IELTS Speaking practice test: format, marking and how to practise
By the Halfband team. Updated .
The IELTS Speaking test is an interview with an examiner that lasts 11 to 14 minutes. It has three parts, it is recorded, and it is the same test for Academic and General Training.
This guide covers what happens in each part, what the examiner marks, and how to run a practice test that tells you where you stand.
The Speaking test at a glance
| Part | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | The examiner checks your identity, then asks short questions about familiar topics such as your home, your work or studies and your interests. | 4 to 5 minutes |
| Part 2 | You get a card with a topic and points to cover. You have 1 minute to prepare, then you speak for 1 to 2 minutes. The examiner may ask one or two questions afterwards. | 3 to 4 minutes |
| Part 3 | A discussion of wider questions linked to the Part 2 topic. You are expected to give opinions, explain them and compare ideas. | 4 to 5 minutes |
The parts get harder as they go. Part 1 asks about your own life, so there is nothing to work out. Part 3 asks what you think about a general question, and gives you no time to prepare.
How Speaking is marked
The examiner gives a band from 0 to 9 for each of four criteria. Each counts for a quarter of your Speaking band.
| Criterion | What it rewards |
|---|---|
| Fluency and coherence | Speaking at length without long pauses or frequent restarts, and connecting your ideas so they are easy to follow. |
| Lexical resource | A wide enough vocabulary to talk about any topic, words used precisely, and the ability to explain something when you do not know the exact word. |
| Grammatical range and accuracy | A mix of simple and complex sentences, with few mistakes. Range matters as well as accuracy: only using short, safe sentences limits this band. |
| Pronunciation | How easy you are to understand: clear sounds, word stress, and rhythm and intonation that carry your meaning. Your accent is not marked. |
Two things follow from this. Vocabulary is one quarter of the mark, so learning rare words cannot carry a low band in the other three. And because fluency is marked on its own, a correct but halting answer scores lower than most people expect.
What makes a practice test useful
Answering a list of sample questions in your head is revision. A practice test is different in four ways:
- You do all three parts in one sitting, in order. Part 3 is harder after ten minutes of talking than it is fresh.
- Something else keeps the time. If you can pause to think, you are not practising the one-minute preparation or the two-minute talk.
- You speak out loud and record it. You cannot judge fluency or pronunciation from memory.
- The result is given against the four criteria. An overall number tells you where you are, and the four bands tell you what to work on.
Ways to practise, compared
| Option | What you get | Feedback on your answers | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official sample questions | Sample questions for each part on ielts.org, written by the people who set the test. | None. You judge your own answers. | Free |
| IELTS Progress Check | The official online practice test from the IELTS partners. | Marked by IELTS-trained markers. A report with indicative bands arrives within five days. | Paid, per test |
| A teacher or speaking partner | A live interview, which is the closest thing to the real test. | Depends on the person. An experienced IELTS teacher gives the most detailed feedback you can get. | Usually per session |
| Halfband | A full three-part test with an examiner's voice asking each question. 10 tests to choose from. | An estimated band for each of the four criteria, with comments that quote what you said. Ready in a few minutes. | Free to sit. Results from about ₹40 a test. |
These work together. The official samples show you what real questions look like. A teacher can tell you things no automated marking can. Halfband is for the days in between, when you want to sit a full test at eleven at night and know your band before you go to bed.
Halfband marks your recording with an AI model against the public IELTS band descriptors. The band is an estimate. It is not an official IELTS score, and Halfband is not connected with IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge.
How a Halfband Speaking test works
- Choose Academic or General Training, then Speaking. You do not need an account to sit the test.
- You hear each question. The words stay hidden unless you ask to see them, as in the real interview. In Part 2 the card stays on screen while a one-minute timer runs.
- You record each answer. The test moves on when the time is up.
- At the end you can listen back to every answer before you ask for results.
- Your results show an overall band, a band and written comment for each criterion, what you did well, and three things to practise next.
Mistakes that cost bands in practice
Short Part 1 answers. “Yes, I do” gives the examiner nothing to mark. Two or three sentences is enough: the answer, a reason, an example.
Stopping early in Part 2. Many people run out after 50 seconds. Use the minute of preparation to note one word for each point on the card, plus one story you can tell if you finish early.
Memorised answers. Examiners are trained to spot them, and they sound different from the rest of your speech. A prepared topic is fine. A prepared script is not.
Never listening back. Most people have not heard themselves speak English for two minutes without stopping. The first time is uncomfortable and useful: you hear the fillers and the repeated words straight away.
How often to practise
One full test, then a few days working on the two weakest points it showed, then another test. Sitting test after test without changing anything in between only measures the same band again.
Preparing for the other half of the exam too? Read the IELTS Writing practice test guide.