How is the IELTS speaking test experience?

IELTS Speaking test, in simpler words, is a discussion that you will have with a certified examiner. It is an interactive session and as close to a real-life situation as a test can get.

The IELTS speaking test is 11 to 14 minutes long with three parts.

• In Part 1- Self Introduction: You answer questions about yourself, your family, your work and your interests, hobbies, favorite sports, books, flowers, science and technology, animals, job, studies, travel & tourism among others.
• In Part 2- Interview Round: You speak about a topic. You will be given a task card that asks you to speak about a particular topic and includes points that you can cover in your talk. You will be given 1 minute to prepare your talk. You will then speak for 1-2 minutes. All that matters here is whether you aptly cover/ answer the question being asked from you in terms of the content, vocabulary, grammar, logical connectivity, and other lexical resources.
• In Part 3- Discussion: You have a longer discussion on the topic. The examiner will ask you further questions connected to the topic in Part 2.

To throw light on the IELTS speaking experiences, we have listed a few of the real experiences as stated by the test-takers.

Experience 1:

On the test day: the candidate had a very casual approach at the beginning with the examiner, starting with an introduction, and then was asked about how do you select gifts for others, whether have gifted anyone anything recently. To which the candidate answered no.

Next in the cue card round, the candidate got indoor games. The candidate chose to speak about carrom and talked about it for around 2 minutes.

Then comes the discussion round, where the candidate was supposed to answer the cross-questions from the topic in cue card. Some basic questions about carrom were asked.

Experience 2:

The candidate here was afraid of this as this was the first speaking test he ever experienced. Likewise, the first question was self-introduction. This section is something that is in your control, and answering well in this section will boost your confidence. Then the examiner asked 7-8 questions about the transportation system. Again this is easy to understand and answer as it is comparatively easier.

Next was the cue card round, the topics which come are basically from daily life and everyone is well aware of it. The cue card had ‘ The things you bought and felt happy’ topic. Such topics are easy and you can speak about them without gestation. The candidate spoke about his experience, narrated the story well for around 2 minutes.

The discussion round also went well as the examiner supported during the test. Examiner asked some counter questions regarding online shopping, shopping in malls, shopping habits, etc.

The entire speaking test lasted for around 11-12 minutes. For those 12 minutes, you will have to keep your calm and be confident.

Experience 3:

The candidate had a mixed experience with the speaking test.

The candidate was to sit comfortably and the examiner gave the instructions as to how the test will be and started recording the test for evaluation purposes. The examiner stated the first part by asking about yourself closely like what are the candidate’s hobbies, what does he aspire to, and about the place he comes from. It went for around 4–5 minutes.

The second cue card section where the examiner will give you a card with a bunch of questions related to one main idea Whether the internet is a boon or a bane? For the second part, he(the candidate) will be given 60 seconds with a piece of paper and a pen to write down some points. And after that 1 minute, he was given a few minutes to speak on that topic. It went for another 4–5 minutes.

In section 3, the examiner asked him a broader range of questions based on the topic given in section 2 and asked him to explain with practical examples. Finally, it was done after 5 more minutes. And she(the examiner) again accompanied him to the door and bid goodbye as well.

Tips for the speaking exam:

Following IELTS speaking tips can help the candidates for a better score in IELTS speaking:

• Be confident and comfortable
• Appear realistic, natural, and effortless
• Use accurate vocabulary
• Have justification to clarity the answers
• Stay calm and positive and limit negative thoughts.

IELTS speaking needs confidence and if you are confident enough, you can obtain a good IELTS speaking score even after belonging to a non-English speaking country. All you need to have enough practice of IELTS speaking and familiarity with different English accents.