The three parts of the test
The Speaking test lasts 11–14 minutes and is recorded.
- Part 1 (4–5 minutes): familiar questions about your home, studies, work, hobbies and daily life.
- Part 2 (3–4 minutes): you get a cue card, one minute to prepare, then speak for up to two minutes on the topic.
- Part 3 (4–5 minutes): a discussion of broader, more abstract questions linked to the Part 2 topic.
You are marked on four criteria: Fluency and Coherence, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and Pronunciation.
Fluency versus accuracy
Many students stop mid-sentence to correct a small grammar slip. That costs more in Fluency than the slip costs in Grammar. Examiners want to hear you keep going, organise your ideas and explain them.
- In Part 1, give an answer plus one reason or example. Two or three sentences is ideal.
- In Part 2, use the full two minutes. A simple structure helps: what, when, where, why it matters to you.
- In Part 3, develop ideas: give an opinion, explain it, compare, consider the other side.
Accuracy matters too, but it improves through regular practice and review, not through stopping during the test.
Pronunciation for Dehradun speakers
Most students in Dehradun speak Hindi, and many also speak Garhwali or Kumaoni at home, along with Punjabi, Nepali or Jaunsari in some families. Strong pronunciation is not about a foreign accent; it is about being easy to understand. These are points many speakers from this background commonly work on:
- v and w: "very" and "west" use different sounds. For /w/, round your lips without touching your teeth.
- th: "think" and "this" need the tongue between the teeth, not a "t" or "d" sound.
- Word stress: English words have one strong syllable. Compare PHOtograph, phoTOgraphy and photoGRAphic. Misplaced stress is a bigger clarity issue than individual sounds.
- Extra vowels: some speakers add a sound before "s" clusters, as in "iskool" for "school". Practise starting directly on the "s".
- Flat intonation: Hindi and Pahari languages use pitch differently. In English, let your voice fall at the end of statements and rise for yes/no questions, and stress the important words in each sentence.
- z and j: "zero" and "jero" are different words to an examiner.
Topics that suit a Dehradun background
Cue cards often ask you to describe a place, a journey, a festival, a person who helped you or something you learned. You already have rich material: a trek in the Garhwal hills, a festival like Phool Dei or Harela, a visit to Mussoorie or Rishikesh, a teacher at your school, a day at the Forest Research Institute campus.
Prepare stories, not scripts. Examiners notice memorised answers, and these usually score lower than natural ones. Know a few personal experiences well enough to adapt them to different questions.
Practising when you have no partner
Most Speaking practice can be done alone if you treat it seriously.
- Use a timer. IELTS Learning gives you a real one-minute preparation timer and a two-minute speaking timer for Part 2 cue cards, so you learn what two minutes actually feels like.
- Record yourself. Play it back and count long pauses, "umm"s and repeated words.
- Read your transcript. Our AI feedback works on the transcript of your answer and points out grammar errors, limited vocabulary and missing development.
- Answer aloud, not in your head. Silent practice does not build fluency.
- Speak English for 15 minutes a day outside IELTS: describe your day, talk through the news, explain your college project to yourself.
There are 186 prompts across Parts 1, 2 and 3, so you will not run out of fresh questions.
When to bring in a teacher
AI feedback helps with content, grammar and vocabulary, but a human ear is best for pronunciation and for the pressure of a live conversation. Book a Teacher gives you a 1-to-1 online session of about 20 minutes from ₹299.
- Book one session early to get an honest baseline.
- Practise alone for two or three weeks using the feedback.
- Book a second session close to your test for a full mock Speaking test.
This works well for students across Uttarakhand, because you do not need to travel into the city for a live speaking partner.
Get started
Try a free sample Speaking set within the free mock on our practice tests page. Add five useful words a day with Daily Vocabulary so your answers become more precise. For all prompts and transcript feedback, register for Full Access: ₹999 for 2 months.