Want to score 7+ on your IELTS Speaking exam? We’ve written this guide for you! Read on to find out everything you need to know about the structure of the exam, possible topics, example answers, test tips and more. We will explain exactly what you need to do on parts 1, 2 and 3 so you can go into your Speaking exam with confidence. Ready? Let’s take a look!
The IELTS speaking exam is divided into three separate parts – 1, 2 and 3. For General and Academic IELTS the format and content used in the speaking test is the same. The exam will last 11-15 minutes in total. Your score will be decided by the examiner at the end of the exam. Note that your speaking test will also be recorded. In the event that you disagree with the examiner’s score, you may have grounds to request a remark.
A certified IELTS examiner must conduct your speaking exam face-to-face (this cannot be done online). The test itself is designed to be like a real-life conversation in English. This should be interactive, relatively informal, and perhaps even a little fun. Some candidates say it is so similar to having a conversation with a friend that you can sometimes forget you are being examined!
Bear in mind that IELTS Speaking examiners can come from a variety of different backgrounds. This means you need to be able to understand the various accents of English. Your examiner will communicate with you on a range of everyday topics and will then select a specific subject for you to speak about in more detail.
Before going in to your IELTS Speaking exam, you should be able to:
The first section of IELTS Speaking is designed to make you feel less nervous and more at ease with the examiner. This is like a mini interview and will last 4-5 minutes.
First, the examiner will introduce him- or herself, and then ask you to do the same. He/she will then bring you into the conversation more by asking some general questions on topics that are familiar to you – for example: your hobbies or your hometown. There will be a total of up to 12 questions based on 3 different topics.
While your examiner may know in advance which questions he/she plans to ask, these may change during the exam itself (depending on your depth of answer and levels of comfort). It is impossible to prepare answers for every possible scenario, but below is a list of common topics that your examiner may ask you about:
| Art | Friends | Newspapers |
| Birthdays | Going out | Pets |
| Childhood | Hobbies | Reading |
| Clothes | Hometown | Shopping |
| Computers | House/home | Sports |
| Daily routine | Internet | Study |
| Dictionaries | Leisure time | TV |
| Family | Music | Weather |
| Food | Neighbours | Work |
IMPORTANT! Candidates who have already passed the IELTS Speaking exam say there are four very common topics that examiners like to use. These are highlighted in the table above. Let’s take a look at them more closely:
Typical questions your examiner may ask you about these “popular” test topics:
Example answers
Below are transcripts of model answers that will help you to understand the differences between a band 6 and a band 8 score. Note how the higher band answer goes into more detail and uses more complex language. A band 7 score would be somewhere between these contrasting levels of fluency.
Speaking Part 1 example answer
(Hometown, Band 6)
Examiner: I’ll start by asking about your hometown. Can you tell me where you’re from?Candidate: So, I’m from a town called Cascais. It’s a little town near Lisbon, about twenty five kilometres. It is the coast so we have there a lot of beaches. We have pretty good weat
er – hot summers and winters not too cold.
Examiner: Is your hometown a good place for tourists to visit?
Candidate: Yes it is. Mostly because of the beaches and we have a lot of sightseeing near Caiscia. In Sintra we have a lot of castles, and a lot of historic places and restaurants with nice views on the city.
Examiner: And has your hometown changed over the years?
Candidate: Not since I can remember. It always stays the same.
Speaking Part 1 example answer
(Hometown, Band 8)
Examiner: I’ll start by asking about your hometown. Can you tell me where you’re from?Candidate: Well, I come from Tehran originally, which is the capital of Iran. Tehran is a vibrant city with a population of about 17 million people. It’s a very busy and polluted city, but at the same time it’s also rather charming and you can meet people from many different backgrounds there.
Examiner: And what do you like about your hometown?
Candidate: Like I just said, you can meet lots of people from different backgrounds there. I find that interesting! My hometown of Tehran also has some beautiful mountains in the north so the views are great. It’s a fun place to live and there’s always something interesting going on in each neighbourhood. There are lots of young people in the city and I think they give energy to it maybe.
Examiner: What are the main professions or industries in your hometown?
Candidate: To be honest, I can’t say there are any specific professions or industries. This is probably because Tehran is the capital of the country and it has many responsibilities. This means we have many government workers, but also businessmen and shops and so on. All in all, we have a wide variety of jobs and activities going on there.
The second part of the IELTS Speaking exam is known as ‘The Long Turn’. This is because you must speak at length about a topic chosen by the examiner.
Your examiner will give you a task card. You then have to prepare a solo talk on the subject described in the task. You are given 1 minute to make notes and prepare your talk on the topic. After this, the examiner will ask you to speak (i.e. present a monologue) on the subject for up to 2 minutes. There will be no interaction with the examiner while you are speaking and you will not be prompted or interrupted. Once you have finished your monologue, the examiner will ask you a couple of follow-up questions on the same subject.
