IELTS Speaking
An 11–14 minute face-to-face interview with an examiner, split into three parts that get progressively harder.
- Length
- 11–14 minutes
- Sections
- 3 parts
- Format
- 1-on-1 with an examiner
- Recording
- The whole test is recorded
Speaking is the same for Academic and General Training. You sit with one examiner, and the conversation is recorded for quality control.
It starts with easy questions about you, moves on to a short monologue from a cue card, and ends with a more abstract discussion. You are scored on your English, not on whether your opinions are right.
Parts of the test
Open a part to see the full format, sample questions and how to approach it.
How it is scored
Examiners score you on the four official criteria from the IELTS band descriptors.
- 01
Fluency & Coherence
Speaking smoothly without long pauses or repetition, with ideas that link together.
- 02
Lexical Resource
Range and accuracy of vocabulary, natural idioms, and the ability to paraphrase.
- 03
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
A variety of sentence structures used accurately while speaking spontaneously.
- 04
Pronunciation
Being easy to understand: sounds, intonation and word stress. Accent is not penalised.
All four criteria carry equal weight. Your Speaking band is their average, rounded to the nearest 0.5.