘Mozart effect’ Order or chaos ‘The creation of The Voices Foundation A method for training singers ‘The use of music in Shakespeare's plays Example Paragraph Axi 1 2 3 4 5 6 a a Paragraph B Paragraph C Paragraph D Paragraph E Paragraph F Paragraph G Paragraph H nimple Paragraph Vit Education Technique 1 Skim the headings to form a general idea ot the topic. Note repeated words. 2 Skim the reading passage and the other quostions. ‘Why is there no heading for the reading passage? 3 Identity and uncerine ‘the general nouns in the headings. Look for connections and logcal orderings between the nouns. 4 ead any examples given and make sure you do ‘not cross them out. Make a note that they are akeady used. ‘4 Mako predictions about which paragraph each heading relates to. 5 Skim the paragraohs to ‘check your predictions ‘and complete the matching exercise. 6 Check your answers by reacing your headings in orcer. Technique Alvrays read examples ‘and skim the relevant paragraphs for the ‘examples. They hep you withthe organization of the reading passage.Unit 4 10 15 35 4 A. Even the Grocks coulda’t agree about it. Was music a source of order and proportion in society, regulating its innate chaos in ways similar to the disciplines of ‘geometry and architecture? Or did its ability to express passionate emotions beyond the reach of words create the potential for disorder and anarchy? Compare the behaviour of an audience listening to classical string ‘quarters with headbangers at rave, andthe age- ld confit between Apolo and Dionysus is made ‘manifest all ver again in our own time, B. Shakespeare, though, came clean. For him, ‘the man ho hath no music in himself, Nor is not mov" ‘with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, sratagems and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night ..” Throughout his plays, Shakespeare pereeives music as healing foree, an art whose practice makes man whole. C Yet, despite the growth ofthe science of music therapy within the lst wo centuries, and despite the huge weight of books published on the miraculous "Mozart ete’, ou schools and colleges have fallen strangely silent. The so-called “Mozart effect presets aneedotal and statistical evidence for advances in both socal and academic sil in those children exposed inher formative years othe music of Mozant. But, in an age obsessed by pragmatism and by shor-term ‘vocational learning. music hasbeen marginalized in both primary and secondary education. Compared with the holy trinity of reading, writing and arithmetic, music is regarded as an unimportant pastime. As a resul chien are leaving school not ‘only totally ignorant of their own musical heritage, but lacking in soca, physical and mental skills which ‘musical performance can uniquely promote. D Playing an instrument requires a degree of concentration and coordination which brings into play @ plethora of mental and physical skills ‘hich are being eroded in our push-button world, Socialization and teamwork are also involved. ‘Schools with wind bands, string ensembles, jazz ‘groups and orchestras are right up thereat the top of the league tables. In excelling in musical activity, the students" performance in many other fields of learning is refocused and radically improved. E There are medical aspects too. Long before British primary schools discovered the recorder ~ that ‘most basic ofall modem woodwind instruments ~ Australian Aborigines had developed the didgeridoo. Like the clarinet and the fut, this haunting and ‘beautiful instrument helped to overcome both upper and lower respiratory tract problems and encouraged better sleep. In playing a wind instrument, abdominal ‘muscles are used to support the breathing system. ‘And these are the very muscles which come into play ‘when an asthmatic is experiencing an attack. ‘But what of those individuals and schools which simply cannot afford a musical instrument? What of those institutions where not a single member of sti can read music? This is where the human being’s ‘most primitive form of music-making comes into its vn, Singing is free. Everyone possesses a voice. ‘And, with it, the body expresses itself in the most fundamental and organic way. ‘The Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly knew this, and developed his own system of training ear and voice within a simple yet comprehensive system of body language. Today, an organization called The Voices Foundation adapts and applies Kodaly's ‘methods, aiming to give children back their singing voices, and to make our schools rng with music- ‘making once again. Their advisors and teachers have already achieved extraordinary turn-around effects the length and breadth of Britain and in schools inthe troubled areas of South Africa, Important work is curently being done in Finland, Israel and the United States on pre-school, even pre- birth, musical education. Music in the womb is very ‘much par of the life ofthe unborn future citizens of Finland, And one has onl to look atthe educational standards, health records and professional musical ‘activity inthis small nation to see what dividends music in education pays from the earliest days of human lite. “Mozart has boon celebrated in his anniversary years of 1991 and again in 2006. By the time of the next Mozart-Year, shall we have allowed music to conjure a better society for us all? Or, relegated tothe ranks of mere entertainment, will music be eroded ofits unique power to heal and to make whole? Technique ake notes abou tot fatuosin the margins of reacng passages os you prepare forthe IELTS. For example, cm to erty tre to fe tent features such as examples, eects, esuts, methods, hue developments, etn ene, you wil notce these automaticaly In the exam teal, you may not have me todo this 55 10 18 05Education Questions 8-10 Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the i] reading passage? fa Write YES if the statement agrees with the writer's claims No Uf the statement contradicts the writer's aims ico daband NOT GIVEN if itis impossible to say what the writer eae plato at help you to focus on the meaning ofthe claims, Sates not just words that help 8 Ii speare’s , music is Seen in a positive light. ean ahas 9 Schools lack the funds to buy luxury items like musical instruments. 10 onpy/sight. Each of these words qualifies the 10 Musical activity can only lead to a slight improvement in children's statement in some way. social, physical and mental skills. ‘To see how important these words ae, tum the statements into questions, Those words carry tho Questions 11-13 ile Choose the correct letter, A, B, © or D. u 12 13 According to the writer, studying music A may not help all students to improve in other areas of their studies. B_ means that students spend less time on reading, writing and arithmetic. C_ helps students to improve enormously in other areas of their studies, D_ means that students will excel as professional musicians. ‘The didgeridoo is an instrument that ‘A. has a negative effect on those suffering with breathing problems, benefits those suffering with breathing problems, tends to send those who listen to it to sleep. vow sounds sad to most people. Which of the following is the most suitable heading for Reading Passage 4? ‘The growth of music in the school curriculum Music throughout the ages Music for everyone vauPr ‘The beneficial effects of a musical education Answer these questions. noose Which type of music do you prefer? Do you play an instrument? Which/Why? Do you like classical music? Why/Why not? Is it important to listen to different types of music? Do you think young people listen to music rather than play an instrument nowadays? Why/Why not?