How to prepare for the IELTS Speaking exam

The IELTS Speaking tests lasts for less than 15 (usually between 11-14) minutes, but people
spend much longer preparing. The best way to prepare is to know what is involved and how
you will be evaluated, then to come up with a strategy for success.
The exam consists of three parts where the examiner will ask you about your work or studies,
personal experiences, people you know, and places you have lived or what would make your
city a better place. You will not be asked about current events or political issues, so watching
the news will not help you.

The IELTS Speaking Exam is designed to measure your ability to express your thoughts and
feelings about people, places and things in your life.
It’s scored on a scale of 0 to 9, but 5 is generally the lowest band reserved for those who make
a lot of mistakes. A native speaker, on the other hand, should score between 8.5 and 9.
You will be judged on the following four criteria:
Pronunciation – your ability to say words and phrases in an understandable manner. This
includes individual and connecting sounds, word stress, rhythm, intonation, and sentence
stress.

Lexical Resource – the range of your vocabulary and expressions, including synonyms,
antonyms, intensifiers, idioms and collocations (or words that go together).
Grammatical Range & Accuracy – your ability to express yourself in simple and complex
sentences correctly and appropriate to the situation. To get the best score, you should exhibit a
variety of tenses, including conditionals and passive voice, linking everything together with
appropriate connecting words.
Fluency & Coherence – your ability to speak naturally, without much hesitation, repetition of
words or sentences (paraphrasing comes in handy here), and using linking and connecting
words such as nevertheless, on the other hand, however, moreover, etc. Basically, you should
be good at describing opinions, experiences or personal stories.

PART 1 lasts for 4 or 5 minutes. The examiner will ask you to identify yourself and then he or
she will proceed with questions about where you live – your hometown, your house or
apartment, your family and friends, your job or studies, and your leisure activities such as
hobbies, sports, music, films or books that you enjoy.
Check out the sample test provided by the British Council:
https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-your-test/free-practice-tests/speaking-practice-
test-1

PART 2 is shorter, lasting just 3 or 4 minutes. The examiner will give you a cue card asking you
to describe something without interruption for one or two minutes, followed up with a few
more questions about your answer.
Check out the sample test provided by the British Council:
https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-your-test/free-practice-tests/speaking-practice-
test-1/speaking-part-2
PART 3 lasts for another 4 or 5 minutes. During this part, the examiner will ask more questions
related to the topic of the cue card that you were given for PART 2. During this section of the
test, you will have a two-way discussion with the examiner.
Check out the sample test provided by the British Council:
https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-your-test/free-practice-tests/speaking-practice-
test-1/speaking-part-3
You cannot fail the exam. It is just an assessment of your ability to express your thoughts and
opinions. You will not be penalized much for errors unless they occur frequently or prevent the
examiner from understanding you. Intermediate students generally score 5 or 6, and advanced
learners usually get a band of 7 or 8.
In less than 15 minutes, you will have to showcase your best skills and talents for speaking in
English. You can do this by pronouncing words correctly or understandably, exhibiting a range
of tenses (used correctly), paraphrasing or substituting words used in the examiner’s questions,
and showing an understanding of questions with thoughtful responses.
When preparing try the following:

• Practice reading carefully to make sure that you fully understand what is expected.
• Practice deciding quickly on your topics and examples.
• Devise a quick way of jotting down notes with key words and phrases to structure your
• answers.
• Practice with a stopwatch to ensure that you stay within the proper time limits.
• Practice different sentence structures for your opening sentences and conclusions.
• Practice paraphrasing what the examiner says using synonyms and antonyms.
• Practice bridging your ideas in a logical manner with connectors and linking words.

You should devise a weekly plan to work on your speaking skills. Time should be spent on

making sure that you are using advanced vocabulary, intensifiers and connectors with a wide

range of grammatical structures.

The following resources are great:

https://www.ieltsbuddy.com/ielts-vocabulary.html
https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/ask/question/list-of-sentence-connectors-in-english/
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/intensifiers

If you need more help devising a strategy, feel free to contact me at www.amysindicic.com
I work online 24/7 for your success! 🙂