Preparing and Practising for the long turn in IELTS speaking
This is the second section of the IELTS speaking test and its the area that can be the most worrying and the most challenging.
Students see the main point to this task as being able to speak for two minutes on a topic they have never seen before.
Now that is a challenge!
Yet, it shouldn’t be like this!
Why do I think so?
Well, my first thoughts are, it’s the perfect opportunity to display what you can do in terms of language, with no examiner interruptions.
I also think because there is only one question, which is the prompt, even if you go off topic, you shouldn’t get penalised.
Once you have understood the advice I give, there are practice cards for the most recent and popular topics as well as a checklist for the understanding the marking criteria and assessment.
You can practice these questions by yourself, but it’s even better to practice with a partner or a teacher.
Remember, when you practice you need to focus on the four Speaking Band scores and not just being able to talk for two minutes!
What do the IELTS Speaking Criteria mean?
If you want to get a high score in the IELTS Speaking test, it is very important to understand how you will be assessed.
This will help you to improve your speaking performance and maximise your score.
How are you assessed in the IELTS speaking test?
There are four IELTS speaking criteria:
- Fluency and Coherence (FC)
- Lexical Resource (LR)
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy (GRA)
- Pronunciation (PRON)
These four IELTS speaking criteria each relate to a different area of your spoken English skills.
Understanding what the examiner is looking for in these these criteria will help you improve your speaking performance in Part 2. 🙂
What is Fluency and Coherence?
In this section, the examiner is considering easily and how well you can respond to the examiner’s questions, for example;
- How easy is it for you to keep speaking?
- Do you pause or hesitate often when speaking?
- Do your ideas relate to the question?
- Can you link your ideas together?
- Can you explain what you mean, even if you forget the right word?
What is Lexical Resource?
This section is related to your knowledge and ability to use vocabulary which doesn’t draw attention. The examiner will be thinking,
- How wide is your vocabulary?
- How accurately do you use words?
- Do you use collocations accurately?
- Do you use some less common words?
What is Grammatical Range and Accuracy?
Among other things, the examiner is understanding how grammar is used to explain complex ideas, and whether the use structure and tense is natural or obvious or does it lead to confusion, for example,
- Do you use a range of structures?
- Do you get the word order right?
- Do you use the right tense?
- How often do you make mistakes?
- Do your mistakes make it difficult to understand what you mean?
How is Pronunciation assessed?
Finally, the examiner considers how well you modal a standard English, not whether you use British or American features. Questions the examiner will be asking are;
- Do you speak clearly?
- How easy are you to understand?
- Does your first language cause problems in your English?
- Do you use stress and intonation accurately?
- Do you use connected speech or link your words together?
How the band scores are awarded?
You will be given a band score in each of the four areas based on your performance across the whole speaking test.
Each area is assessed and given a complete band score by the examiner.
To achieve an overall band score overall, you must be assessed in all four areas.
The final overall band score can be a complete score or a half-band score.
For example; FC 7, LR 7, GRA 7, PRON 7 would give you an overall IELTS Speaking Band Score of 7, but FC 7, LR 7, GRA 6, PRON 7 would give a half band lower score of 6.5.
So, if you need to get Band 7 for speaking then you have to aim for 7 in each of the four IELTS speaking criteria.
Other Speaking Guides
Complete Guide to IELTS Speaking
How to Respond and Practise for an IELTS Task 2 question
Part 2 questions consist of a discussion area with a number of prompts around common topic areas. These topic areas are extended for Part 3 of the test.
Part 2 questions are a monologue and require you to speak in some detail around the topic area and around the prompts for 2 minutes.
In everyday conversation, while it is perfectly natural to give short answers and not speak for a long time, expecting an interruption, a mistake often made in this section is to give the most basic answer possible when it’s important to extend the discussion topic and extend or elaborate on the prompts.
The greatest challenge to speak for the full 2 minutes. If you can’t do this, then there’s a good chance that you will be penalised.
Plan you response
- Use your planning time to make some notes
- Make a note for each prompt
- If you naturally speak quickly, slow down a little
- Add an extra prompt in case you still have speaking time
Remember, this part of the test is
- to demonstrate your fluency and coherence
- to give the examiners a chance to think about more complex language you’re using
This part of the test is a good opportunity to display your knowledge of word and sentence stress and using natural intonation will make your delivery more interesting.
