IELTS - Academic Speaking Section

The IELTS Reading Section is the fourth and final part of the test. The speaking test is between you and a tester, who will ask you questions, converse with you and give you your final mark. There are 3 parts to the speaking section, to help measure your speaking ability.

The speaking test is a short oral interview between you and an and an examiner. All speaking tests are recorded. You should work on your vocabulary, pronunciation and fluency to help obtain the highest mark in this section. There are three sections in the speaking part

Speaking Section 1

In this section, the examiner introduces him/herself and will check your identity. You will be asked general questions on some familiar topics such as home, family, work, studies and/or interests. Questions are taken from a script.

Time: 4 - 5 minutes

In this part, you will be tested on your basic conversational skills, and questions are based on your personal information and past experiences. No critical thinking is required.

Speaking Section 2

In this section, you will be given 2 minutes to give a talk (speech) about a particular topic, which is given to you on a card, and or asked by the interviewer. You will be given a task card, which has some text on a particular topic you are to speak about:

• The task card contains a topic to discuss
• The task card will contain the main points you should cover in your talk.
• Yuu will be given a particular question/aspect to explain in detail.

You will be given 1 minute to prepare, and expected to speak continously (speech) for 1-2 minutes about the topic.

You will be stopped after 2 minutes if you go overtime.

Next, you will be asked a couple questions about the topic and/or your answers given.

You will be given a pencil and paper to make notes, to organize your thoughts and prepare for your talk.

Time: 3 - 4 minutes (including 1 minute preparation time)

In this section, you will be tested on your ability to give a spoken response and your organizational ability to formulate a spoken answer.

This part is more difficult that speaking section 1, as some ideas may require more complex vocabulary and sentence structures.

Some students without practice will find this part quite difficult, as you are expected to speak 1 - 2 minutes uninterrupted about a topic.

Initially, you should spend time to prepare answers, by jotting down answers. This section requires speech skills, as it tests your ability to:

• Speak uninterrupted
• Critical thinking skills to formulate an organized response
• Having an idea, be able to give a spoken response
• Ability to express an coherent and meaningful opinion

Speaking Section 3

This part of the test focuses on the ability to express and justify opinions and to analyse, discuss and speculate about issues. You will be asked further questions about the topic in Part 2.

These will give you the opportunity to discuss more abstract ideas and issues.

Time: 4 - 5 minutes of conversation

Your score in the speaking section will be based on your ability to formulate a spoken response to questions and will test your ability to:

• Effectively listen and comprehend spoken English
• Critical thinking skills to formulate an appropriate answer
• Fluently engage in a question-answer setting about a topic.

Marking and Assessment

Your score in the speaking section will be based on your ability to formulate a spoken response to a question. You will be assessed with the following criteria:

Your answers will be marked on the content of your answer and the ideas you present. You will be deducted on answers which do not contain meaningful substance and unrelated content. Therefore, having the critical skills to answer questions directly with key main points is the basics for a high score.

Your fluency relates to your speaking ability in a natural manner:

• Your response time to formulate a response to the question.
• Minimal pauses in speech due when constructing sentences or thinking of words.
• The speed of your communication, speaking sentences quickly, words per minute.

The clarity of how the response organizes and links information, ideas and language:

Coherence refers to the linking of ideas through logical sequencing.

Cohesion refers to the varied and appropriate use of cohesive devices (for example, logical connectors, pronouns and conjunctions) to assist in making the conceptual and referential relationships between and within sentences clear.

Your vocabulary range and accuracy will affect your aseessment scores, as it pertains your knowledge and use of the English language.

Your spoken grammar will also affect your grading of your responses. Answers using complex grammar and sentence structures will be given higher scores. Poor grammar and sentence construction will invariably heavily affect your score.