Living abroad - interactive homework
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UNIT 1

Advantages and disadvantages essays 1: Living abroad

Spotlight 2
Verb patterns

1
Think about / Discuss these questions.

Have you or your friends/family lived overseas for a long period of time? What problems did you/they face? Have you/they adapted to the new culture? How?

2
Read the text below about culture shock and drag these headings (a-c) to the three stages (1-3).
a Trouble in paradise b The road to recovery c The honeymoon period

A CULTURE SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM

Many people would love to leave their nine-to-five jobs behind and have a life-changing adventure overseas. They imagine lying under palm trees as the sun goes down. However, life overseas is not always easy, and many are not prepared for the shock of living in an alien culture.

STAGE 1:

At first, for those who actually decide to move abroad, life is an exciting adventure. With their new-found freedom, they enjoy exploring their new surroundings, and life seems like an extended holiday. They don't mind sampling the local cuisine and discovering other aspects of the local culture. They can even afford to practise their foreign-language skills without fear of making mistakes.

STAGE 2:

In many cases, when people consider moving to another country, they often fail to realize how different life overseas will be. They experience feelings of frustration when language and cultural misunderstandings become a daily headache. In this stage, many people refuse to accept the differences of their host country and some actually choose to avoid spending time with local people in favour of mixing with others from their home country.

STAGE 3:

Gradually, over time, the visitor realizes they must accept the differences and not fight against them. This change in mentality encourages them to improve their language skills and slowly they manage to do the things we would do without thinking at home such as opening a bank account. This new-found confidence enables them to see a side of life which very few tourists are lucky enough to witness.

Culture shock is a real issue. The secret is to stop trying to change your host country; you will not succeed. If not, you risk losing your dream and having to return to the old life you wanted to leave behind.

3
Which stage are you or people you know going through at the moment?
4
Look at the text again and focus on the verbs in red. Complete this table according to the pattern that follows each verb.
would love to leave imagine lying decide to move enjoy exploring don't mind sampling afford to practise consider moving fail to realize refuse to accept choose to avoid avoid spending encourages them to improve manage to do enables them to see stop trying risk losing
verb + -ing
verb + to infinitive
verb + object + to infinitive
5
Find and correct the mistakes with verb patterns in these extracts from the text.
6
Complete these sentences with the correct verb pattern and your own ideas.

Model essay: Advantages and disadvantages

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

These days, more and more people are going to other countries for significant periods of time, either to find a job or to study. There are clearly many benefits to doing this, but people who live abroad can also face some difficulties.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living and working in a foreign country.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

7
Skim the model essay to find the main points. Copy and paste the advantages, disadvantages and examples directly from the essay.

Nowadays, taking a year out to live or study abroad is becoming increasingly popular. For many people, especially young adults, the chance to spend an extended period of time overseas is an attractive one. However, there are both pros and cons to deciding to do this. In this essay, I will discuss some of the reasons why moving abroad is so popular and some of the challenges to be overcome.

Let's begin by looking at the advantages of moving away. One of the main positives of heading overseas is that it broadens your horizons. What I mean by this is that you have the chance to meet people from different cultural backgrounds and learn to cope with foreign customs and food. This can make you more rounded as a person.

Secondly, moving abroad can lead to a better quality of life. Take British people for example. Thousands of people from the UK move to Spain and Australia every year. These countries have warmer climates and encourage a better work-life balance. In addition, by living overseas, you can gain qualifications and language skills, which may improve promotion prospects on your return.

Turning to the other side of the argument, culture shock is a major problem. Many people who take a year out find it hard to cope with the language barrier, the food and general cultural differences. This often leads to homesickness and in some cases a sense of isolation.

Another issue is that it can be difficult to start a new life from scratch. In other words, when you move abroad, you have to make new friends and find your place in the community. This process takes time and can be especially challenging if there is also a language barrier to deal with.

All things considered, starting life in a foreign country is never easy. You need to weigh up the pros of the better lifestyle, weather and so on, and the cons of culture shock and language barrier. Personally, I believe the benefits in terms of personal growth eventually outweigh any negatives.

Advantages: copy from the essayExamples / explanation: copy from the essay
Disadvantages: copy from the essayExamples / explanation: copy from the essay

Model essay length in the book: 344 words.

Structure and linking
Organizing your essay

It is important to organize your essay and introduce ideas to the reader as clearly as possible. The structure of what you write and the language you use to package your ideas must be good.
1
Label the essay on page 12 with these notes relating to the structure.
conclusion introduction main body (disadvantages) main body (advantages) the writer's opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraphs 2-3
Paragraphs 4-5
Paragraph 6
Final sentence of paragraph 6
2
What is the writer's opinion about moving abroad? Do you agree?
3
These chunks are used in the essay to organize ideas and help the reader to follow them. Find and correct the mistake in each one.
4
Number the chunks in Exercise 3 in the order they appear in the essay. Which part of the essay did you find them in? How does each one help the reader?
chunkorderpart of essayHow it helps the reader
a Turning to the other side of the argument
b Nowadays
c Another issue is that
d All things considered
e Secondly
f Let's begin by looking at
5
Match each of these chunks to one in Exercise 3 with a similar meaning.
b Nowadays c Another issue is that d All things considered e Secondly f Let's begin by looking at a Turning to the other side of the argument
1 I will start by looking at ...
2 These days, ...
3 On the other hand, ...
4 Another problem is that ...
5 In addition, ...
6 Having looked at both sides, ...

Writing introductions

It is very important to make a good start to your essay. Writing a clear introduction gives you confidence in the exam and helps to make a good impression on the examiner. Many IELTS candidates panic because they do not know how to begin their essay. In this section, there is a formula which you can follow to help you respond to any advantages and disadvantages essay question quickly and clearly.
1
Look again at the introduction to the essay from this unit. Match each sentence to the correct step from the formula (a-d).
a Add an extra sentence to support the first. b Focus on the question in your own words. c Tell the reader your plan. d Write a general sentence about the topic.
1 Nowadays, taking a year out to live or study abroad is becoming increasingly popular.
2 For many people, especially young adults, the chance to spend an extended period of time overseas is an attractive one.
3 However, there are both pros and cons to deciding to do this.
4 In this essay, I will discuss some of the reasons why moving abroad is so popular and some of the challenges to be overcome.
2
Now read this question and a model introduction to it. The four steps in the introduction are in the wrong order. Rewrite it correctly.
These days, people work in more than one job, and often change career several times during their life. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
  1. In this essay, I will look at both sides and try to draw some conclusions.
  2. Many people have at least one change of career at some point in their lives.
  3. Nowadays, it is becoming increasingly common for people to have more than one job or change careers.
  4. What are the benefits of this situation, and what are the drawbacks?
3
Write four-sentence introductions for these exam questions.
1 What are the pros and cons for children of watching television?
Useful modern topic vocabulary: streaming services, educational videos, documentaries, passive screen time, age-appropriate content, advertising, sleep, attention, parental controls.
2 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using CCTV cameras to fight crime?
Useful modern topic vocabulary: public safety, deterrence, evidence, smart cameras, privacy, data protection, facial-recognition concerns, storage of video data.

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