The three parts of the Speaking test
The Speaking test lasts 11 to 14 minutes and takes place face to face with an examiner. It is recorded.
- Part 1 (4 to 5 minutes): familiar questions about your home, studies, work, hobbies and daily life. Answer in two or three sentences, with a reason or example.
- Part 2 (3 to 4 minutes): you receive a cue card, get 1 minute to prepare and then speak for up to 2 minutes on the topic. The examiner may ask one or two short follow-up questions.
- Part 3 (4 to 5 minutes): a discussion of more abstract ideas linked to the Part 2 topic. This is where higher bands are won, by explaining, comparing and speculating.
You are marked on four criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
Fluency or accuracy: which matters more?
Both count equally, but students tend to over-focus on one. If you stop every few seconds to correct yourself, fluency falls. If you rush with many errors, grammar falls. The goal is natural speech with small, occasional errors that do not block meaning.
A useful rule: if you make a mistake, correct it only if it changes the meaning, then move on. Examiners expect some self-correction at every level.
Pronunciation points for Hindi and Urdu speakers
Most students in Lucknow speak Hindi and many also speak Urdu or Awadhi at home. These are rich languages, and your sound system is not a problem to hide. A few features are worth practising because they affect clarity in English.
- V and W. Hindi and Urdu often use one sound for both, so "west" and "vest" can merge. Practise rounding your lips for /w/ ("we, wine, work") and touching the lower lip with your teeth for /v/ ("very, van, village").
- TH sounds. "Think" may come out as "tink" and "this" as "dis". Place your tongue lightly between your teeth and push air through.
- Added vowels before S-clusters. Words like "school", "station" and "speech" can become "iskool" or "istation". Start directly on the /s/ sound.
- Word stress. English stresses one syllable strongly: PHOtograph, phoTOGraphy, photoGRAPHic. Our transcript feedback helps you spot words the system did not recognise, which often signals a stress or sound problem.
- Intonation. A flat tone can sound uninterested. Let your voice rise and fall, especially when you list items or contrast ideas.
- Retroflex T and D. These are stronger in Hindi. In English, a lighter touch of the tongue sounds more natural.
Urdu speakers often already have clear /z/ and /f/ sounds, which is an advantage. Keep using them.
Practising with no partner
Many students say, "I have no one to practise English with." You do not need one for most of the work.
- Use our prompts. IELTS Learning has 186 prompts across Parts 1, 2 and 3. Answer aloud and the system creates a transcript with AI feedback.
- Practise thinking aloud in English. Describe your route to college, from Aliganj to Hazratganj, or explain how to make a dish. Narrating everyday tasks builds fluency fast.
- Shadow audio. Play a short clip of clear British English, pause, and repeat it with the same rhythm.
- Review your transcript. Look for repeated words (like "basically" or "actually"), missing articles and short answers that could be extended.
Using the cue-card timer properly
Part 2 is where students often panic. Our cue-card practice uses a real 1-minute preparation timer and a 2-minute speaking timer, so you learn exactly how long two minutes feels.
- Use your minute to write four or five key words, not sentences.
- Cover every bullet on the card, but spend most time on the one you can say most about.
- If you finish early, add a personal story or explain why the experience mattered.
Lucknow gives you plenty of material: a visit to Bara Imambara, a meal in Aminabad, a festival with family, a memorable teacher at school. Personal, specific stories are easier to talk about for two minutes than general opinions.
When to book a teacher
AI feedback is excellent for practice volume, but Speaking is a conversation, and nothing replaces talking to a real person. Book a Teacher offers 1-to-1 online sessions of about 20 minutes from ₹299. A good pattern is one session early on to identify your main issues, and another one or two weeks before the test to rehearse under pressure.
IELTS Speaking practice with all prompts is included in Full Access at ₹999 for 2 months. Create your free account to try the free sample test's Speaking section first.