IELTS Speaking Practice
Eleven to fourteen minutes with one examiner. They are not testing your opinions, your job, or whether you sound British. They are testing whether you can keep going.
How to extend an answer
Almost every low speaking band comes from answers that stop too soon. The fix is a habit, not vocabulary.
Answer, then reason, then example. Three sentences, every time, until it is automatic.
Do you enjoy cooking? — Answer: Not really, to be honest. Reason: I work late and I'm usually too tired to start. Example: Last night I just heated something from the fridge and ate it standing up.
That is a Band 7 shape. The vocabulary is ordinary; the structure is what earns the mark.
Part 1 — familiar questions, four to five minutes
Practice question bank (original)
Written by RCF English. Record yourself answering ten a day using answer–reason–example.
Home and where you live: Do you live in a house or a flat? What is your favourite room? What would you change about your home? Is your area a good place for children?
Work or study: What do you do? Why did you choose it? What is the hardest part? What would you like to do in five years?
Free time: What do you do after work? Has that changed since you were younger? Do you prefer to relax alone or with people?
Food: What did you eat today? Do you cook? Has food in Sri Lanka changed since you were a child?
Travel: How do you get to work? Do you enjoy long journeys? Which country would you most like to visit?
Technology: How often do you use your phone? What would you find hardest to give up? Do you read on paper or on a screen?
Weather and seasons: What weather do you like best? Does the weather change how you feel? What do people do here when it rains?
Part 2 — the cue card, one to two minutes
How to use the one minute of preparation
Write four or five words, not sentences. Sentences cannot be written in a minute and reading them aloud sounds memorised.
One word per bullet point, plus one for how you will finish.
Speak until they stop you. Finishing at forty seconds costs marks; being interrupted at two minutes costs nothing.
If you run dry, go back to the last bullet and add a reason or a comparison: and it's quite different from ...
Twelve original cue cards
Written by RCF English in the standard format. Give yourself one minute, then speak for two.
1. Describe a teacher who influenced you. Say who they were, what they taught, what they did, and why you still remember them.
2. Describe a journey that did not go as planned. Say where you were going, what went wrong, what you did, and how you felt afterwards.
3. Describe something you own that is important to you. Say what it is, how you got it, how you use it, and why it matters.
4. Describe a skill you would like to learn. Say what it is, why you want it, how you would learn it, and how it would change things.
5. Describe a place in your town you would show a visitor. Say where it is, what is there, what you do there, and why you chose it.
6. Describe a decision you found difficult. Say what it was, why it was hard, what you decided, and whether you were right.
7. Describe a meal you remember well. Say what it was, who you were with, where it was, and why you remember it.
8. Describe a time you helped someone. Say who they were, what they needed, what you did, and how it turned out.
9. Describe a book, film or programme you would recommend. Say what it is, what happens, who would like it, and why.
10. Describe something you learned outside school. Say what it was, who taught you, how you learned it, and whether you still use it.
11. Describe a festival or celebration in your country. Say what it is, when it happens, what people do, and what you enjoy about it.
12. Describe a change you would like to see in your area. Say what it is, why it is needed, who would benefit, and how it might happen.
Part 3 — the discussion, four to five minutes
What changes in Part 3
The questions stop being about you and start being about people in general. This is where Band 7 and above is decided.
You are expected to speculate, compare, and consider another view — not to know facts. I'm not certain, but I would imagine ... is a perfectly good answer.
Useful shapes: It depends on ... / In the past ... whereas now ... / Some people would argue ... but I think ... / It's likely to ...
Say that's an interesting question only once, if at all. Examiners hear it forty times a day.
Original Part 3 follow-up questions
Written by RCF English, grouped to follow the cue cards above.
Education (follows cue card 1 or 10): Should teachers be respected more than they are? How has teaching changed in the last thirty years? Is it better to learn from a person or from the internet?
Travel (follows 2 or 5): Why do people travel less as they get older? Has tourism helped or harmed places in your country? Will people travel less in future?
Possessions (follows 3 or 7): Do people own too many things now? Why do some objects matter more than their value? Are people less careful with possessions than they were?
Change and community (follows 6 or 12): Who should be responsible for improving a neighbourhood — residents or government? Why do people resist change? Do small changes matter as much as large ones?
In the test itself
Do
- Speak more than the examiner does
- Ask them to repeat a question if you did not hear it — this is allowed and costs nothing
- Correct yourself naturally if you notice an error, then continue
- Use the words you actually control accurately
- Speak at your normal speed
Avoid
- Reciting a memorised answer — examiners identify it within a sentence
- One-word answers, even to a yes/no question
- Imitating a British or American accent; being understood is what is marked
- Long silences while you search for a perfect word — say the ordinary one
- Asking the examiner whether your answer was good
Official speaking sample material
The test owner publishes free sample speaking tasks showing the real format of all three parts: official sample test questions.
The speaking test is identical in Academic and General Training, so any official sample applies to you.
The cue cards and question banks above are written by RCF English for practice. They are not real examination questions, and no genuine test material is reproduced anywhere on this site.