Understanding the IELTS Speaking test format

What is the format of the IELTS Speaking Test?

This article is common for both the IELTS Academic and General Training tests as well as the Paper based and Computer Delivered Tests.

The Test Format

The duration of the IELTS speaking test is 11-14 minutes. Whether it lasts for 11 or 14 minutes depends on the length of your answers and the number of questions the examiner asks you. There is no way to say how well you performed based on the duration of the speaking test.

There are three sections to the speaking test.

Section 1 is introduction. In this section the examiner will ask you multiple question about you.

Section 2 is the cue card in which the examiner will present a written question to you. You will have one minute to prepare for your answer and then 1 to 2 minutes to speak.

Section 3 is follow-up questions on the cue card. The examiner will ask you questions about the topic of the cue card or on topics that are related to the cue card.

Section 1 – Introduction and Interview

The duration of the section will be between 4 and 5 minutes. The examiner will ask you anywhere between 5 and 12 questions. The number of questions will depend on the length of the answers you give. It is ok to give short answers to begin with. The test has been designed in a manner to help you ease in. So, if you give one-line answers to the first couple of questions it is ok. As the test moves on you ideally should start giving longer answers. The topics of the questions will be on general topics which are related to you. Topics could be your home, family, work, studies, interest and so on. The questions are usually very simple. If we were to pick up the topic of home, the questions could be:

- Where is your home?

- How many rooms are there in your home?

- What is special about your home?

- Would you move to a different home if given an option?

Section 2 – Cue Card / Individual Long Turn

The duration of the section is 3 to 4 minutes. The examiner will present to you a question written in a book. The question will have a main theme and will be supported by sub questions that you need to answer. You will have one minute to prepare for your answer. In this time, you can write your points on a notepad that will be provided in the room itself. At the end of the minute the examiner will ask you to start talking and then you are expected to speak for 1 to 2 minutes. The examiner will stop you once the 2 minutes are over. There is no rule that says that you must speak for two minutes but if you plan to speak for a shorter duration then you better be excellent with what you say. After this the examiner will ask you a couple of question about the topic. Usually these questions seek your view on the topic of the cue card. The topics covered are very common and almost no one will come across a topic that they have never heard of or do not have knowledge of. The topics could be:

- A person you know

- Importance of internet

- A gift that made you happy

- Your favourite item of clothing and so on.

You cannot ask for the cue card to be changed, but like I said, the topics are very simple and related to daily life.

Section 3 – Follow Up / Two Way Discussion

The examiner will ask you questions about the topic of the cue card or on topics that are related to the cue card. The duration of the section will be 4-5 minutes. The total number of questions will be 4-7. Again, in this section too, the number of questions will depend on the length of the answers you give. In this section I need you to remember that it is NOT ok give short answers. The name of the section tells you all. It is a two-way discussion. The examiner wants your views and opinions on the questions being asked. So, make sure you speak at length. You do not have to keep droning on and on, but you do need to speak long enough to let the examiner judge your ability to hold a conversation in English. The questions that will be asked will either be directly on the topic of the cue card or a related topic. So, if the topic of the cue card is family that follow up question could be:

- Is family important in your country?

- Has family size changed in your country in the past decade?

- Do you think family will continue to be important in the future?

- How do you think families will change in the future?

To know what type of questions to expect on the other 3 modules, you can read the following articles:  

- What to expect on the Listening Test ?

- What to expect on the Academic Reading Test?

- What to expect on the General Training Reading Test?

- What to expect on the Academic Writing Test?

- What to expect on the General Training Writing Test?

- Understanding the IELTS Test format - Paper based Test

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