IELTS & TOEFL Academic Vocabulary - Nouns (AWL)

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on IELTS and TOEFL

academic vocabulary, with a focus on nouns. So, today, we will look at 10 academic nouns

that you may see or hear on the IELTS or TOEFL tests, and this could be either in the reading,

writing, listening, or speaking sections.

Now, today, you may see some words that you are familiar with, and you may see some words

that are totally new to you. If you're familiar with the words, that's excellent - but don't

get overconfident because the purpose of today is not only to learn new words, but to look

at words that you may be familiar with, but perhaps, you know, you're not sure how to

use it appropriately in a sentence, and more specifically, in an academic sentence. And

when you're done here today with this video, don't forget to check out a more extensive

list of academic vocabulary on the www.engvid.com resources page.

Okay, so let's begin. First word that we're going to look at today is: "aspect". Now,

an "aspect" is a part or element of something. So, for example, the sentence we have on the

board is: "Vocabulary is just one aspect of language." So vocabulary is just one part

of language.

Second, we have the word: "component". And, if you notice, it has the exact same definition

of "aspect", so it's a part or element of something as well. And the sentence we have

here is: "A laptop has many complex components."

Now, you might be asking yourself: "Well, are these words exactly the same?" And the

answer to that is: not really. They are the same, in that you can talk about abstract

aspect and abstract components to things, but when it comes to physical things, you're

more likely to use the word "component". So, for example: here I'm talking about the components

of a laptop, so I'm talking about the board inside, and the RAM, and the memory, and everything

like that; so I'm talking about the physical parts of the laptop. Again, you can use both

of them to talk about the abstract parts or elements of something, but if you're referring

to the physical part of something, I would stick with "component".

All right, the next word we have is: "consequence". I'm sure many of you are familiar with this

word. It's a result or effect of something. So, for example, the sentence we have here

is: "Obesity is a consequence of overeating." And, again, "overeating" just means eating

too much and "obesity" is the physical problem of being overweight to the point where it's

not good for your health. So, one thing about this word, if you are going to use a preposition

after it... The most common preposition we use with "consequence" is: "of". So we say:

"This is a consequence of this.", "That is a consequence of this." Okay?

The next word we have is: "disposal". The meaning I give for this is: the act of arranging

or distributing. So think of "disposal" as the distribution of something and the arrangement

of it. So, for example, in the army: "The general is responsible for the disposal of

troops." Now, when I say "troops", I mean soldiers, people who are in the army, for

arranging them and where they're going to go.

And finally, we have the word: "function" which is the working purpose of something.

So: "Today's phones have numerous helpful functions." And again, "function" is another

word, another noun where if you want to use a preposition after it, use the preposition:

"of". So: "What is the function of a cellphone or the function of a camera?" Etcetera, etcetera.

Okay, guys, let's look at five more words.

Okay, so the next word is: "indication". So, "indication" means a sign or a token of something.

So if we look at the sentence: "The melting of ice caps" - of polar ice caps - "is an

indication of global warming." So, if you're making an argument about science, for example,

in one of your papers, this might be a sentence that you would write. So, "an indication of".

Again, you're using the preposition "of" after: "indication". Okay?

The next word is very common - I'm sure you're familiar with it - and that word is: "option".

So again, an "option" is basically a choice, and usually it's a choice of one of several

possibilities. Right? So: "This is one of several options." One of several choices.

The next word is: "role". So a person's "role" is their position or their customary function

of something. So: "The role of government is to protect its citizens." When I mean "the

role of government", I'm talking about the customary function; the usual way the government

is supposed to work is to protect its citizens. Okay?

The next word is: "trend". So, a "trend" is a style that is currently popular. It can

also be like the general direction that something is... Something is heading where. "Somewhere

is heading where", that doesn't make any sense - sorry, guys. Basically, the general direction

something is heading. Okay, the sentence is: "A recent trend in marketing is to use social

media." So something that is currently popular, for example. In this sentence, something that

is currently popular in marketing, in advertising is the use of social media; to use social

media.

And finally, we have the word: "substitute". And a "substitute" is a replacement for somebody

or something. Often times, this replacement is temporary, so a substitute teacher, for

example. The sentence we have is: "There is no substitute for hard work." There is no

substitute for studying a lot; there's no replacement for it. It's a very common phrase

that we have in English, so feel free to use it.

Okay, guys, those are 10 words, 10 academic nouns that can help you and will help you

on your IELTS or TOEFL tests. So, if you want to test your understanding of all of the material

we have covered today, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com. And don't forget to

check out the more extensive list of academic vocabulary in our resources section. That's

it for me today. Take care, guys, and I'll talk to you soon.