The three parts of the Speaking test
The Speaking test lasts 11 to 14 minutes and is a face-to-face conversation with an examiner. It is recorded.
- Part 1 (4 to 5 minutes): familiar questions about your home, studies, work, hobbies and daily life.
- Part 2 (3 to 4 minutes): you get a cue card, one minute to prepare, then speak for up to two 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 connected 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 try so hard to avoid mistakes that they speak slowly, pause often and give very short answers. Others speak quickly but with frequent errors. Examiners want both: speech that flows and is generally accurate.
- Extend your answers. In Part 1, give your answer, a reason and a short example. Two or three sentences is usually right.
- Self-correct briefly, then keep going. One quick correction is natural; stopping to restart every sentence is not.
- Avoid memorised answers. Examiners notice them, and they usually sound flat. Prepare ideas, not scripts.
- Use natural fillers, such as "That's an interesting question" or "Let me think", rather than long silences.
Pronunciation for Mumbai's speakers
Mumbai's students often grow up with Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, Konkani, Urdu or another language alongside English, and frequently switch between them in a single conversation. Every accent is acceptable in IELTS; what matters is being easy to understand. These are points many local speakers find worth practising:
- v and w. Many speakers use one sound for both, so "west" and "vest" sound the same. Practise feeling your top teeth on your lower lip for "v" and rounding your lips for "w".
- z and j. Some speakers say "zero" closer to "jero" or "busy" closer to "bujy". Hold the buzzing "z" sound.
- th. "Think" and "this" often become "tink" or "dis". Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your teeth.
- Word stress. English stress shifts between words: PHOtograph, phoTOgraphy, photoGRAPHic. Misplaced stress can make a familiar word hard to recognise.
- Intonation. A flat, even rhythm can sound uninterested. Let your voice rise and fall to show what is important.
- Mixing languages. In everyday Mumbai conversation, words like "na" and "yaar" or ending a sentence with "only" are completely natural. In the test, keep to English throughout.
Practising when you have no partner
Finding a regular speaking partner is not easy when everyone is busy and travelling across the city. Good IELTS Speaking practice is still possible alone:
- Answer prompts aloud, never just in your head.
- Record every answer and listen for long pauses, repeated words and unclear sounds.
- Use the transcript. On IELTS Learning, your recorded answer is transcribed and you receive AI feedback, so you can see exactly what you said, including repeated words and grammar slips.
- Re-answer the same prompt after reading the feedback. The second attempt is where the learning happens.
The cue-card timer: practising Part 2 properly
Part 2 is where many students struggle, because two minutes is longer than it sounds. IELTS Learning's cue cards use a real one-minute preparation timer and a two-minute speaking timer, so you build the right sense of time.
In your minute of preparation, write a few key words for each bullet point, not full sentences. Then speak through them in order, adding a small story or detail to each. Aim to still be talking when the timer ends; the examiner will stop you.
Our 186 prompts cover Parts 1, 2 and 3 across the topics that commonly appear: people, places, objects, events, technology, work and education.
Speaking to a real teacher
AI feedback helps you practise every day, but nothing replaces talking to a person. Book a Teacher gives you a 1-to-1 online session of about 20 minutes from ₹299. Many students use one session early on to find their main problems, and another close to the test as a full speaking rehearsal.
Because sessions are online, you do not need to cross the city for them; a quiet room and a headset are enough.
Start your IELTS Speaking practice in Mumbai
Create a free account, try a few prompts, and hear yourself back. When you are ready for every prompt, the full mocks and AI feedback, Full Access is ₹999 for 2 months. Our blog has weekly IELTS speaking test preparation tips too.