IELTS speaking test: things you need to know

Hello everyone. I’m Keith. And I’m Vicki and we have lots of tips and

tricks for you about the IELTS speaking exam

The IELTS exam tests four skills. When we ask our students which one they feel most nervous about they often say speaking. So

if you feel nervous too, you’re not alone. And we can help. We’re going to show you

what happens, and give you tips so you can get a good score. In this first video we’ll

tell you some general things about the speaking test. But first, let’s see how much you

know already. We have a quiz for you and here’s the first

question: how long does the test last? What do you think?

The answer is 11-14 minutes. It may sound like a long time, but after the exam, most

students say it went really quickly. OK, another question. How many parts does

the speaking test have? There are three parts to the test. Part one

is a Q&A, so the examiner will ask you questions that you’ll answer. They’re all questions

about you and your life. In part two the examiner will give you a topic

to talk about and you’ll speak for one to two minutes.

And the final part is another Q & A, but this time the examiner will ask questions about

more abstract topics. So every part is different and in this series

of videos we’ll go through them one by one. And we’ll show you what to do and what not

to do, so you can get your best score. Another thing you should know is IELTS speaking

tests are always recorded. In some places the examiner will start the

recording before you enter the room. In other places they will start the recording

while you’re there. Hi, take a seat. This is the speaking test

of the International English Language Testing System, taking place on July 20th at 6800

Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Centre number AS555. The candidate is Ksenia Shor and the

candidate number is 89352. The examiner is Vicki Hollett, examiner number 968254.

Good morning. My name is Vicki Hollett. Can you please tell me your full name?

Ksenia Shor. And what should I call you?

You can call me Ksenia, or Kate if you like. And can I see your identification please,

Ksenia? Of course, here you are.

Thank you. And that’s how the exam begins. It’s hard

not to feel nervous, but most examiners are friendly and they're on your side. They’ll

want you to do well. Can you tell me your full name, please?

My full name is Jason Arthur Sebastian Robertson the third. I was named after my grandfather

… And what should I call you?

Well, I have several nicknames. Some people call me Morse because I know the international

Morse code and some people call me 'Cuckoo'. I’m not sure why. And some people call me...

Jay shouldn’t give a long answer here. The examiner just wants to check his name on her

list. So just state your name briefly. You can call me Ksenia, or Kate if you like.

The examiners record the exam so they can listen back later if they want to check your

score and, also, so that IELTS can make sure that all candidates are graded correctly and

in the same way. And speaking of grades, here’s one last

question. The examiner will grade you on different things. Which of these things are important?

Are there any that don’t matter? These are the four criteria they’ll use

to score you. The examiner doesn’t care about your appearance, so don’t worry about

wearing a suit or tie. They’re just interested in the quality of your English.

The examiner will give you a score from one to nine for each of these criteria and they’re

all equally important for your overall score. So let’s take a look at what they all mean.

Fluency is about speaking easily, without a lot of hesitation. And coherence is about

how well you can connect your ideas so they’re easy to understand. So can you explain your

thoughts logically and without too much repetition? Lexical resource is about vocabulary. Do you

know enough words to talk about a variety of topics? Do you know common idioms and which

words collocate – so which words commonly go together?

The next one’s grammar so how accurate is your English and how many mistakes do you

make? But notice the examiner also wants to hear your range. So can you use different

tenses and sentences with different clauses? More complex grammar will get you a higher

score. And finally, what’s your pronunciation like?

Is it clear and easy to understand? Having an accent is fine, so long as your pronunciation

is easy to understand. The examiner will be listening for how well you connect your speech,

your word and sentence stress, and your intonation. And, can you maintain good pronunciation across

phrases and longer sentences? So those are the four criteria they’ll use

to score you. The exam tests students at all levels of English and IELTS publish descriptions

of the different band levels. We’ll put a link to their descriptors below and you

should check them out. Well prepared candidates do best in this exam,

so it’s great that you’ve found us. Stay tuned for our next videos where we’ll have

lots of tips. And don’t forget. Subscribe to both our channels!

And if you liked this video, why not share it with a friend? See you soon everyone. Bye!