IELTS Speaking Instructions December 3, 2024

IELTS Speaking Dos and Don’ts (IELTS Speaking Instructions) learn to excel in IELTS Speaking with these tips: Prepare for all parts, speak confidently, avoid common mistakes, and maximize your scores.

What is IELTS Test?

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is especially planned for non – native English language speakers who want to go in any foreign country for migration, getting good job or for higher studies. IELTS test is taken to judge your four skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking and listening.

Remember, IELTS Speaking and Listening are the same for both types of candidates (Academic & General). But on the other hand, IELTS Reading and Writing are not same and seem too hard for IELTS candidates. So, you need to improve your skills to a considerable extent before the test. In this article, you will learn about IELTS speaking dos and don’ts in detail.

IELTS Speaking Parts: Overview

IELTS Speaking test is same for both types of candidate (Academic and General). There are 3 parts of IELTS Speaking test. Part 1 is considered very easy as it is all about introductory questions. Part 2 contains more questions which are asked in the Cue card. Part 3 consists of more questions which are mostly related to the part 2 and very important thing is that you are to answer the examiner’s questions in detail with arguments.

This table will helpful you to know about IELTS Speaking dos and don’ts in detail. Let us discuss in detail the dos and don’ts of all three parts along with IELTS Speaking test duration:

IELTS Speaking parts	Questions / Format	Time
IELTS Part 1	10 to 12 introductory questions	4 to 5 minutes
IELTS Part 2	Preparation of 1 cue card	3 to 4 minutes
IELTS Part 3	4 to 6 follow up questions	4 TO 5 minutes

IELTS Speaking part 1-Don’ts

Don’t go out of the topic

It means that whatever your examiner asks in the IELTS speaking part 1, answer him but don’t go off the topic. Talking about the topic which is asked is the key to success in IELTS speaking test.

Don’t give Yes or No in answer

When your examiner asks you question, you need to extend it for your answer full sentences. Don’t give ‘Yes or No’ in answer because your examiner wants to judge your English fluency, cohesion and coherence.

Don’t speak very quietly

For taking good bands in IELTS Speaking test, you need to speak loudly, clearly and fluently. You can get good bands by following these things. Don’t speak very quietly, it will not have good impression on the examiner regarding your speaking module.

Don’t be late

Make sure to reach before the scheduled time in the examination hall. Don’t be late; it will create tension.

Don’t give ‘No’ in answer

By speaking fluently and clearly using correct grammar and outstanding sentence structures, you will be able to take good IELTS bands. To follow these skills, don’t give ‘No’ in answer. Keep in mind that your imagination power plays a very significant role in this scenario.

For example, you don’t know the answer of the question or you have not experienced that thing which is being asked, you must give the answer of that question by using the power of imagination.

Don’t be a perfectionist

The candidates who take 9, 8 or 7 bands in IELTS test, they also do minor mistakes. For taking good score, don’t try to be perfectionist, because if you think about your fluency, coherence and grammar mistakes, you can be nervous.

Don’t be scared

Many people become nervous before the IELTS test and don’t take good scores in test. Don’t be too scared, as your examiner is the person just like you and me. So, try your level best to remain calm during the IELTS test.

IELTS Speaking part 1-dos (IELTS Speaking Instructions)

Do arrive early

Every exam requires you to reach before the time. When you reach early, you know about many things and maintain yourself for the test. Don’t be late, it can make you nervous.

Extend your answer to the question

IELTS Speaking test also demands to expand your answer. Remember, IELTS test is taken from you to judge your fluency and confidence, not just your knowledge. For showing this, you need to expand your answer to the interviewer’s question.

Show interest

When you give answer in too short words, it shows that you are not interested and being bored. Therefore, you need to make your interest with high level English in the answer of the examiner’s question.

First impression is very important

Your first impression plays a vital role in the whole conversation and the same is true to interview also. Keep this thing in your mind that your examiner is human just like you and me. Don’t be nervous. Be natural and do leave a good impression on the examiner.

Do know the procedure

Before the IELTS Speaking test, you should know about its procedure. If you know about the activities in the IELTS Speaking test, don’t feel nervous and also get good IELTS bands. In IELTS Speaking test part 1, your examiner asks very short questions which consist of introductory questions. These questions are about your name, family, hobby, hometown and study etc.

