IELTS Speaking Test Tips and Tricks

Hello everyone! My name's Anna.

Welcome to English Like A Native.

This is my series on exam preparation,  

so if you’re thinking about taking  an official English exam soon,  

this series will give you the information  you need, just make sure you’re subscribed.

The IELTS exam is one of the most popular  official English language exams that you can take.

Each year more than five  million people take this test.

Listen closely if you want to  be one of the successful exam  

takes! Here are five things you need  to know about the IELTS speaking exam.

Number one. The first thing is that the  speaking exam is the same for everyone  

at every level, for both General  and Academic versions of the exam.

The IELTS exam gets more and  more difficult in each section.

After the exam, you get a band score  from zero to nine in the speaking test,  

as well as the other three papers.

The average of these gives  you your overall band score.

This score tells you your level.

For example, a band score of  six means your level is B2.

Check out the chart on the screen to see  how other band scores relate to the CEFR.

Number two.

The exam always follows the same format.

There are three parts to the speaking test  and it lasts eleven to fourteen minutes.

Part one is always the introduction and interview.

The examiner will ask you some personal  questions and you should respond,  

giving one or two pieces  of additional information.

Your answers don’t have to be very long in this  section but just giving one-word answers doesn’t  

really give a great first impression or give  the examiner enough English to judge your level,  

so try to aim for something in the middle,  a sentence or two about each question.

Pro tip!

Aim to start strong by practising, practising,  

practising your answers to  questions about yourself.

This will give the examiner  a good first impression.

Part two of the exam is the long turn.

You have to speak for one to two minutes  about a subject the examiner gives you.

You can’t usually ask to change the topic so  

be prepared to speak about a  range of different subjects.

The examiner will give you a  card with some prompts on it.

These are ideas for you to use in your answer.

It’s not necessary to talk about all of these  ideas and you can add your own ideas too,  

just remember to talk about the  topic the examiner gives you.

This part lasts for three to four minutes.

Part three is the discussion.

This is your opportunity to speak as much as you  can about the question the examiner asks you.

This part lasts for four to five minutes.

The examiner will keep asking you  questions until the time is up.

Pro Tip!

Expand your answer and give examples  but try not to repeat yourself.

And that’s always the format of the exam.

Number three.

The same topics are always on the exam.

Common topics are your job or what  you’re studying, where you live,  

your family and friends and other everyday  topics like clothes and your daily routine.

These can come up in any part of the exam.

Other common topics are travel, education, family,  

art, culture, sport, food, work,  crime and other similar topics.

The examiner won’t ask you about religion,  politics or other sensitive topics.

Remember, the questions will get  more difficult as the test goes on.

Number four.

In part two and three, the examiner will  ask you questions on the same topic.

Sometimes they will ask you about another,  similar, related topic in part three.

Pro tip!

Think of advantages and disadvantages or different  

points of view about different questions  relating to the topics I just mentioned.

You can’t really tell the examiner, “I don’t have  an opinion” or “ I don’t know anything about that  

topic”, so it’s a good idea to brainstorm things  to say when you’re studying for the speaking exam.

Which brings me to my last point - ideas!

Number five.

You are not graded on your  ideas, just on your English.

But you need to have vocabulary and things to say,  

even if, in a normal conversation you  wouldn’t really say much about it.

It doesn’t matter what you say, just speak!

Pro tip!

You can lie!

If you don’t have an opinion about the  question, just invent one but make it realistic.

It’s better to make something up than be silent.

It’s a speaking exam, after all.

Your examiner can’t give you a good mark if  they don’t hear you speak a lot of English!

I hope this video was helpful,  and if you’re looking for an  

opportunity to practise speaking  then write “Let’s have a chinwag,  

Anna” in the comments below and I will  share some useful information with you.

Until next time, take care and goodbye!