IMPORTANT! IELTS Speaking Part 2 topics generally relate to:
OR
The task card will look something like this:
Describe your first school | |
| You should say – |
|
Describe an interesting person you know | |
| You should say – |
|
Describe your favourite part of the day | |
| You should say – |
|
Describe an interesting hobby you have | |
| You should say – |
|
Describe an interesting place you have been on holiday | |
| You should say – |
|
IELTS Speaking Part 2 example answer
(Childhood hobby, Band 6)
When I was child, I’m from countryside, so I always going out and sometimes go to mountain with my friend or river and sometimes catch bugs or fish with my friends. Sometimes, in seasons like spring we could get the fruit from the mountain and it’s quite tasty and exciting. I really like that play style, when I was young I was with my brother, my parents not always with me, so I had a lot of freedom for me. The weather is nice. I don’t usually talk to my parents but I think they felt it was safe. We always stayed with children so we never were alone. I always played with boys sometimes baseball and it was fun.
IELTS Speaking Part 2 example answer
(Childhood hobby, Band 8)
When I was a child, I was a keen swimmer. I was encouraged by my parents to swim regularly and my mother enrolled me for swimming lessons at an early age. My hometown’s very small so there wasn’t much to do during the school holidays and that’s why I often went swimming and developed a love for this sport. My friends and I played in the outdoor pool in the town when the weather was fine, and occasionally went to the local lakes too. When I was older, I won a place on a competitive swim team and had to train very hard, almost every day in fact. If I had a child, I wouldn’t ask him to train every day like I did. This can be too much pressure for a young kid I think.
The third and final part of the IELTS Speaking exam continues the discussion topic from Part 2. However, in contract to the monologue from the second section, this is an interactive discussion with the examiner. This conversation element lasts 4-5 minutes. The main aim of Speaking Part 3 is to develop the previous topic further and to explore its more abstract details. Your examiner will want you to present your ideas clearly and justify them with examples (where relevant).
In this section of the IELTS Speaking test, your examiner will mostly ask questions that require you to express your opinion on the topic. You may be asked to discuss something that happened in the past or to speculate about an upcoming event or issue. Examiners can also ask questions that allow you to compare two or more situations and may use these to assess your knowledge of comparative and superlative forms.
Most candidates find the third part of the IELTS Speaking test to be the most difficult. This is because you need to “think on your feet” and answer more abstract questions quickly and without preparation. To get a higher score on this section, you will need to consider some complex ideas and give suitable answers using your full knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary.
Examples of topics and questions from IELTS Speaking Part 3:
IELTS Speaking Part 3 example answer
(Hobbies, Band 6)
The Chinese candidate in this video pauses frequently when answering the questions from the examiner. He uses quite simple vocabulary, but can make himself understood and is able to answer at length. His accent may cause comprehension issues at times, but is generally understandable. This candidate tries to use more complex constructions and colloquialisms, but makes mistakes frequently.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 example answer
(Famous people, Band 8)
The Indian candidate in this video is able to speak at length on the complex ideas presented in the examiner’s questions. Her vocabulary is advanced enough to express thoughts and opinions clearly. She uses fillers, linking words and markers in a natural way and this helps when she has to pause to consider what to say next. This candidate is also able to self-correct when she makes mistakes and so demonstrates her knowledge of the native English forms (despite her occasional errors).
There are 4 key descriptors (criteria or skills) that your examiner will use to assess your IELTS Speaking exam.
IMPORTANT! Each of these four key descriptors is given equal “weight” in the IELTS Speaking exam. In other words, they are all equally important in terms of your total mark. Your final band score will be the average of these four descriptors.
The table below describes what is required to score bands 6-9 on IELTS Speaking:
BAND 6 SPEAKER (“Competent User” – B2 / Upper-Intermediate)
Has an adequate command of English, but makes some errors. These include issues with grammatical constructions, inappropriate use of words in context, etc. Can use some complex language (collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs) to an extent, but performs best on familiar topics.
BAND 7 SPEAKER (“Good User” – C1 / Advanced)
Has a good level of fluency in English, but still shows occasional inaccuracies, misunderstandings or poor lexical choices. Is able to use complex language quite well and understands detailed arguments too.
BAND 8 SPEAKER (“Very Good User” – C1 to C2 / Advanced+)
Has a very good command of the language, but with very occasional (unsystematic) errors or inappropriate word selection. Copes with complex situations well and can deal with abstract or in-depth arguments.
BAND 9 SPEAKER (“Expert User” – C2 / Near-native)
Has a complete (or “near-native”) command of English. Demonstrates a very high level of accuracy and uses grammar and lexis appropriately and in context. Has an extensive vocabulary and the ability to use language naturally and flexibly using forms typical of native speakers. Extremely fluent with a full understanding of the language.
Need help with your preparation for IELTS Speaking? Contact us today to book your free consultation with one of our British exam tutors!
