IELTS Speaking Test
How the 11 to 14 minute interview works, what the examiner is listening for, and how to prepare for each of the three parts.
Test format
The Speaking test is a face-to-face (or video call) interview with one examiner. It is the same for Academic and General Training candidates and is recorded. It has three parts, plus a short introduction.
| Stage | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | under 1 min | The examiner confirms your name and checks your ID. Not assessed. |
| Part 1 | 4 to 5 min | Short questions about you: where you live, work or study, and two or three everyday topics. |
| Part 2 | 3 to 4 min | You get a task card, one minute to make notes, then speak for up to two minutes. One or two short follow-up questions. |
| Part 3 | 4 to 5 min | A discussion of wider issues connected to the Part 2 topic. Questions get more abstract as it goes on. |
| Total | 11 to 14 min |
How it is scored
The examiner scores four criteria, each worth a quarter of the mark. The public band descriptors on ielts.org describe every band; the short version is below.
Fluency and coherence
Can you keep going at a natural speed, and do your ideas follow on from each other? Pausing to think about the topic is fine; pausing to hunt for a word or a tense counts against you.
Lexical resource
Do you have enough vocabulary to talk about any everyday or abstract topic, and can you find another way to say something when a word escapes you?
Grammatical range and accuracy
Do you use a mix of simple and complex sentences, and how many of them are free of errors? A question about the future invites future forms; a question about a hypothetical invites conditionals.
Pronunciation
Can the examiner understand you without effort? Accent does not matter. Clear sounds, sensible word stress and natural rise and fall of the voice do.
Introduction and ID check
Under a minute. Not scored.
The examiner introduces themselves, asks your full name, what they should call you, where you are from, and asks to see your identification. Answer briefly and naturally; there is nothing to prove here.
- "My full name is Priya Nair." "Please call me Priya." "I'm from Kochi, in the south of India."
- Hand over your ID and wait quietly while it is checked.
- Use these seconds to settle your breathing. The scored part starts with the first Part 1 question.
Part 1: questions about you
4 to 5 minutes. Three topics, three or four questions each.
The first topic is always something about your life: your home town, your accommodation, or your work or studies. The other two topics are everyday subjects such as weekends, food, weather, music, transport or photographs. The questions are simple on purpose; the examiner wants to hear you talk, not to test your knowledge.
How much to say
Two or three sentences per answer. One word is too little to score; a paragraph makes the examiner cut you off. Give the direct answer, then add one reason or one detail.
Turning a short answer into a scoring one
Question: "Do you cook at home?"
"Yes, sometimes."
Nothing here shows vocabulary, grammar or fluency.
Same question, developed
"Yes, most weeknights. I usually make something quick like dal and rice, but at the weekend I try a new recipe, because I find it relaxing after a week at work."
A direct answer, a frequency word, a contrast, a reason. Three sentences and it is done.
- Frequency words come up constantly in Part 1: usually, hardly ever, every so often, most days, now and then.
- Reasons stretch any answer: "mainly because", "the reason is", "which is why".
- A recent example makes it real: "Last Sunday, for instance, I..."
Things that lose marks in Part 1
| Habit | Better |
|---|---|
| Reciting a memorised answer | Examiners recognise it and will change the question. Answer the question you were asked. |
| Long silences before answering | These are questions about your own life. Start with the first honest thing and build from there. |
| A flat, bored tone | Intonation is part of the pronunciation score. Sound as if the topic interests you, even if it does not. |
| Repeating the question back | Go straight to the answer. Echoing the question wastes your speaking time. |
Part 2: the long turn
One minute to prepare, up to two minutes to speak.
You receive a task card with a topic and three or four prompts, plus paper and a pencil. After one minute the examiner asks you to begin, and stops you at two minutes. A short follow-up question then leads into Part 3.
A typical task card
Describe a place you go to when you want to relax.
You should say:
- where it is
- how often you go there
- what you do there
- and explain why this place helps you relax.
Using the minute
- Pick a real place at once. Do not spend the minute choosing.
- Write one or two words next to each prompt, not sentences.
- Add a note for something the card did not ask for: a memory of the first time you went, what you would change, or what you plan to do there next.
- Note the tenses you will need. A memory needs past forms; a plan needs future forms. Using both shows range.
Keeping the talk moving
Signposting phrases tell the examiner where you are going and buy you half a second to think.
