IELTS Practice Test 1: Speaking
Eleven to fourteen minutes with one examiner, in three parts. The Speaking test is the same for Academic and General Training.
Unofficial original RCF practice material
Original RCF English work in the published IELTS Speaking format. Not an official IELTS test, and not endorsed by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia or Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
How the Speaking test runs
| Part | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1: Introduction and interview | 4 to 5 minutes | The examiner checks your identity, then asks questions about yourself and two or three familiar topics. |
| Part 2: Long turn | 3 to 4 minutes | You are given a card, paper and a pencil. You have 1 minute to prepare, then speak for 1 to 2 minutes. The examiner may ask one or two short follow-up questions. |
| Part 3: Discussion | 4 to 5 minutes | A two-way discussion of more abstract questions connected to the Part 2 topic. |
| Marking | - | Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation - each worth 25%. |
Part 1: Introduction and interview
The examiner will ask your name and check your identification, then ask questions on two or three of the following topic sets. Answer in two or three sentences - not one word, and not a speech.
Your home
- Do you live in a house or an apartment?
- What is the room you like most in your home? Why?
- Is there anything you would like to change about where you live?
- Do you think you will still be living there in five years?
Cooking
- Do you enjoy cooking?
- Who does most of the cooking in your home?
- Have your eating habits changed in the last few years?
- Do you think children should be taught to cook at school? Why?
Weather
- What kind of weather do you like best?
- Does the weather affect how you feel?
- Is the weather in your country different now from when you were a child?
- Do you usually check the forecast?
Part 2: Long turn
You will have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes if you wish. You then have one to two minutes to speak. Do not start until the examiner tells you to.
Candidate task card
Describe something practical that an older person taught you.
You should say:
- who this person was
- what they taught you
- how they taught it to you
- and explain why it has stayed with you.
Follow-up questions the examiner may ask
- Do you still do this now?
- Have you ever taught it to anyone else?
Part 3: Discussion
The examiner will ask further questions connected to the topic of Part 2. These questions are more abstract, and you are expected to give longer, more developed answers.
Learning from other generations
- What kinds of things are best learned from older people rather than from books or the internet?
- Do you think young people today respect the knowledge of older generations as much as they used to?
- Why do some practical skills disappear within a single generation?
Skills and society
- Should schools spend more time teaching practical skills? What might they have to give up in order to do so?
- Some people say that being able to look anything up has made us worse at remembering things. Do you agree?
- How might the skills that are considered valuable change over the next fifty years?
Four things that lift a Speaking band, and one that does not
Extend every answer by one step. Answer the question, then add a reason, an example or a contrast. Short answers cost fluency marks even when the English is accurate.
Let yourself be heard thinking. That's a difficult one, actually - I suppose it depends on... is natural speech, and buys time without silence.
Disagree with the question when you want to. There are no marks for the opinion itself, and a candidate who says I'm not sure that's true, actually usually produces more interesting language.
Correct yourself once and move on. Self-correction is credited. Repeatedly restarting the same sentence is not.
Memorised answers do not work. Examiners are trained to recognise them, and a rehearsed passage that does not fit the question is treated as evidence that you cannot answer the question.
End of the Speaking test
Model answers for all three parts, with notes on what earns the marks, are on the answer page.
Next
Answers and model answers
The whole test, marked and explained.
IELTS Speaking guidance
The three parts and how to prepare for each.
10 model Task 2 essays
Every essay type, with the reasoning shown.