How the Speaking test works
The Speaking test lasts 11 to 14 minutes and takes place face to face with an examiner. It has three parts:
- Part 1 (4–5 minutes): questions about familiar topics such as your studies, work, home, food or how you spend your weekends.
- Part 2 (3–4 minutes): a cue card. You get one minute to prepare and then speak for up to two minutes on the topic.
- Part 3 (4–5 minutes): a deeper discussion linked to the Part 2 topic, where you are expected to explain, compare and give opinions.
You are marked on Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation, all equally weighted.
Fluency first, accuracy close behind
Many students in Lahore speak English confidently with friends but freeze in the test because they are checking every sentence for mistakes. Others speak fast and smoothly but with frequent errors. Examiners reward a balance.
- Extend your answers. In Part 1, give a direct answer, then a reason or example. "Yes, I do. I usually..." is better than a one-word reply.
- Don't stop to correct small slips. A quick self-correction is fine; restarting a sentence three times hurts fluency.
- Use fillers naturally. "That's an interesting question" once is fine. Using it before every answer is noticeable.
- Aim for precision, not rare words. One accurate, natural phrase beats a memorised idiom used in the wrong place.
Pronunciation points for Urdu and Punjabi speakers
Your accent is not the problem. Examiners do not expect you to sound British or American; they assess how easily you are understood. These are the points that most often affect clarity for speakers from Lahore:
- V and W. Many speakers use one sound for both, so "west" and "vest" sound alike. Practise biting your lower lip lightly for /v/ and rounding your lips for /w/.
- TH sounds. "Think" may become "tink" and "this" become "dis". Place your tongue lightly between your teeth and push air through.
- Consonant clusters. Words starting with s + consonant sometimes gain an extra vowel: "school" as "iskool", "station" as "istation". Start directly on the "s".
- Word stress. English depends heavily on stress. Compare "PHOtograph", "phoTOGraphy" and "photoGRAPHic". Wrong stress can make a known word hard to recognise.
- Short and long vowels. "Ship" and "sheep", "full" and "fool". These pairs carry meaning in English.
- Z and J. Some Punjabi speakers merge these, so "zoo" sounds like "Jew" and "zero" like "jero". Keep the tongue behind the teeth and let air buzz through for /z/.
- Rhythm. English stresses key words and shortens small ones ("to", "for", "and"). Giving every syllable equal weight makes speech sound flat and harder to follow.
Choose two of these points at a time, not all seven. Record a short answer, listen for those two points only, then record it again. Within a few weeks the corrected sounds start to appear without you thinking about them, which is exactly what the examiner needs to hear in a live conversation.
Practising when you have no partner
Finding a regular English-speaking partner in Lahore isn't always easy, especially if your family and friends speak Urdu or Punjabi at home. You can still practise properly alone:
- Record yourself answering a Part 1 question set and listen back the next day.
- Read your transcript. IELTS Learning gives AI feedback on the transcript of your answer, which makes repeated words, fillers and grammar slips visible.
- Think aloud in English during routine moments: describing the traffic on your way home or planning your evening.
- Shadow a speaker. Play a short clip of clear English, pause, and repeat it with the same stress and rhythm.
Using the cue-card timer
Part 2 is where students most often run short. IELTS Learning has 186 Speaking prompts, including Part 2 cue cards with a real one-minute preparation timer and a two-minute speaking timer.
Practise until speaking for the full two minutes feels normal. A structure helps: what, when, who, why it matters, and how you feel about it now.
Teacher sessions for real conversation
AI feedback can't replace a real person asking unexpected follow-up questions. A 20-minute Book a Teacher session, from $5, gives you a full mock interview with feedback on all four criteria and specific pronunciation advice. Many students book one at the start and one a week or two before the test.
Try the Speaking section of the free sample test, or create an account to start your IELTS Speaking practice today.