The IELTS Speaking test is designed to assess your ability to communicate effectively in spoken English. It's a face-to-face interview conducted by a certified examiner and is divided into three parts, each with specific objectives:

Part 1 - Introduction and Interview (4-5 minutes):

The examiner introduces themselves and asks you to introduce yourself and answer questions about familiar topics like your hometown, studies, work, hobbies, etc.
This section aims to assess your ability to provide information about yourself, your background, and general topics in a simple conversational manner.
Part 2 - Long Turn (3-4 minutes):

You are given a cue card with a specific topic, and you have one minute to prepare before speaking about that topic for up to two minutes.
The topic could be about experiences, opinions, describing something, or narrating a story.
This section evaluates your ability to speak at length on a given topic, organize your thoughts, and express ideas coherently.
Part 3 - Discussion (4-5 minutes):

This part involves a more in-depth discussion with the examiner on themes related to the topic in Part 2. It's a broader conversation that explores your ability to express and justify opinions, analyze, and speculate.
The examiner will ask follow-up questions that delve deeper into the theme discussed in Part 2.
This section assesses your ability to engage in more abstract discussions, elaborate on your ideas, and use complex language structures.


Speaking Band descriptors:

Fluency and coherence: you need to show the ability to speak for a long time comfortably. You also need to connect your ideas, sentences, and points together well with a range of discourse markers and connectives.

Lexical resource: Ability to use a range of vocabulary to discuss all topics given to you in the test, and the use of less common and idiomatic phrases is required for higher band scores.

Grammatical range and accuracy: Ability to produce simple and complex structures with good accuracy. You also need to use a range of different structures.

Pronunciation: Saying the words clearly and correctly. The rhythm and stress of sentences is important, so using intonation and contractions is important for higher band scores.