IELTS SPEAKING TEST
The IELTS Academic Speaking test will assess your proficiency in spoken English.

It is conducted face-to-face with a trained IELTS examiner and all Speaking tests are recorded. The Speaking test is made up of 3 parts and takes between 11 and 15 minutes. The Speaking test may be conducted on the same day as the other tests or a week before or after the other test parts.

  • In Part 1, the examiner will ask you about yourself and general questions from common topics like work, family, studies, interests and hobbies.
  • In Part 2, of the Academic Speaking test, you will be given a card with a topic and asked to talk about it for 2 minutes. You will have one minute to prepare for your topic and a pen and paper to draft your response.
  • In Part 3, is a two-way conversation, and the examiner will ask questions related to the topic discussed in Part 2.

The OET Reading sub-test structure

IELTS Speaking Question types

  • Personal Questions: Direct inquiries about your background, daily life, interests, and opinions on familiar topics.

  • Preference Questions: Asking about what you like or dislike regarding common subjects.  

  • Habit/Frequency Questions: Inquiring about how often you perform certain actions.
  • Descriptive/Narrative Task: Requires you to describe a person, place, object, event, or experience based on a cue card and bullet points. 
  • Opinion Questions (Abstract): Asking for your broader perspectives and justifications on issues related to Part 2.
  • Hypothetical Questions: Exploring potential future scenarios or possibilities.
  • Comparison/Contrast Questions: Prompting you to discuss similarities and differences.
  • Cause and Effect Questions: Inquiring about reasons and consequences of certain situations.
  • Speculation Questions: Encouraging you to think about future developments or outcomes.

How to prepare for the IELTS Speaking test?

  1. Engage in natural conversation: Avoid memorized answers and speak naturally.
  2. Answer questions directly and with detail: Provide more than just a simple answer.
  3. Focus on the main topic in Part 2: Incorporate the bullet points into a cohesive response, adding related details to speak for the full two minutes.
  4. In Part 2, choose the bullet points you feel most confident discussing. You don't have to cover all bullet points. They are there to help you.
  5. Attempt all questions in Part 3: Even if a question is difficult, try to answer it.
  6. Structure your responses: Use explanations, examples, and further development to create a well-organized answer.
  7. Communicate clearly: Focus on clear and natural communication, rather than tricks or memorization.
  8. Record Yourself: Listen back to identify areas for improvement in fluency, coherence, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
  9. Avoid rushing and running out of things to say: Pace yourself and develop your points.
  10. Use Real IELTS Questions: Practice this strategy with authentic IELTS materials (e.g. SGR free review materials).


Frequently Asked Questions
Your speaking ability in the IELTS test is evaluated by a certified examiner based on four equally weighted criteria. Fluency and Coherence assesses your ability to speak smoothly and connect ideas logically. Lexical Resource examines the range and appropriate use of your vocabulary. Grammatical Range and Accuracy considers the variety and correctness of your sentence structures. Finally, Pronunciation focuses on the clarity and intelligibility of your speech, including stress and intonation. These four aspects are judged throughout the three parts of the test to determine your overall band score.
The IELTS Speaking sub-test is scored by a certified examiner who assesses your performance throughout the entire test based on four equally weighted criteria mentioned above. For each of these criteria, the examiner assigns a band score from 1 to 9 based on detailed performance descriptors. Finally, an average of these four scores is calculated, and this average is rounded to the nearest whole or half band to determine your overall Speaking band score