The speaking test is a face-to-face interview between the test taker and an examiner.

 

The speaking test contains three sections.

 

  • Section 1: introduction and interview (4–5 minutes). Test takers may be asked about their home, work, family, interests, hobbies, studies, reasons for taking the IELTS exam as well as other general topics such as free time, clothing, computers and the Internet.
  • Section 2: long turn (3–4 minutes). Test takers are given a task card about a particular topic. Test takers have one minute to prepare to talk about this topic. The task card states the points that should be included in the talk and one aspect of the topic which must be explained during the talk. Test takers are then expected to talk about the topic for 2 minutes, after which the examiner may ask one or two questions.
  • Section 3: discussions (4–5 minutes). The third section contains a discussion between the examiner and the test taker, generally on questions relating to the theme which they have already spoken about in Section 2.
Skills Tested
For the most part, IELTS Speaking is focused on life skills. The interview focuses on light personal conversation. This is the kind of talk you’ll have with many different people when you work or study in an English speaking country. However, there is also an academic component here. The “long turn” in Part 2 is similar to the kind of short speech you might give in a university communications course. Learn more in our IELTS Speaking app, and find your baseline score in this free IELTS Speaking app. Besides, you can use IELTS Vocabulary Flashcards app to improve your IELTS vocabulary. IELTS Vocabulary Flashcards is the app that covers the most important words used for the real IELTS exam and help you to achieve your goals.

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