Opening: "The place I've chosen is..." / "I'd like to tell you about..." Describing: "What it's like is..." / "The first thing you notice is..." A memory: "I remember the first time I went there..." Explaining: "The main reason it helps is..." / "What makes it special for me is..."Part 3: the discussion
4 to 5 minutes. No preparation time.
The questions move from your own life to society in general. After a task card about a relaxing place, you might be asked why city parks matter, whether people today have less free time than their parents, or how towns will change in 20 years. The examiner may push with "Why?" or "Can you give an example?". This is where the higher bands are separated, so do not treat it as a wind-down.
Match your grammar to the question
Each question invites a particular kind of language. Hearing the pattern tells you which structures to reach for.
Your view
"Should cities spend more on parks?"
"I'd argue that..." / "My feeling is..." / "On balance..."
Reacting to a claim
"Some say people are too busy to relax. Is that true?"
"Up to a point, yes..." / "I'd push back on that..." / "It depends who you mean."
Predicting
"How will people spend leisure time in 20 years?"
"I suspect we'll see..." / "It's likely that..." / "will", "may well", "could"
Causes and effects
"Why do people in cities feel more stressed?"
"A big factor is..." / "That leads to..." / "which in turn means..."
Imagined situations
"What if the working week were four days?"
Second conditional: "If it were, people would..." / "That would probably mean..."
Comparing
"Is life more relaxed in villages than in cities?"
"far quieter than" / "not nearly as" / "whereas" / "the trade-off is"
Change over time
"How has the way people relax changed?"
Present perfect for change: "has shifted", "have become". "A generation ago..." / "these days..."
A shape for a Part 3 answer
Answers here need four or five sentences. A reliable shape: make your point, give the reason, give an example, then note a limit or the other side.
"Should cities spend more on parks?"
"I think they should. (point) Green space is one of the few things in a city that everyone can use for free. (reason) In my home town the riverside park is packed every evening with families who have nowhere else to go. (example) That said, a park nobody feels safe in is wasted money, so lighting and maintenance matter as much as the size. (limit)"
- There is no correct opinion. The examiner scores how you express one, not which one you hold.
- You may ask for a question to be repeated or for a word to be explained. You may not ask the examiner for their opinion.
- If you have no experience of the topic, reason it out aloud: "I can imagine that..." is a perfectly good start.
What separates Band 7 from Band 8
Paraphrased from the public band descriptors. Both bands are good; the difference is how much effort the listener has to make.
| Criterion | Band 7 | Band 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Fluency | Speaks at length; some hesitation while searching for language | Hesitates only to think about content; topics are developed fully and coherently |
| Vocabulary | Flexible use of vocabulary, some less common words, occasional wrong choices | Wide range used precisely; paraphrases without effort; rare inaccuracies |
| Grammar | Range of complex structures; most sentences error-free, a few persistent errors | Wide range used flexibly; nearly all sentences error-free, only occasional slips |
| Pronunciation | Generally easy to understand; some features sustained, some not | Easy to understand throughout; stress and intonation used flexibly, accent has little effect |
Working rules
Sure-words rule
Use only words and phrases you are certain about: meaning, pronunciation and the words they usually go with. If a word is a guess, replace it with one you know. Plain and correct beats ambitious and wrong; a half-known word costs more than a plain one.
Say-it-out-loud test
Before the exam, say your practice answers aloud and ask whether you would say them to a real person. If a sentence sounds like an essay, simplify it.
Length follows the part
Part 1: two or three sentences. Part 2: the full two minutes. Part 3: four or five sentences with a reason and an example.
Do not self-correct everything
Fix a slip that changes the meaning; let the rest go. Constant backtracking damages fluency more than the original error damaged accuracy.
Prepare topics, not answers
Any topic can come up. Build vocabulary around common areas (home, work, travel, technology, environment, education, health) rather than memorising scripts.
Record yourself
Time a Part 2 answer and listen back. Most people are surprised by how short it was and how often they said "um". That is the fastest feedback loop there is.
Phrases worth having ready
Giving an opinion
- "I'd say..."
- "As far as I'm concerned..."
- "I'm fairly convinced that..."
- "I'm in two minds about it."
Agreeing and disagreeing
- "That's largely true."
- "I can see the argument, but..."
- "I don't think that holds up."
- "It depends on the situation."
Buying time and clarifying
- "That's a good question."
- "Let me think about that for a second."
- "Sorry, could you say that again?"
- "Do you mean...?"