Do practice

Your better preparation gives you good result in IELTS Speaking. It is possible only after doing a lot of practice. Through practice, you can find your mistakes and enhance your speaking skills. You also know that practice makes a man permanent. Do practice and get good IELTS scores.

IELTS Speaking part 1 Instructions

IELTS Speaking part 1 instructions will help you to take good bands in the test. Let us learn in detail:

IELTS Speaking test is a face to face conversation between the candidate and the interviewer.
IELTS speaking part 1 consists of at least 4 to 5 minutes, and its band is 1, but total time of all parts of speaking is 11 to 12 minutes.
Be natural and excited- don’t do anything which shows your lack of interest in front of your examiner.
Remember, IELTS Speaking part is started at that time when your examiner turns on the recording device.
IELTS speaking part 1 is all about introductory questions which might be about such topics as hometown, family, weather, study, computer, school and hobby etc.
You can’t say your examiner to change topic because these topics are selected randomly in the list.
In IELTS Speaking part 1, you are to answer 12 questions which are taken on 3 topics. These questions consist of your childhood, hopes, and family memories and sometimes are about your country people, their feelings or experiences.
Keep it in your mind; your answer should be in 2 to 5 sentences.
Don’t give answer is Yes or No. You need to extend your answer to a considerable extent.
Never give answer of the examiner’s question in 2 to 4 words because your examiner wants to judge your English.
Use body language. (Smiling face and eye contact).
Some examiners might not treat friendly or encouraging. Be ready and prepare yourself and try to improve your performance in front of that kind of examiner.

IELTS Speaking Part 1 Questions

In IELTS speaking test, examiner does ask questions on the following topics. Say your partner to ask these questions from you. Giving answers of these questions will prepare you for speaking module.

Home, Neighborhood and Country

Do you live in a house or an apartment?
What is your favorite room in your house?
What facilities do you have in your neighborhood? (Cafés, restaurants, shops etc.)
What would you like to change about your neighborhood?
What do you like about your country?
Is your country popular with tourists?
Where is a good place to visit in your country?

Hobbies and Interests

What do you do in your free time?
Do you enjoy reading?
Do you read or write stories or poems?
Do you play a musical instrument?
Do you like computer games?
Do you have any creative hobbies like painting, writing, or music?
Do you have any active hobbies like sports, hiking or dancing?

Studying

What do/did you study?
Why do/did you want to study that?
What subject do you enjoy studying most?
Are you planning to take any courses soon?
How long have you been studying English?
Do you think English will be important for you in the future?
Would you like to learn any other languages?

Work

What do you do?
What is the most important part of your job?
What do you like/ unlike about your job?
Why did you choose your job?
Do you work for long hours?
What is your journey like to and from work?
What is your dream job?

Sports and leisure Activities

How often do you play sports or do exercise?
What sports are popular in your country?
Did you play sports at school?
Do you prefer playing sports or watching them?
How often do you watch sports?
Have you ever been part of a sports team or club?
What type of exercise do you enjoy doing?

Family

Do you have any brothers or sisters?
Tell me about somebody in your family.
Do you live with your family?
How often do you spend time with your family?
What do you do with your family?
Do you prefer chatting with family or friends?
Is family important to you?

IELTS Speaking part 2 dos and don’ts

IELTS Speaking part 2- don’ts

Don’t worry about your accent

IELTS examiner judges your confidence and fluency of speaking English neither the level of your knowledge. Don’t worry about your accent but you need to listen (American, British and Australian) accents before the test.

Don’t speak less than two minutes

IELTS examiner tries to judge your fluency, coherence, lexical resource and sentence structure. If you don’t say anything, it can be difficult for your examiner to check your Speaking English. You need to expand your answer to two minutes and don’t give answer in two or three words.

Don’t prioritize grammar over fluency

When you are speaking, don’t focus on your every word from the grammar point of view. Don’t prioritize grammar over fluency; otherwise you may feel uncomfortable and panic.

Don’t memorize your answers

Don’t memorize your answers before the exam. It is most important thing to speak fluently and clearly during the test. Preparing readymade answers before the test makes you robotic and unnatural.

