How should I prepare for the IELTS speaking test?
EnglishAsked by Stuart
I have about two months. What should I actually practise, and what do examiners look for that candidates usually miss?
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1 answer
Two months is comfortable if you spend it on the right things. **Know what is actually being scored.** Four criteria, equally weighted: fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation. Notice that "being right" is not one of them — the examiner does not care about your opinions, only how you express them. **The biggest mistake by far is memorising answers.** Examiners are trained to spot it and it is penalised. A memorised answer also collapses the moment the question shifts slightly. Prepare *ideas and vocabulary* for common topics; do not prepare scripts. **Part 1: extend.** Most candidates lose marks by answering in one sentence. Give a reason or an example, every time — two or three sentences, not one. **Part 2: practise with a timer.** One minute to prepare, two minutes to speak. The skill is filling two minutes without drying up, and it is trainable. **Part 3 is the one that decides your band.** It is abstract and discursive. Practise saying "it depends", then explaining what it depends on. **Fluency beats accuracy.** A candidate who speaks smoothly with a few errors scores higher than one who stops constantly to self-correct. Keep going. And practise out loud, with a person, under time pressure. Reading about the test is not preparing for it.
Stuart