IELTS Speaking — Overview and Strategy
- Speaking
- Overview and Strategy
Overview of the Test
What Is the IELTS Speaking Section?
- The IELTS Speaking test is a face-to-face interview with an examiner.
- It is the same for Academic and General Training IELTS.
- The test takes about 11–14 minutes and has 3 parts.
The test assesses a variety of English-speaking abilities, including the following:
- Describing general situations and experiences
- Speaking at an appropriate length on a variety of topics
- Organizing your thoughts clearly
- Explaining and justifying opinions
- Analyzing, discussing, and speculating about issues
Test Environment
- A quiet room
- A desk across from the examiner
- Materials provided by the examiner
- A voice recorder
- Paper and a stopwatch may be on the table
The Examiner
- Don't be afraid!
- Many examiners are professors or professional teachers
- The examiner is polite, friendly, and professional
- The examiner is on your side
- Accent:
- The examiner's accent may come from any English-speaking country
- Your own accent does not affect your score, as long as the examiner can understand you
Test Structure — Part 1 (Familiar Topics)
- Before the test starts: Confirmation of name and identity
- Consists of a total of three parts
- Part 1: Familiar Topics
- General questions on topics that are familiar to everyone
- Common topics include home, family, work, school, and hobbies
- 2–3 topics, with 1–4 questions per topic
- Time: A total of 4–5 minutes
Test Structure — Part 2 ("The Long Turn")
- Goal: Speak alone for 2 minutes
- Materials: Speaking prompt, notepaper, and a pencil
- Time: A total of 3–4 minutes
- 1 minute of preparation time (taking notes is allowed)
- 2 minutes of speaking on the topic
- After the 2 minutes, you might get 1–2 additional questions about the prompt or your answer
Test Structure — Part 3 (Discussion)
Part 3: Discussion
- A discussion with the examiner based on the Part 2 topic
- Questions about more abstract ideas and issues than in the previous parts
- Time: A total of 4–5 minutes
Simple Difference Between the 3 Parts
Part
Main Type of Speaking
Topic Type
Best Answer Length
Part 1
Short interview answers
Familiar, personal topics
2–4 sentences
Part 2
Long individual talk
Personal experience or description
1–2 minutes
Part 3
Deeper discussion
General or abstract issues
Developed answers
General Tips
Do
- Understand the test structure and instructions before the test
- Expand your answers and speak at length
- Ask questions when needed
- Use words you are comfortable with
- Warm up before the test
- Pause briefly when needed ("Let me see.", "That is an interesting/difficult question.")
- Smile!
Avoid
- Using too many filler words ("Um," "Uh," "Well...")
- Repeating the same expressions
- Losing focus when the examiner interrupts your answer
- Memorizing
- Speaking too quickly