IELTS SPEAKING for students who want to learn more about the test.

IELTS Speaking Background Information

1. IELTS –SPEAKING
(Overview)

2. IELTS Speaking is a one-to-one interaction
between the candidate and an examiner.
The Speaking Test’s three parts give the
candidate the opportunity to use a range of
different speaking skills.
Candidates are assessed on their performance
throughout the test.
Duration: 11-14 minutes

3. TEST PARTS
PART 1
Nature of Interaction: Introduction and interview
After introductions and identity check, the examiner asks you
questions about familiar topics
Duration: 4-5 minutes
PART 2
Nature of Interaction: Long turn
You receive a task card with a topic. You then have 1 minute to
prepare and make notes before speaking about the topic for 1 to 2
minutes.
Duration: 3-4 minutes (including preparation time)
PART 3
Nature of Interaction: Discussion
The examiner discusses with the candidate more abstract aspects of
the topic in Part 2
Duration: 4-5 minutes

4. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
Fluency and Coherence
Lexical Resource
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Pronunciation
The criteria have equal weighing in their
contribution to the final band, which is
currently given as a half band.

5. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: 1 & 2
Fluency and Coherence
This refers to your ability to talk with normal levels of
continuity, speech rate and effort, and to link ideas and
language togetherin coherent, connected speech
Lexical Resource
This refers to the range of vocabularyyou can use and
how clearly meanings and attitudes can be expressed
This includes the variety of words usedand the ability to
get round a vocabulary gap by expressing the idea in a
different way

6. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: 3 & 4
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
This refers to the range of structuresavailable to the you and
how accurately and appropriatelyyou can use them
Assessment takes into account the length and complexityof
utterances as well as the effect of grammatical errors on
communication
Pronunciation
This refers to your ability to produce comprehensible
utterances and to use a range of pronunciation featuresto
communicate meaning
Assessment takes into account the amount of straincaused to
the listener, and the noticeability of L1 influence

7. IELTS –SPEAKING
(Part 1: Introduction and Interview)

8. PART 1
In this part, the examiner introduces him/herself
and checks your identity. Then s/he asks you
about familiar topics such as friends, hobbies or
food. To ensure consistency, questions are taken
from a scripted examiner frame.
Skill Being Assessed: The candidate’s ability to
communicate opinions and information on
everyday topics and common experiences or
situations by answering a range of questions

9. IELTS –SPEAKING
(Part 2: Long Turn)

10. PART 2
The examiner gives you a task card, and a pencil and some
paper to make notes.
The task card gives the topic, some points to include in the
long turn and a final prompt asking you to explain one
aspect of the topic.
Using the prompts on the task card effectively will help you
think of appropriate things to say, organize what you say,
and keep talking for 2 minutes.
Making notes during the preparation time also helps you
structure the long turn.
You have 1 minute to prepare, after which the examiner asks
you to speak about the topic for 1-2 minutes. Then the
examiner stops you after 2 minutes, and asks one or two
questions to round off the long turn.

11. PART 2: SKILLS BEING TESTED
Ability to speak at length on a given topic
(without further prompts from the examiner)
Ability to use appropriate language
Ability to organize your ideas coherently
It is likely that you will need to draw on your
own experience to complete the long turn

12. PART 2: SAMPLE
(On the Candidate Task Card)
Rounding off questions
Is it valuable in terms of money?
Would it be easy to replace?
Describe something you own which is very important to you.
You should say:
where you got it from
how long you have had it
what you use it for
and explain why it is important to you.

13. IELTS –SPEAKING
(Part 3: Discussion)

14. PART 3
In this part, you and the examiner shall discuss
issues related to the topic in Part 2 in a more
general and abstract way (and where
appropriate, in greater depth).
Skills Being AssessedYour ability to:
express and justify opinions
analyse, discuss and speculate about issues

15. PART 3: SAMPLE
Let’s consider first of all how people’s values
have changed…
–What kind of things give status to people in your
country?
–Have things changed since your parents’ time?
Finally, let’s talk about the role of
advertising…
–Do you think advertising influences what people
buy?

16. IELTS –SPEAKING
(DOs and DON’Ts)

17. DOs
Talk to the examiner –you’ll feel more involved in the
conversation
Listen carefully to the questions you’re asked so that
your answers are relevant
Answer the questions you’re asked with some detail
so that your answers are long enough
Use the preparation time in Part 2 to think about
what is written on the card.
Use the instructions and prompts on the card in Part
2 to help you to organize your long turn.
Explain your opinions and give examples to support
them.

18. DON’Ts
Don't learn answers by heart.
Don't give very short answers except when the
examiner interrupts you at the end of the 2 minutes
in Part 2. At this point the examiner needs to move
on to Part 3 of the test and only expects a short
answer to his/her questions.
Don't talk about something different from what’s on
the card in Part 2.
Don’t worry if the examiner stops you in Part 2. It
means you have spoken enough, and s/he has to
keep to the timing of the test.

19. DON’Ts (cont’d)
Don’t worry if you can’t think of a word, try to
paraphrase and get round it.
Don’t write on the task card.
Don’t worry if you realize you’ve made a
mistake. It’s OK to correct yourself. If you
can't correct yourself, forget it and carry on.
Don’t ask the examiner if what you are
saying is correct.

20. THE END