Don’t interpret the examiner

It is important in the communication to wait for another person who is speaking first and don’t interpret. IELTS speaking part 2 wants the same when your examiner is speaking, listen to him carefully. When you are given the time of speaking, you should speak in the best possible way. You need to wait for him to finish speaking before responding.

Don’t forget to practice

Practice is the most important thing and plays a crucial rule when you want to achieve something. The more you practice for Speaking English, the more you feel relaxed and comfortable in the exam. Do practice very well, and avoid doing mistakes and focusing on your sense of sentence structure, grammar and fluency.

Don’t speak too fast

Don’t speak too fast in the IELTS Speaking part 2. It is considered a very common issue between the candidate and the examiner. When the candidate is nervous and panic, he cannot express all the thoughts properly. Remember, speaking quickly creates difficulty for the examiner to follow your ideas and understand your responses.

IELTS Speaking part 2- dos (IELTS Speaking Instructions)

Manage time wisely for cue card

In IELTS Speaking part 2, you should prepare yourself for speaking from 1 to 2 minutes about the cue card. But it can be possible when you manage your time wisely. So, when you do practice, try to speak more than 2 minutes as far as cue card is concerned. In this way, you will be able to talk for at least 2 minutes.

Focus on the introduction, main body and analysis

It is very important to focus on every question on the cue card while preparation. You should make notes including introduction, main body and analysis completely. It can be beneficial for you in IELTS Speaking test.

Excellence range of grammar

When you are able to use good sentence structures, vocabulary and excellent range of grammar in IELTS Speaking test, you can take high scores. Remember, your excellence range grammar is 25% in the IELTS Speaking test.

Use body language

Body language (Eye contact, hand movement and smiling face) plays a vital role to take good bands in IELTS Speaking part 2. To use body language, made yourself relax and comfortable and also show your interest.

Ask for question again

If you don’t understand the examiner, you can say him to repeat it for you.

IELTS Speaking part 2 Instructions

IELTS speaking part 2 is very important and its weightage is 6.0 bands out of 9.0 bands in speaking module. To crack Cue card, you must follow these instructions:

IELTS speaking part 2 consists of 3 to 4 minutes.
In this part, you are given 1 cue card which is also called’ task card’.
After the preparation of cue card, you are to speak 1 to 2 minutes fluently. But, according to my experience, you must talk at least for 2 minutes.
IELTS speaking part 2 gives opportunity to speak English and show your talent.
Makes notes before the talk when you are given one minute before the talk.
Some people say it is long turn, but it’s a good turn for you to speak in this part.
Memorize a good opener.
Paraphrase the topic.
Ask for clarification.
Be natural.
Make good first impressions (Eye contact & Smiling face and hand movement) in IELTS Speaking part 2.
Be friendly enough and speak softly.
Don’t show lack of interest in this test.
Don’t be panic.

IELTS Speaking Part 2 Questions

An Interesting Animal You Have Seen

Describe an interesting animal you have seen

You should say:

What animal it was
When and Where you saw it
And explain how you feel about this animal

A House or Apartment You Would Like to Live in

Describe a house or apartment you would like to live in.

You should say:

where it is / where it would be
what you would (like to) do there
who you would (like to) live therewith
and explain why you would like to live in this place

A Successful Small Business

Describe a successful small business that you know about.

You should say:

what business/company it is
what this business does
how you know about this business
and explain why you think this business/company is successful.

A Crowded Place You Went To

Describe a crowded place you’ve been to

You should say:

when you went there

where the place is (or, was)
who you went therewith
and explain how you felt about the place.

A Family Member You Spend Time With

Describe a family member you spend a lot of time with

You should say:

who this person is
what you usually do together
what kind of person he/she is
and explain why you spend the most time with him/her.

A Person Often in the News

Describe a person who is often in the news, and who you would like to meet.

You should say:

who this person is
how you know him/her
why he/she is often in the news
and explain why you would like to meet him/her.

