Test guide
How the Speaking test works
The real test lasts 11–14 minutes and has three parts. Bandly follows the same structure, timing and examiner wording, and the examiner listens to what you say and responds to it.
Part 1 · Interview
4–5 minutes
- The examiner introduces themselves and asks your name.
- Questions about you (work or studies) and two or three familiar topics.
- Aim for natural answers of 2–4 sentences with a reason or example.
- Short answers may be followed by “Why?” or “Why not?”.
- Long answers are politely stopped after about 40 seconds.
Part 2 · Long turn
3–4 minutes
- You get a topic card with points to cover.
- Exactly one minute to prepare. You can make notes.
- Speak for one to two minutes. The examiner stops you at two minutes.
- If you stop before one minute, the examiner asks “Can you tell me anything more?”.
- One or two short follow-up questions at the end.
Part 3 · Discussion
4–5 minutes
- Broader, more abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic.
- Give opinions, reasons, examples and comparisons.
- The examiner may rephrase a question or ask a follow-up.
- Answers are stopped after about 75 seconds.
How the examiner responds to you
| When you… | The examiner… |
|---|---|
| You ask “Could you repeat that?” | The examiner repeats the question (Part 3: rephrases it). Exam style: up to 2 repeats per question. |
| You ask what a word means | Part 1: “I’m afraid I can’t explain that.” Part 3: the question is rephrased. |
| You pause mid-sentence to think | The examiner waits and keeps listening; your answer continues. |
| You say “I don’t know” | Part 1: “That’s all right.” and the next question. Part 3: a simpler wording first. |
| You ask “What about you?” | The examiner politely declines and repeats the question. |
| You go off-topic | The examiner asks the question again once. |
| You stay silent | The question is repeated once, then the examiner moves on. |
| You say you want to stop | The examiner explains how to end the test and continues. |
How your band is calculated
Four criteria
Fluency & Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range & Accuracy and Pronunciation are each given a whole band from 0 to 9, with evidence quoted from your answers. Pronunciation is estimated from how clearly your speech was transcribed, your speed and your pauses.
Parts and overall band
Each part is scored on its own. In the full test the parts are combined (Part 3 counts most) and the overall band is the average of the four criteria with official IELTS rounding (.25 rounds up to .5, .75 rounds up to the next band).
Fair-play rules
Per part you can ask for 2 repeats, 1 explanation and 1 off-task question, and leave 2 questions unanswered, with no effect on your score. Beyond that, Fluency & Coherence (needing prompting) or Lexical Resource (too little evidence) is lowered by one band. The report shows exactly what happened and why.
Watch: practicing IELTS from home
A short tutorial on setting up IELTS practice with a phone or laptop. Plays here when you press play.