IELTS Speaking test: What all you should know

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is one of the world’s leading tests to assess English language skills of non-native English speakers. The IELTS test is designed to check whether the aspirants migrating for work or study will be able to communicate in an English-speaking country. It is a globally recognized examination and is managed by IDP in India. The examination comprises four sections, namely, Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking. While the first three sections of the language proficiency test are taken on one day, the fourth section, IELTS Speaking, is scheduled separately.

The IELTS speaking section is considered the toughest for non-English-speaking candidates. Speaking is an important section, as communication is the foremost thing that helps applicants to integrate, work and adjust in an English-speaking environment. The test is a face-to-face formal discussion or interaction with an examiner. The band score in the section ranges between 0 to 9.

Everything that you need to know about the IELTS speaking section

1. The IELTS Speaking section is the same for both IELTS Academic and General Training.

2. The scores in the speaking section are awarded on the basis of four skills. They are fluency and coherence, lexical resources, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation.

3. There is no right or wrong in the speaking section. Applicants will not be negatively marked for any response. The answers will be evaluated by experienced and trained examiners.

4. There will not be any writing involved in this section. Applicants only need to answer and discuss the questions orally.

5. The IELTS speaking section is the shortest one. It is conducted within a maximum of 15 minutes.

6. The speaking section will comprise three sub-sections. Each subsection will be 3-4 minutes long.

7. As a part of the first subsection, the questions will be related to the applicant. There can be questions about his/her interests, family background, hobbies, and reasons for choosing a particular course or educational institution. This segment usually contains predictable questions and is pretty easy to deal with.

8. In the second subsection, applicants will be given a topic and they will need to speak on it for 2-3 minutes.

9. The third subsection is a conceptual one where you will get an opportunity to answer the issues raised by the examiner.

10. Even if you are taking a computer-based IELTS test, you still need to appear for the face-to-face speaking test.

11. The interview is recorded. And the applicants can take the recordings home too if they are eager to mark themselves on their performance.

12. The examiner of the speaking test is the one who decides the results after the interview ends. Therefore, only reputed, trained, and certified examiners give the test.

13. Fluency, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation all earn equal marks in the speaking test. To do well, applicants need to work on all these skills.

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How is the IELTS speaking test different from other IELTS sections?

1. IELTSSpeaking does not involve any writing tasks. It is only a face-to-face formal interview. On the other hand, reading, writing, and listening sections include writing tasks.

2. The IELTS speaking section is conducted within 11-15 minutes, which is much less as compared to all the other sections of the test. It is the shortest section.

3. All the sections of IELTS can be taken in either offline or online mode. The speaking test is conducted offline only. 

4. The speaking section is the only IELTS section where the band is based on four factors that have already been stated. 

5. IELTS speaking results are declared right after the test by the examiner. For other sections, the test results are declared later.

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