IELTS Speaking part 3 dos and don’ts

In IELTS speaking part 3, follow up questions are asked which are related to the cue card. Following dos and don’ts should be kept in mind to perform at the best possible level in this part:

IELTS Speaking part 3-don’ts

Don’t_ be too brief

IELTS speaking part 3 is a two – way process of communication where the examiner demands you to give answers in detail. Don’t speak 2 or 3 words to the interviewer’s question. Don’t be too brief, it might be wrong according to the IELTS Speaking part 3. You should give long answers easily understood by your examiner.

Don’t shy or hesitate

In IELTS Speaking test, when you become shy or hesitate in front of the test taker, you don’t get high bands. This thing also shows that you are nervous in the test and also losing your confidence.

Don’t focus too much on clothing

During the IELTS test, don’t focus too much on your clothes. It can be reason of reducing your marks, because your examiner can understand that you are not interested in the test. Your focal point of speaking is that you are speaking fluently and accurately.

Don’t underestimate the importance of practice

To pass every test, you must focus on your practice. Without enough practice, you cannot get good bands in IELTS speaking test.

Keep in your mind, practice makes a man permanent. So, don’t underestimate the importance of practice. Your better practice helps you to boost your confidence, maintain eye contact and hand movement in the test properly.

Don’t use any big and unfamiliar words

To get high scores in IELTS Speaking test, don’t use big and unfamiliar words. This is a very common mistake. Many candidates use big and familiar words to think that they can leave good impression on the test taker.

Remember, IELTS test is taken to judge your accuracy and fluency of Speaking English, not to judge your knowledge.

Show confidence

You get high bands due to your good confidence which is most important and plays a crucial role in the test. You need good scores in IELTS Speaking test, but it is possible when you speak politely and confidently in front of your examiner.

Speak generally about the topic

Although, IELTS speaking part 3 is a long process of communication between the candidate and the examiner, you must keep in mind that you are speaking generally about the topic. Don’t go off the topic.

Build up your Vocabulary and Grammar

IELTS Speaking test demands you to focus on your good vocabulary and grammar. Avoid these kinds of mistakes during your test. Focus on your pronunciation, fluency, grammar and vocabulary.

Use complex sentences

IELTS examiner listens to you more attentively when you use some complex sentences in your communication.

IELTS Speaking part 3 Instructions

For getting good IELTS scores, you should use more linking words and phrases in the part 3.
You also know that IELTS Speaking part 3 is a two way process of discussion, so you need to speak generally about the given topic.
Don’t go out the topic.
During IELTS test, body language is the best way to get high bands in part 3.
To use good vocabulary, grammar, cohesion and cohesive devices, also known as linking words for IELTS speaking is mandatory.
Don’t speak too quickly and too polite.
Be natural and be enough friendly from the examiner.
Don’t give answer in 2 or 3 words.
You need to expand your answer.
Don’t be scared from the examiner.

IELTS Speaking part 3 Questions

In IELTS speaking part 3, most of the questions are related to the cue card, also known as follow up questions. Following questions are being given just as an example:

What are the most advertised products in your country?
Which one is more effective: newspaper advertising or online advertising?
What role do social media play in advertising?
What do you think of celebrity endorsement in advertising?
Does advertising encourage us to buy things we don’t need?
How do ads make people buy new products?
What are the advantages of advertising?
How does marketing make people choose particular goods and brands?
Where do people spend most of their time in their home?
Where are good places for relaxation? What are the differences among these places?
Why do some people prefer to relax in public places, like parks or cafes?
Do you think it is the responsibility of people or the government to ensure places for people to relax?
Do you think there should be classes for training young people and children how to relax?
Which is more important, mental relaxation or physical relaxation?
Why is it important for people to take some time to relax in the day?
What are some ways that busy people can relax?
What can happen if people do not find time to relax?
Why is it difficult for some people to relax?
Some people feel that keeping calm and staying relaxed is a skill that can be learned and improved. Do you agree with this?
Do you think that relaxing is easier than it was in the past?

IELTS Speaking dos and don’ts / IELTS Speaking Instructions: Conclusion

IELTS speaking module is the most important output skill module and the most active one, as your bands are decided in 14 minutes. Do a lot of practice regarding the use of proper words at a proper place, cohesion and coherence, pronunciation and fluency and get 9.0 bands in IELTS speaking module.

IELTS Speaking Dos and Don’ts / IELTS Speaking Instructions

What is IELTS Test?