A common question we are asked, as former IELTS speaking examiners, is what is the most important part of the IELTS speaking test?
Candidates want to know what part to focus on. What part will ensure you reach 7.0 or 8.0?
What part should you practice most?
What is the IELTS speaking test?
The IELTS speaking test has three parts:
Part 1 – three sets of questions about you, your life, thoughts and experiences.
In this part, the questions are fixed and the IELTS speaking examiner chooses them before the test.
Part 2 – a two-minute monologue about a topic the examiner gives you. You have one minute to prepare.
There is a huge range of cue cards for this part and again, the IELTS speaking examiner chooses them before the test starts
Part 3 – 4-5 minutes of questions about the topic of part 2. These questions are ‘global’. They are about your thoughts on the situations, not your personal experiences.
In this part, the IELTS speaking examiner has freedom to adapt the questions, and they have to ask follow up questions, based on what you say.
Which is the most important part of the IELTS speaking test?
All three parts of the IELTS speaking test are important as all three parts decide your score. Let me break it down:
Why is part 1 of the IELTS speaking test important?
In part 1, the IELTS speaking examiner does not know anything at all about your English language ability. Remember, they have not seen your reading, writing or listening papers! You are simply a name and a number. Part 1 is, therefore, your first impression. You want the speaking examiner to immediately recognise that you have a good level of English. If you are aiming at 7.0+, you want to show them that you are advanced from the start.
You can do this by:
- fully developing your answers by giving specific details. Do not just answer with a couple of words or simple lists
- keeping the answers to the right length. You only have 2-3 sentences for each answer or the examiner will interrupt you
- thinking about answers in terms of past, present and future. Do not just talk about now. Was it the same in the past? why/why not? Will things change?
- expecting the unexpected. Some of the part 1 topics are weird, e.g. shoes, the sky, patience etc.
- focusing on giving a range of accurate grammatical structures from the start e.g. present perfect continuous, conditionals, cleft sentences
- varying your vocabulary e.g. for likes and dislikes, using phrases like ‘I’m into…’ instead of just ‘I like…’
Read more about why your IELTS examiner interrupts you
What is important about part 2 of the IELTS speaking test?
In part 2 of the speaking test, the IELTS speaking examiner has two minutes to just listen to you. They are listening for how well you can give an organised talk on a topic you have just prepared, to the grammatical structures you can use and how well you use vocabulary to explain your points.
In this part, they are deciding around what your level is. If they thought you were around an advanced level after part 1, they are checking this in part 2 and deciding if you are 7.0 or could you reach 8.0 or even higher.
For part 2, focus on:
- giving 2 minute talks with a beginning, a middle and an end
- making notes to help you stay organised
- using a range of tenses especially for narratives e.g. past continuous, past perfect
- practicing with a range of part 2 cue cards
Prepare for 1 minute, record yourself talking for two minutes and then listen. Is it well organised? How is your grammar? Is it accurate? Is your pronunciation clear?
Part 3 of the speaking test
Part 3 is where the speaking examiner fine-tunes their assessment of your level. They control the questions, and they choose them based on what level they thought you were in parts 1 and 2. If they think you are 7.0 or higher, they will push you to develop your answers, and ask you more abstract questions to see how easily you can discuss unfamiliar topics.
Part 3 is where you ability to think critically comes in (read this blog to find out more about why critical thinking is important), as well as your basic knowledge of common IELTS topics. You are expected to be able to talk about topics like education, technology, environment, health etc. You are NOT expected to be an expert, and you do not even have to be right with your answers. However, you need to show that you can speculate about the causes and effects of situations, talk about how they have changed over time, predict how they may change in future etc.
To perform well in part 3, you need to be confident discussing IELTS topics with other people and justifying your ideas:
- listen to podcasts and watch Ted Talks and other videos about common IELTS topics to gain ideas and opinions. Read this blog about the podcasts we recommend
- get a speaking partner or join a speaking group and discuss IELTS part 3 questions together, to share thoughts
- practice ‘functional’ language for part 3 e.g. cause and effect, comparison, prediction, speculation, justifying opinions, evaluating arguments etc.
- Our ‘Boost your ideas’ online speaking course is designed to help you with critical thinking and boost your ability to discuss IELTS topics in part 3. The next one starts in January.
This is why people believe that part 3 is the most important part of the IELTS speaking test. This is where the examiner decides on your scores and to reach the high levels, you have to perform well here.
However, if you have not shown a strong English language level in parts 1 and 2, the examiner probably won’t ask you the more abstract questions or push you to justify yourself better. You want them to be listening for your advanced ability from the start of the test.
So each part of the IELTS speaking test is important. Make sure you understand each part, practice and get proper feedback.
Find out more about our Preparation for IELTS speaking online course., available 1-1 or in a small group. The next group courses start in the new year.
