student

handbook
Booklet 1 - Speaking
Introduction
The IELTS speaking test lasts 11-14 minutes. The test is
divided into three parts. The IELTS examiner will ask you
different types of questions in each part as follows below.

Part 1: Short question and answers about familiar topics.

This part of the test lasts from 4 to 5 minutes and consists of
questions about you and the country you are from. There is a
maximum of three different sets of topics and each topic has a
maximum of four questions. The first topic will be about whether
you work or study, the place you are living in, or the place you are
from. The other two topics are usually fairly straightforward topics
such as hobbies, holidays, sports, and entertainment.

Part 2: Cue card section

You are given a card with a topic and then given 1 minute to prepare
a 1 to 2 minute answer to this topic. You should try to talk for 2
minutes if you are able. Topics include describing or commenting on
a person, place, object, activity, or experience. The topic also has
sub-topics, which are provided to assist you to plan your response.
The examiner may ask one or two rounding-off questions at the end
of this part of the test. These should be answered briefly.

Part 3: Discussion
This part of the test lasts from 4 to 5 minutes and consists of
questions roughly based on the topic area of the Part 2: Long Turn.
Questions typically ask you to 2 compare, analyze, speculate, or give
your opinion on the given topic. In this part the examiner may push
you hard to see the limits of your ability.
GRADING SYSTEM
Your speaking test is graded and marked from 1-9 in
accordance with the four key criteria shown below:

The four criteria are explained in more detail in the

sections.

Fluency and coherence:

6 7 8
speaks fluently;
Speaks at length, but Speaks at length without
hesitation is usually to
some effort is required noticeable effort
think of ideas and rarely
to search for language

some loss of coherence no loss of coherence develops topics

due to repetition, self- due to repetition, self- coherently and
correction, or hesitation correction, or hesitation appropriately

wide range of linking

some inappropriate wide range of linking
words used that assist
linking words words used
to make information
highly coherent
Pronounciation:

6 7 8
uses a range of intonation, Good usage of intonation, uses a wide range of
stress, rhythm; but with stress, rhythm; sustains pronunciation features
mixed control and it is not flexible use of these flexibly and appropriately
maintained features, with only
occasional lapses

can generally be easy to understand easy to understand

understood throughout, throughout; accent has throughout; accent has no
though mispronunciation minimal effect on effect on intelligibility
of individual words or intelligibility
sounds reduces clarity at
times

Vocabulary: [lexical resource]

6 7 8
Vocabulary is sufficient to vocabulary used flexibly to uses a wide range of
discuss topics at length discuss a variety of topics vocabulary readily and
and make the meaning flexibly to convey precise
clear in spite of some meaning
errors

generally paraphrases uses paraphrases uses paraphrases

successfully effectively effectively as required

insufficient advanced uses some less common uses less common and
language is used to award 7 and idiomatic vocabulary idiomatic vocabulary
and shows some awareness skillfully, with rare
of style and collocation, with inaccuracies
some inappropriate choices
Grammar: [grammatical
range and accuracy]

6 7 8
uses a mix of simple and flexibly uses a range of uses a wide range of
complex structures, but complex structures structures
with limited flexibility

may make frequent frequently produces error most sentences are error-
mistakes with complex free sentence free with only very
structures, though these occasional errors that are
rarely cause not repeated
comprehension problems
Level 9 Grading Criteria

speaks fluently like a native speaker and any

repetition or self-correction is extremely rare; and
any hesitation is to think of ideas and not to think

Fluency and of vocabulary or grammar

coherence speaks coherently using a wide range of

appropriate cohesive features

responses to question are relevant and developed

fully

uses a full range of pronunciation features with

precision and subtlety

Pronounciation sustains flexible use of pronunciation features

throughout

can be understood effortlessly

uses vocabulary with full flexibility and precision

Lexical for all topics

resource uses idiomatic language naturally and accurately

Grammatical uses a full range of structures naturally and

appropriately
range and
produces consistently accurate structures apart
accuracy from ‘slips’ characteristic of native speaker speech
1.2 PREPARING FOR
YOUR TEST
To improve your score in the IELTS speaking
section, you should focus on the following areas:

Understanding how the speaking test is graded.

Preparing for and practicing common questions
that are asked.
Learning ways of structuring your answers to
extend your answers and to improve your
coherence.
Learning to paraphrase, which is when you use a
phrase to explain a word you can't think of.
Improving your pronunciation, and ensuring you
can make all sounds correctly (th, l, r, long vowel
sounds) and also getting natural sounding stress,
intonation, and connected speech.
Improving spoken grammar by correcting any
frequent errors, and learning to use a couple of
complex sentence structures such as conditional
phrases or relative pronouns.
Broadening your vocabulary especially by building
common phrases that can be used for a variety of
responses, such as connectives and linking words
and idiomatic language.
 Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing means formulating someone else’s
ideas in your own words. To paraphrase a source,
you have to rewrite/ resay a passage without
changing the meaning of the original text.

General Strategies
This section introduces strategies that can be used in all
three parts of the test. The strategies will be briefly
introduced in this section, and then the way to use these
strategies will be explained under each part of the test.