Things to remember and do
The most important thing you can do is to keep speaking in a natural way.
You don’t want to give the examiner an opportunity to ask you any questions until you have finished!
- When you are speaking, give yourself extra time to think with fillers, such as ‘erm‘, ‘hmm’, ‘let me think‘
- Don’t ask the examiner any questions and keep speaking until they say ‘Thank you’.
I’m often asked whether all the prompts have to be used, and if I’m honest, the advice I give is ‘no, they don’t’.
In fact, relying on the prompts too much can produce language that might seem too rigid or unnatural.
It’s also quite possible to not use any prompts as long as you are ‘more or less‘ on topic.
Practise makes perfect
So you get a feeling for how long two-minutes speaking time is, and so you don’t run dry, it’s a real good idea to do some practice.
That’s why you can find some common questions and prompts in this post.
Remember, when practicing, if you can record yourself you can notice the language you use and any errors you make!
There are some great apps that you can use to do this.
My particular favourite at the moment is Flipgrid. It’s really easy to use and share your recording with others for feedback.
I’ve used this in class and in speaking feedback groups.
Here’s the link.
Final points
The most important thing I could say about this area of the test is not to worry.
As long as you know what to expect and have some idea of the question categories, you can focus on the providing language for the assessment.
IELTS Speaking Part 2 Common Questions Categories
- Reading
- Television
- Work
- Family
- Sports
- Animals
- Technology
- Communication
- Health
- Food
- Travel
Describe a decision that was difficult to make.
You should say
- what you had to make a decision about
- where and when you made the decision.
- How long it took you to decide
and explain why this was a difficult decision for you to make.
Describe something you have taught someone.
You should say:
- what the situation was
- what you taught
- who this person was
and explain how this may have helped this person
Describe a good law in your country.
You should say:
- what the law is
- how you first learned about this law
- who benefits from this law (or, who is affected by this law)
and explain why you think this is a good law.
Describe a time when you took a risk
and you knew something bad might happen but it had a positive result.
You should say:
- What risk you took
- What bad thing you thought might happen
- Why you decided to take this risk
and explain why the result was positive
Describe something you have been taught.
You should say:
- what the situation was
- what you were taught
- who taught you
and explain how this has helped you.
Describe something you did with a group of people that you really enjoyed
You should say:
- What you did
- Who the people were
- Where and when you did this
and explain why doing this with a group of people was enjoyable
Describe an occasion where you received good service from a company or shop.
You should say:
- what the service was
- when and where you received the service
- whom you were together with
and explain why you think it was a good service
Describe a large company that you think is interesting
You should say:
- What the company does
- How do you know about the company
- Whether you think it would be a good place to work
and explain why you think this company is interesting
Describe a practical skill you have learnt e.g cooking, driving.
You should say:
- what the skill is
- how you learnt it
- why you learnt it
and how this skill has helped you
Describe an occasion when you waited for someone.
You should say:
- who you waited for
- when you waited for the person
- where you waited for the person
and explain why you waited for the person.
Television
Talk about a television channel that you like
You should say
- What the name of the channel is
- What types of programmes it shows
- When you usually watch this channel
and explain why you like this channel.
Describe something that you learned from television
You should say:
- What you learned
- When you learned it
- Which show or channel it was
and explain if what you learned was useful.
Reading
Describe a book that you remember well
You should say:
- What the title is and who wrote it
- What the books is about
- Why you read it
and explain why you remember it well.
Describe a magazine or newspaper article that you read
You should say
- When and where you read it
- What the article was about
- Why you read it
and explain if you enjoyed it or not.
Describe a book/magazine that you enjoyed reading.
You should say:
- what it was
- what it was about
- why you read it
- how often you read it
and explain what effect the book had on you.
Study and Work
Describe a subject you took in high or secondary school.
You should say:
- what the subject was
- how the teacher taught this subject
- how long you studied this subject
and explain why you didn’t like it.
Describe a job that you think is hard to do
You should say:
- What it is
- Who usually does this job
- Where you learned about this job
and explain why you think it is a hard job to do.
Describe a time that you helped someone
You should say:
- Who you helped
- When you helped them
- What you helped them with
and explain if it was difficult to help this person.
Describe a subject you didn’t enjoy (like) in high or secondary school.
You should say:
- what the subject was
- how the teacher taught this subject
- how long you studied this subject
and explain why you didn’t like it.
