Cambridge IELTS 9 Academic Writing Test 1

The two maps illustrate an island before and after the development of tourist facilities.

In the initial state, the island is largely undeveloped, featuring a natural landscape with some trees, a beach on the western side, and no significant infrastructure.

Post-development, the island undergoes substantial changes, becoming a tourist destination with various amenities. The central part of the island now hosts several accommodations arranged in a circular pattern around a newly established reception area. A restaurant is constructed to the north of the reception. Footpaths link the reception with the accommodations and the restaurant, while vehicle tracks connect the reception to a newly built pier on the southern coast.

Additional accommodations are added near the pier, and two sailboats are docked beside it. The beach area is designated for swimming. Despite these developments, the island retains some of its natural greenery, particularly towards the eastern end.

Overall, the transformation enhances the island’s infrastructure significantly, making it suitable for tourists while maintaining parts of its natural environment.

Traditionally, children have begun studying foreign languages at secondary school, but introducing them earlier is recommended by some educationalists. This policy has been adopted by some educational authorities or individual schools, with both positive and negative outcomes.

The obvious argument in its favour is that young children pick up languages much more easily than teenagers. Their brains are still programmed to acquire their mother tongue, which facilitates learning another language, and unlike adolescents, they are not inhibited by self-consciousness.

The greater flexibility of the primary timetable allows for more frequent, shorter sessions and for a play-centred approach, thus maintaining learners’ enthusiasm and progress. Their command of the language in later life will benefit from this early exposure, while learning other languages subsequently will be easier for them. They may also gain a better understanding of other cultures.

There are, however, some disadvantages. Primary school teachers are generalists, and may not have the necessary language skills themselves. If specialists have to be brought in to deliver these sessions, the flexibility referred to above is diminished. If primary language teaching is not standardised, secondary schools could be faced with a great variety of levels in different languages within their intake, resulting in a classroom experience which undoes the earlier gains. There is no advantage if enthusiastic primary pupils become demotivated as soon as they change schools. However, these issues can be addressed strategically within the policy adopted.

Anything which encourages language learning benefits society culturally and economically, and early exposure to language learning contributes to this. Young children’s innate abilities should be harnessed to make these benefits more achievable.