Bad Example of a speaking test:

Do you like to watch movies: yes

What sort? Drama

Do you have a particular favorite? no

Do you have a favorite actor? no

It is really important to produce language in the test
to get a good score for all four grading criteria. The
example above fails to do this. It is very short so the
examiner is not able to see any fluency. Very few
words have been spoken so it is difficult to assess
pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

EXTEND YOUR ANSWER

The strategies below are used to answer the question:
"What kind of food do you like?"

DIVIDE INTO 2 OR 3 PARTS:

This strategy involves giving 2 or 3 reasons for your
answer, as follows: Well, there are three kinds of food
that I’m really keen on.

The one I like best is Italian food because…

I also really like to eat Korean food as it’s very…

I’m also kind of partial to Mexican food because it is…

EXAMPLE

Well, there are three kinds of food that I’m really

keen on. The one I like best is Italian food because
I am a big fan of pasta. I also really like to eat
Korean food as it’s very healthy and flavorsome.
I’m also kind of partial to Mexican food because it
is so hot and spicy.

2ND STRATEGY
GENERAL TO SPECIFIC
This strategy involves giving a general reason for
your answer, and then explaining it more specifically,
and even giving an example as follows:

Well, I’d have to say that I’m a big fan of seafood.

In particular, I really like to eat Japanese seafood
because it’s always so fresh. For instance, sashimi
is delicious because the raw fish is so flavorsome.

General = Seafood

Specific = Japanese Seafood

Example = Sashimi
 Your grade for fluency requires that you speak at a
good speed. You must demonstrate this to the
examiner, but you do NOT need to speak quickly
throughout the entire exam.

Slow down when you…

reach a difficult area or are unsure of what you will say
want to emphasize something
are using high level language to make the examiner notice it

Speed-up when you…

are comfortable with the topic and what you are saying
are giving less important information

Use redundant language (BE CAREFUL)

Redundant language is words that don't have any real meaning
such as: oh, well, actually. YET MUST BE CAREFUL. YOU MUST USE IT
LIKE A NATIVE.

Use Punctuation
When we speak we use punctuation. Spoken punctuation takes the
form of pauses and these pauses act like punctuation in writing. They
guide the listener. A short pause signals a new clause. A longer pause
with a breath of air signals a new idea. And, an even longer pause
signals a change of topic.

comma = short pause

full-stop = longer pause with a breath of air paragraph= even longer

pause
PART 3 - THE DISCUSSION

Part 3 Requirement Suggestions

4-5 Minutes Discussion Respond to the 1. Give extended

examiner's questions responses. Ideally your
related to your topic in responses should be
Part Two for 4-5 twice as long as in Part
Minutes. One of the test. So you
want answers that
You are allowed to ask are about 4 to 6
the examiner to sentences.
repeat or rephrase
the question. 2. Try to support your
main points, by adding
You can ask a checking details, giving
question: "Are you explanations, or giving
asking me about…" examples.

3. If you are really

stuck about how to
answer a question, do
not sit there in silence!
Say it: "Gosh that's a
tricky question I've
never thought about
that before." Then try
to give some sort of
answer. If you can't
then just tell the
examiner. Of course
this is not ideal, but the
worst thing is to sit
there in silence.
 The major difference with this part of the exam is that
you are asked questions about people in general
rather than about yourself.

Another key difference is that the examiners are able

to ask their own questions, and they are not limited to
the questions written in their book like in other parts of
the exam.

You should thank the examiner and leave the exam

room. You could say something like:

Thank you, I appreciate your time.

Do not do any of the following:
Have any further
conversation with the
examiner unless the
examiner initiates it.
Apologize for your poor
English!
Ask the examiner what your
score is.
Try to explain any mistakes
that you made.
SMALL TIPS
Start with a memorized set phrase
Use some memorized set phrases to buy time to
think about what you are going to say:
1. Off the top of my head I would say…
2. Well, it's difficult to say, but ...
3. That's an interesting question and I think I would have to say that…
4. Mmm ... I'm not really sure, but…
5. Actually, that's not something I've really thought about, but…
6. I don't really know much about that, but...

Ask for the question to be rephrased

I'm sorry I didn't quite catch that, could you please rephrase it"
This is a very common first question in this part of the test. It is
a question like: What are some of the different kinds of shops
in your country?

Note carefully:

Avoid just repeating the information or language

that you used in Part Two. This is because it will not
show the examiner anything new and not give them
any new rateable language.

In addition, another common mistake that people

make is to just give one kind of shop, but the
question clearly asks for more than one kind of
shop. I suggest the following approach:
MODEL ANSWER:

What are some of the different kinds of shops in

your country?

Well, there are a wide range of places to go

shopping.

One of the most popular types is department

stores. I think this is because they stock high-
quality products and always offer a money back
warrantee if you are unsatisfied with your
purchase.

Another, trendy place that people in my country

enjoy shopping at is night markets. I guess this
might be because it's a lot of fun and the prices
are usually cheaper than in the stores.
USEFUL LANGUAGE

Introduction
Well, there are a wide range of…
Actually, there is quite an array of…
There are many options to choose from.

First Type
One of the most popular types is…
Probably the most common is…

Second Type
Another, trendy option is
Many people are also keen on…

Giving Reasons
I think this is because
I guess this might be because