The IELTS speaking module assesses a non-native speaker’s ability to effectively engage in oral communications with native speakers of English in social, educational and training contexts. During the Speaking Module, a trained examiner will individually assess your speaking skills. The Speaking Module is the same for Academic and General Training candidates.
Your performance in the Speaking Module is assessed according to the following criteria:
Fluency and coherence
You should be able to articulate your ideas clearly and coherently. Long pauses will lower your score.
Lexical resources
You should be able to use a range of vocabulary and your choice of words should be appropriate for the context.
Grammatical range and accuracy
You should be able to use a variety of sentence patterns without making too many mistakes.
Pronunciation
The examiner should be able to understand your speech. While your accent is not taken into consideration, your intonation is important. It should sound natural.
Parts of the Speaking Module
The IELTS Speaking test has three parts. It takes between 11 and 14 minutes. The examiner will determine the duration of each part of the test. The Part 1 and 2 of the test will be according to a script with instructions and questions. During Part 3, the examiner will adjust the questions to match your level of proficiency. Your answers are recorded for security and monitoring purposes.
Part 1 | Introduction and interview
Part 1 lasts 4 to 5 minutes. You will be asked general questions about your family, home, job, interests etc.
Part 2 | Individual Long Turn
It lasts 3 to 4 minutes. You will be given a topic card and you have to speak about that topic. You will have one minute to prepare notes.
Part 3 | Two-way discussion
It lasts 4 to 5 minutes. The questions asked during Part 3 will be related to the topic from Part 2. Up to 7 questions could be asked and the examiner will adjust the difficulty level to match your command of English.
Part 1 | Introduction
During the first part of the Speaking test, the examiner will introduce himself or herself and then ask general questions about you. For example, you could be asked about your home, family or job. Generally speaking, there will be three questions on a topic. You could be asked up to 9 questions on three topics. The set of questions on a specific topic is called a topic frame and the examiner can choose three topics from 8 topic frames.
Part 2 | Individual long run
The second part of the Speaking test lasts 3-4 minutes. You will be given a topic card with some bullet point prompts. You have to speak on this topic for one or two minutes. Before you speak, you have one minute to make notes. After you have finished speaking, the examiner may ask you one or two questions related to what you just spoke.
Note that you cannot bring pen, pencil or paper into the examination room. The examiner will give you all of these.
Part 3 | Two way discussion
This part lasts 4-5 minutes. You will be asked some abstract, non-personal questions. You could be asked up to 7 questions on a topic related to the topic you spoke about in the second part of the test.
