Globalisation & Consumerism
Lesson 10.3 practises listening to a multi-accent lecture on globalisation, and describes multiple charts together in Academic Task 1.
- Follow a lecture with switching speakers / accents
- Compare two data sources in one report
- Use comparison and grouping language accurately
Listening practice · Globalisation (warm-up questions)
- The first speaker argues that globalisation has primarily helped _______ economies.
- The second speaker disagrees, pointing to _______ as evidence of harm.
- Both speakers agree that _______ is the biggest unresolved issue.
The full recording with a play button is in the Listening Skills section further down this lesson.
Listening · Multi-speaker lectures
Listening Skills — Lecture: Globalisation and Consumer Culture
This is a full lecture, similar to Section 4 of the Listening test. You will hear only one speaker, so focus on following the structure of ideas rather than a dialogue.
- Read all six statements before listening and underline the key words.
- Listen for the overall structure: introduction, causes, effects, and a concluding point.
- Watch for statements that reverse or qualify what the lecturer says.
- Remember a statement is Not Given if the lecture does not address it at all.
Listen first — the transcript stays hidden so this works like the real exam.
Listening audio
Tap play to generate and listen.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the lecture? Write TRUE, FALSE or NOT GIVEN.
- Trade liberalisation has cut tariffs in developing economies by more than half on average.
- Container shipping costs have fallen since 1980.
- Robert Cheng argues that globalisation has produced complete cultural uniformity worldwide.
- The lecturer states that digital communication is the most important of the three drivers.
- The average product travels more than ten thousand kilometres before reaching the consumer.
- Cheng carried out his research only in Auckland.
Answer key
Writing · Academic Task 1 — Two charts together
Pathway focus · Cross-chart linking
Band 7 candidates DON'T describe charts one after the other in isolation — they link them. 'Interestingly, the same time period saw … in the second chart.'
Exam Strategy
- Exam Tip
Two charts = ONE report. Never treat them like two separate reports.
Independent Practice
Find any two charts on the same topic in a news article. Write a 170-word linked report in 20 minutes.
Key Takeaways
- Track WHO said WHAT in multi-voice listening.
- Link charts — don't just stack them.
- Band 7 upgrades — vocabularyTurn safe Band 6 wording into precise Band 7 wording.
- Sentence & summary completionWord-limit discipline: NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.
- Trend language workoutDescribe movement precisely — verbs, adverbs and noun phrases.
Optional — this doesn't affect your lesson or course progress.