IELTS Speaking Part 2 Information and Advice

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Many students seem to miss basic facts about IELTS Speaking Part 2, so this page is to fill in some of that missing information. There are also separate pages for more detailed information and advice for each part.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Format	The candidate is given a cue card with a topic to talk about and some questions to help them.
Timing	1 minute to prepare, 2 minutes to speak
Interaction Pattern	One candidate and one examiner
Task Types	A 1 to 2-minute ‘long turn’ where the candidate has to speak about a given random topic for about 2 minutes.
What does it test?	Talk at length on a given topic, using appropriate language. Organise your ideas coherently.
Marks	Candidates are assessed on their performance throughout.

Although it is difficult to prepare for this part of the test, it is essential that you try and get as much practice as possible, so you can get a good score.

Rather than only trying to answer the ‘bullet point’ questions on the cue card, treat them as helping questions to which you can add as much or as little as you want. There is no obligation to answer any of them, they are only there to help you.

You have one minute to prepare and make notes to help you to speak. Many teachers suggest noting vocabulary and grammar that you can use is useful, however, I suggest that using this time to write down the steps of your answer means that you will always have something to talk about and not stop too early or hesitate too much.

Practicing IELTS Speaking Part 2 will let you know what talking for about 2 minutes feels like. That way, you will know if you should keep speaking or if that is enough.

If the examiner stops you speaking, it is because he is busy, has a good idea of your score and wants to hear how you answer Part 3 questions.

Practice also helps with confidence. Overcoming difficulties in practice means your chances are better on test day.

Practice also allows you to develop a structure for most of your Part 2 answers so when you are doing your test, you have a template to follow.

One of the main problems about watching these videos, is they don’t give you any idea of how much pressure you will feel in the test.

IELTS can change people’s lives by helping them to study abroad or work in another country. It is really common for speaking test takers to be extremely nervous, which often affects what they say, and hence, their speaking score. Some people are so nervous they can’t speak at all!

To combat this, it is essential that you practice with different native speaking teachers or friends so you are confident that you can actually understand the questions they ask. English speakers have a vast range of accents, so practicing is recommended.

These two last points in particular, will make you more confident when taking your test. If you have the money, thinking about your IELTS test as the first one of several, will make it much less stressful, and allow you to find out your biggest problems before you take the next one. The only problem is, they are not cheap.

a) As mentioned above, think about the structure of your answers so you can fit the topic to it. Zooming in, using chunks, describing a person, describing a place, describing a time and being reminded of something are all useful in this respect.

b) If you use English in your work or studies, you have a vocabulary bank that you are familiar with. Pushing your answers towards your work or study allows you use that bank confidently. For example, if you have a boss or teacher who is highly qualified, they could become anyone in questions that start ‘Describe a person who …….’

c) When thinking about people, places or times, it is alright to have favourite phrases and sentences. Everybody does this in real life. For example, I remember my maths teacher at school used to say every day ‘It’s really stuffy in here, open the window’. It’s not alright to try and remember whole answers, though.

d) Use the latest IELTS Speaking questions to practice, but only use them to prepare WHAT you are going to speak about. Don’t memorize answers!

e) Don’t try to change your grammar quickly. Grammar and pronunciation usually take a long time to change.

f) Be prepared if you don’t know anything about the topic of the question. Have a plan.

g) Try and balance speaking clearly and speaking naturally. Speaking naturally means your speech should flow rather than pronouncing each word perfectly.

h) Do not pause for too long before you begin speaking. A short pause to gather your thoughts is acceptable, but anything longer than this will give you less time to produce a suitable sample of language. Being able to paraphrase if you do not know or cannot remember a word and extending your responses rather than giving a one-word answer, will help you more.

Describe a movie/film that you felt strongly about
You should say:
What it is about
When you watched it
Where you watched it
And explain why you felt strongly about it

I hope that has helped to give you a better understanding of what is required for IELTS Speaking Part 2, and that you will look into each part in more detail. There is a full list of pages on IELTS Speaking Part 2 here. Good luck with your test!