Family
Describe your favourite family tradition
You should say:
- How the tradition started
- When it occurs
- What you do
and explain why it is your favourite tradition.
Describe someone in your family who you admire
You should say:
- How this person is related to you
- What this person looks like
- What kind of person he/she is
and explain why you like this person.
Playing Sport
Describe a sport or physical activity you did as a child
You should say:
- Where you usually did the sport or activity
- How often you participated in it
- What it involved
and also say if you like this sport or physical activity or not.
Sports
Talk about a sports event that you would like to attend
You should say:
- Where the event usually takes place
- How often it occurs
- Who you would like to attend with
and also explain why you would like to attend this sports event.
Communication
Describe a conversation you had which changed your life
You should say:
- When the conversation took place
- Who you had the conversation with
- What the conversation was about
and explain why the conversation changed your life.
Describe an important letter/email that you sent to someone
You should say:
- When you sent the letter/email
- Who you sent the letter/email to
- What the purpose of the letter/email was
and explain if this was a difficult letter/email to write.
Animals
Describe a memorable experience with an animal
You should say:
- What type of animal it was
- When it happened
- What happened
and explain why you remember it.
Describe an animal you dislike
You should say:
- What type of animal it is
- What it looks like and where it lives
- How you know about this animal
and explain why you dislike it.
Technology
Describe an app or a programme that you like using on your phone or computer
You should say:
- What this app or programme does
- When you use this app or programme
- How you found out about this app or programme
and explain why you like using this app or programme
Describe a form of technology that is important to you
You should say:
- What the technology is
- What you use it for
- How often you use it
and explain why the technology is important to you.
Describe a device that you often use
You should say:
- What the device is and what it looks like
- How you got it
- What you use it for
and explain if you like this device or not.
Health
Describe something you do to keep healthy.
You should say:
- What the activity is
- When you do it
- How often you do it
and explain why you think it is a good way to look after your health.
Describe a time when you were not well
You should say:
- When this was
- What your symptoms were
- How long the illness lasted
and say how it affected your life at the time.
Food
Describe somewhere you like to shop for food
You should say:
- Where this place is
- What this place is like
- What you buy there
and explain why you like buying food at this place.
Describe a meal that you enjoyed eating in a restaurant
You should say:
- Where the restaurant was
- What you ate
- Who you had the meal with
and explain why you enjoyed eating the meal so much.
Travel
Describe an experience abroad that you have had.
You should say:
- where you went
- why you went
- how long you went for
and describe what the experience was like.
Describe an interesting journey you have been on
You should say:
- Where you went
- How you travelled
- Who you went with
and say how the journey affected your life.
Describe a city you know well and that has changed a lot.
You should say:
- were this city is
- why it has changed
- how it is changed
>and say it has changed for the better
Describe an occasion when you got lost in a place that you didn’t know
You should say:
- Where you were going
- When you knew you were lost
- How you found the right way
and explain how you felt about getting lost
Describe a place you have visited that is affected by pollution
You should say:
- Which place you visited
- Why you visited it
- What kind of pollution there was
and explain how you felt about the pollution in this place
Describe a foreign country which you would like to learn more about
You should say:
- What you already know about this foreign country
- How you would like to learn more about it
- How different it is from your own country
and explain why you would like to learn more about this foreign country
Describe a tourist attraction you visited
You should say:
- When you visited it
- Why it is a tourist attraction
- Who you went with
and say what you liked and didn’t like about the experience.
Describe a city you have visited which you would like to return to
You should say:
- Which city you visited
- When you visited the city
- What you did there
and explain why you would like to go back to this city again
Describe a beautiful place where you would like to live.
You should say:
- where this place is
- how you know about this place
- why you would like to live there
and explain why you would choose to live there.
Finally,
What do you think of my advice? Have you found it practical or useful?
Have you any experience of Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test?
Is there anything I’m missing?
Please share, it’s really useful, and you can comment with any suggestions or Task 2 questions I’ve not included.
I’m Jonathan
I’ve taught IELTS and University English in more than a dozen universities and schools around the world.
I’m a parent, traveller and passionate about language teaching and helping students achieve their dreams.
Whilst living in Austria or working in Asia, I run IELTS courses to help students get to where they want to be.
If you are serious about IELTS, connect with me to see how I can help you.
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